Nutrition and performance

[lawsond]

Hello, all,

Been lurking a lot, but this is (I think) my first post.

I'm 40, not hypo-/hyperglycemic, and average blood pressure levels. When I got on the mat ("just to be a good role model" for my oldest son) I weighed 255 pounds. Now I'm a more trim 190, but I'm still trying to reach 175-180 (at 5' 10").

I have a hard time finding food to eat while really exerting myself: sparring class, cardio class, etc. I also have a hard time with tournament settings, where I spar hard then may have to wait for a bit before sparring more. I don't feel like passing out, but I "bonk" and slow down. I usually try to eat a balance of carbs and protein an hour before class and tournament. If I don't eat, I WILL pass out. If I eat too much, I move like a two-by-four.

So my questions are these, and I thank you in advance for yoru answers!

First, what do you eat on tournament days? When do you eat? What do you take with you to snack on?

Secondly, how do you stay limber on those tournament days when you exert yourself, go all out in sparring, then have to wait to do it again? What kind of stretching do you do?

Can anyone recommend a source for nutrition information in explosive sports like TKD? (Book? website?)

Thank you!

 

[Laurentkd]

I can only give you my personal opinion....

I eat carbs the night before (like pasta)
and then the day off all I eat is bananas, peanut butter, and honey

Seems to be the perfect combo for me, but you have to find what is right with you.

I like peanut butter because I need the protein (I am hypoglycemic), I like honey because it is a good natural sugar and then I like the bananas because they are mostly water, have potassium and because they go well with honey and peanut butter

 

[tko4u]

Hey bro,
all I can say about staying limber for sparring is good luck! I have been there when you get good and stretched, ready to go, they make you wait 15 more minutes.

About the eating, I eat non greasy food the night before and try to stay hydrated, mainly because I dont drink a whole lot on tournament days, then i feel sluggish. Then in the morning, I eat cereal (low to no sugar) and drink gatorade throughout the day, but like i said, not too much. Also, just a no brainer here, NO ENERGY DRINKS! thats a completely different subject. If i snack through the day, its a apple or orange, and peanut butter and crackers. I find anything else and I get sluggish.

On the stretching, I get my legs loose by jogging lightly around the mat, then footswitches around the mat. Then when you get suited up for sparring, do some target drills, slow at first, then middle, finally full speed. Enough to get some sweat going, but dont push it to being drained of energy.

Hope that helps! Any questions ask!

 

[Loomie]

I can only give you my personal opinion....

I eat carbs the night before (like pasta)
and then the day off all I eat is bananas, peanut butter, and honey

Seems to be the perfect combo for me, but you have to find what is right with you.

I like peanut butter because I need the protein (I am hypoglycemic), I like honey because it is a good natural sugar and then I like the bananas because they are mostly water, have potassium and because they go well with honey and peanut butter

Sounds like a good sandwich!

 

[Laurentkd]

Sounds like a good sandwich!

yup. Stick them all on some bread or a bagel and you are in business. And you don't wait for tournament days either.... you can eat them any day you want!