Eating Strategies a Week Before the Competition

Nutrient timing and delivery in sports is crucial to an athlete because if not done properly it can easily begin to negatively affect performance. Knowing when to eat is just as important as what you eat. Often athletes are emphasized to eat after a workout or game, but what about before?  The idea of eating before a workout or game is seldom discussed. Knowing how to properly prepare your body before the big game can make a big difference.

Our pre-competition nutritional strategy is based upon the concept of carbohydrate loading.  Carbohydrate loading is a strategy that is used by athletes to increase glycogen storage before a competition. By increasing glycogen stores before a competition an athlete is less prone to fatigue by ensuring maximum amounts of energy stored in the body.

Glycogen stores can be built up by gradually increasing the amount of carbohydrates an athlete consumes each day leading up to competition. The seven days prior to competition are the most important for carbohydrate loading. Glycogen stores are important to athletes because they are the key source of energy in the ATP cycle for high energy cells. By ensuring constant availability of glycogen an athlete ensures constant availability of ATP and hence cellular energy.

Use Lifted Athletics 7 day preparation plan to fuel your body for the big event.

For a Comprehensive and Printable Summary of the 7 Day Preparation Plan SEE Comprehensive Eating Strategies a Week Before Competition.

7 Days Prior to Competition-

Exactly seven days before a competition is the last time to exhaust the body.  An athlete should perform an intense workout and completely deplete the body of its energy stores.  Use this workout to sharpen skills and tweak any issues in your shot, swing, pass, etc.

6 Days Prior to Competition-

The sixth day before a competition is the beginning of decreased physical activity.  While the amount of work and exercise is trimmed down the carbohydrate intake is not. The training done today should not be nearly as intense as seven days prior to competition; this means less reps, less shots, fewer sprints, etc. With less exercise and still high consumption of carbohydrates the body is able to “load” energy.

5 Days Prior to Competition-

Five days before competition should again be a day where training intensity and work are decreased, however the high load of carbohydrates should still be consumed allowing the body to continue to “load” its glycogen stores for the coming event.

4 Days Prior to Competition-

Four days before the big game is the perfect time to begin finalizing a strategic plan towards how to beat your competition.  Mentally begin to rehearse yourself in various situations you may encounter.  In your workouts practice and sharpen special skills and techniques. Continue to “load” the glycogen stores to prevent fatigue come game day.

3 Days Prior to Competition-

Three days before the competition is a good time to really begin to let the body rest. Allow yourself to do exercises and workouts that place low stress on the body.  The athlete must avoid any signs of exhaustion  or tiredness. Like day four use this time to sharpen your mental focus and plan of attack.  Allowing the body to rest and fully heal itself before the big game is critical if you want to perform at the highest level.

2 Days Prior to Competition-

Two days prior to competition rest is the name of the game.  Allow yourself to recover from the past weeks work by removing your morning training session and sleep in.  Be sure to have a big breakfast to fuel any last recovery your body needs to undergo.  The afternoon workout should be very light; get your blood flowing with simple warming up and stretching. Take steps to finalize your glycogen “loading.”

1 Day Prior to Competition-

The day before competition should be a day for the athlete to completely rest, both mentally and physically. The athlete should take time today to focus on something other than the competition to relax the mind.  Use this day to prepare for the next, plan out everything that you need to do on game day and be sure to have a back up plan in case anything goes wrong.  This is the last day to fill the glycogen stores and ensure adequate energy for the next day.  The best foods for this are pasta, rice, bread, and fruits.

For a Comprehensive and Printable Summary of the 7 day preparation plan SEE Comprehensive Eating Strategies a Week Before Competition.