As a martial artist, would you like to be able to train fully and perform well? Then it is important that you also eat well. This does not mean just eating a lot, but taking the right nutrients at the right times. This is important so that you have sufficient energy at your disposal during your boxing, kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai Taekwondo or karate lessons, etc. But it is also certainly important for the recovery of your body, building your muscles and for making the right weight for a competition (and that in relation to an optimal fat percentage). But how do you know that you are taking the right nutrients at the right times?
To really arrange this optimally, a schedule must be made separately for each person that is tailored to the DNA and circumstances of the person in question. A DNA test will therefore first have to be taken. A specialized sports dietitian will then make an analysis based on this data and the physical and mental circumstances of the athlete in order to draw up a suitable nutrition plan for this athlete. For most athletes this goes way too far.Firstly, it costs a lot of money to have this done (so the athlete's performance must be very profitable). Secondly, it is not feasible for most athletes to stick to such a nutrition plan if you also have a job etc. in addition to your sport. It takes a lot of discipline and time. But fortunately there are also a number of nutritional guidelines that work for every martial artist. These guidelines are easy to follow, provided you have discipline.
Nutritional guidelines for martial artists
Real athletes must be fast and strong, which is why they generally have more muscle tissue than other people. People with more muscle tissue consume more energy than average (even at rest). If you train intensively more than 5 to 6 hours per week, it is good to adhere to the nutrition schedule below.1: Useful complete meals
Consume 4 full meals a day with about 3 hours between each meal. For example, the first one at 8:00 am, then at 11:00 am, then again at 2:00 pm and the last at 5:00 pm. Make sure that you do not eat an extensive meal less than 2 to 3 hours before boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, MMA, taekwondo or karate training/competition. Exercising on a full stomach causes complications.
But what should such a complete meal contain?
- Slow carbohydrates. So choose products such as whole wheat bread, grains, potatoes, (brown) rice, (whole wheat) pasta and legumes and not sugars. These carbohydrates can be stored in the body as glycogen (which you use as an energy source during exercise without affecting your performance, which is the case when you burn fat or body proteins during exercise). It also contains B vitamins and important minerals such as iron, magnesium, chromium and zinc.
- Complete proteins. These are proteins that contain sufficient (essential) amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks for body cells, including muscle tissue, bones and blood. But also for antibodies and hormones, etc. You must absorb essential amino acids directly from food. The body cannot produce these amino acids itself from other building materials, but the body desperately needs them. You can get these complete proteins, including sufficient essential amino acids, by eating the following products: meat, fish, poultry (such as chicken), milk (products), cheese and eggs. There are also plant-based products that contain complete proteins, such as bread, nuts, beans, lentils and soy. The latter product is the only plant-based product that also contains essential amino acids.
- Polyunsaturated fats. It is best to use carbohydrates as fuel instead of fats, because too much fat is stored as body fat. Please note: Too many carbohydrates/sugars can also be stored as body fat, but first the glycogen stock will be replenished and this is the stock you need to get energy during exercise. But why do we still eat fats? There is a difference between saturated fats (which mainly have bad properties for the body) and unsaturated fats. These fats have properties that promote the metabolic process in the body. Fats are also often carriers of minerals and trace elements (vitamins) that are important for the body. In particular, essential fatty acids such as linoleic acid and linolenic acid from vegetable oils such as linseed, soy, sunflower and corn oil, but also from margarine, low-fat margarine and oily fish are important for your body. Eat fat in moderation and choose foods with polyunsaturated fats and essential fatty acids. For example, you can: Spread margarine or low-fat margarine on your bread, prepare your salad with a dressing that contains one of the above vegetable oils, eat nuts and seeds or eat oily fish (salmon, herring, eel, mackerel, trout, etc.).
- Fruit and vegetables.Eat 1 piece of fruit or a serving spoon of vegetables every meal.
- Variety and sufficient nutritional value. Make sure you get all the above nutrients at every meal. But vary the products you use. Each product contains different minerals and trace elements that you need. By varying a lot you get all the necessary nutrients and not always the same vitamins, minerals and trace elements. There are many different types and your body needs them all. A deficiency will lead to health problems, but too much can also cause problems. So grab a piece of fruit with one meal and a spoonful of vegetables with the other and vary the type of fruit or vegetable you choose. The color of the fruit and vegetables also says something about the nutrients they contain. So eat green vegetables one time, red other times, white again, etc. This way you know that you vary well. Always choose a different product that will supply you with slow carbohydrates, complete proteins and unsaturated fats.
- Be careful not to eat too much, but eat as much as you need. Do not eat snacks in addition to these meals unless your body notices that you need them. Then consciously choose healthy snacks.
2: Drink enough
Drink 2 dl (= one glass) of water every hour. Water is very important for your body (which consists of 60% water), it is a means of transporting nutrients and waste products and also ensures the body's temperature regulation. For good sports performance, the fluid balance must be maintained before, during and after exercise. Even with a fluid loss of 1% of body weight, metabolism is negatively affected and performance decreases. If you only drink when you are thirsty, you are too late. A feeling of thirst arises from a fluid loss of 2% of your body weight.
To ensure that your fluid percentage remains at the same level during exercise, it is good to drink more water before training or competition. Not too much, because that is unhealthy and can even kill you (water intoxication; the osmotic value in your blood is too low). Do not drink a lot of water just before your boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, MMA, taekwondo or karate training/competition, because this will cause your stomach to churn annoyingly. Also try to keep drinking during training. Normally you need 1 liter of water during one hour of martial arts practice. This does not always work and it is also good for your body to get used to competing with a reduced fluid percentage. For martial artists who also participate in boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai or MMA competitions, etc., the advice is: 0.5 liters of water for 1 to 1.5 hours of training. But do bring your fluid percentage to a higher level before training!
3: Replenish your amino acids
After training it is often necessary to replenish the amino acids in your body. This is mainly for the recovery of your muscle tissue and other body tissue that has been damaged during the injection. But also for building new muscle tissue. Before you start taking these amino acids, you must first consume a carbohydrate-rich diet. This could be fruit or other fast carbohydrates (fast carbohydrates can be quickly absorbed into the blood, after which they can immediately be used as energy). Don't you do this? Your body then burns the amino acids as fuel to restore the energy levels in your body. These valuable amino acids can therefore no longer be used as building materials.
Are you supposed to reduce the fat percentage in your body? Then you should not consume any nutrients until at least an hour after training. You can only drink water for the first hour. This is because after the interval workout (which is boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, MMA, taekwondo or karate training or competition) your body continues to burn body fat to restore your energy levels. If you were to now eat or drink a drink containing nutrients, your body would burn these new nutrients (the body has them more easily available at that moment and is therefore easier to convert into energy than your body fat) and therefore stop. burning body fat.
Guidelines for a healthy lifestyle
To perform well as a boxer, kickboxer, taekwondo, karateka, Muay Thai and MMA fighter, not only your diet is important, but also your lifestyle. Below are some tips for a healthy lifestyle for athletes:
- Do not smoke or use drugs or doping.
- Sleep at least 8 hours a night and don't go to sleep too late. Top athletes must also rest during the day.
- Don't drink too much alcohol. If you consume more than two glasses in one day, this is already harmful to your body. If you do not drink more than 2 glasses of beer or wine in a day, it is not harmful to do this once a week. Do not drink alcohol when preparing for a competition.
- Be sparing with sugars and saturated fats. And limit yourself to healthy snacks when you get hungry outside of your meals. You can have an unhealthy snack a few times a week (unless you are just before your competition). This, just like a small amount of alcohol, contributes to a positive state of mind.
Sports nutrition and supplements
To continue to follow the above nutritional guidelines and guidelines for a healthy lifestyle, you need a lot of discipline. Do you not have this and are you only able to follow the guidelines for a short period of time? Then there is actually no point in using sports nutrition or supplements. Your basic diet and your lifestyle determine 80% of the success you can achieve based on nutrition. You could optimize the 20% that remains by using appropriate sports nutrition and supplements. What you could best use is a different story and also very personal. But first it is important that you constantly follow the above guidelines, so that the first 80% is optimal. If you can keep that 80% consistently optimal, then it only makes sense to use sports nutrition and supplements. So first make sure you follow the guidelines to become a healthy and physically strong martial artist and only then delve into sports nutrition.
For more information about healthy nutrition, visit: http://www.voedingscentrum.nl /Some information about nutrients has also been verified on this site to avoid errors.
