Although there is no hard and fast rule, here is a general caloric intake breakdown of what a gymnast can aim for on a daily basis and includes only the basics of proper nutrition.

As gymnasts train more, or go through periods of growth, gymnasts may need to tweak this guideline to fit their changing needs.

It is the repairing of these tears that causes muscles to grow and protein is a vital component in this process. A healthy eating schedule is equally important for gymnasts in order to maintain energy. Here is an example of how many times a gymnast might need to eat in one day:. The average person needs to drink about half their body weight in order to stay hydrated.

If you weigh pounds you would need 6 glasses of water. Gymnasts of different weights and sizes have varying hydration needs. Depending on how much they sweat and how hard they work out, their water intake will be different from day to day.

A gymnast should carry a water bottle with them and sip water throughout the day. Gatorade and other electrolyte sport drinks are a source of hydration, but the dyes in them can cause more harm than good.

It is important that your gymnast eats every few hours whether they are at home or at practice. Snacks should be between calories and should include carbohydrates, protein and some fat.

Here is a list of some healthy snacks for gymnasts:. So whether in the gym, or at home, what you put into your body is what you get out of it.

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Toggle Navigation info oakvillegym. Food does not magically increase in caloric value after a certain time of day.

If you want to learn how to fuel your gymnast, click here for more information. For every day, between-meal snacks, pair at least 2 or 3 food groups carbohydrates, protein, fat for energy and staying power.

For more great ideas specific to the gymnast, click here. Pre-workout snacks are different. Many competitive gymnasts tend to get fatigued towards the end of practice and this impairs performance. Yes, your gymnast will be tired after working hard, but optimized nutrition can allow her to work harder, longer.

What a gymnast eats and drinks before, during, and after practice to optimize performance is called Performance Nutrition. Every gymnast should have a Performance Nutrition Strategy where they know exactly what their body needs no matter the time, duration, or intensity of the workout or competition.

There is no evidence to support gymnasts or any human needing to restrict certain foods to perform better. Yes, the diet should be made of nutrient dense foods like whole grains, protein, fruits, vegetables, anti-inflammatory fats, etc.

Food is social, cultural, and emotional. Most of the time we eat because we are hungry, but sometimes we eat because foods taste good. Gymnasts need to be able to enjoy all foods without guilt, shame, or anxiety.

She also may be too restricted. There are a lot of myths and misinformation in the sport about certain foods being inherently fattening, and this is just not physiologically true.

First off, you are not alone if your gymnast is a selective eater. The most important thing regardless of where your gymnast is on learning to try new foods is that she is eating enough.

Forcing, coercing, and threatening do not work to get kids to try new foods and keep eating them in the long run. This breaks trust in the feeding relationship and can lead to even more selective eating.

Nutrition For Gymnasts. Gymnastics Nutrition , Parenting. July 7, explore the blog. free training. The Podcast. How to Fuel the Gymnast. for optimal performance. looking for? Search for:. How Much Nutrition Does a Gymnast Need? How Do You Know If Your Gymnast Is Getting Enough Nutrition?

Essential Nutrition For The Gymnast Gymnasts need a varied diet of food groups. Carbohydrate provides energy to the muscles and brain especially during high-intensity exercise. Fiber is a kind of carbohydrate that is good for gut health, helping with fullness and stabilizing blood sugar which normally increases from the consumption of carbohydrates and then is used by all the cells of the body.

Examples: Starches like potatoes, beans, corn and grains wheat, barley, rye, oats, etc are also carbohydrates. The minimally processed versions tend to contain more fiber. Fruits and vegetables are mostly carbohydrate with a lot of water and some fiber.

Protein is used as the building block of muscles and connective tissues. Protein should be included at all main meals and most snacks, which helps with staying power. Gymnastics is predominately fueled by carbohydrate.

But, protein is still very important in helping provide the building blocks to grow muscle and repair damaged muscles and tissues post-workout.

Examples: red meat, chicken, fish, pork, dairy, eggs, soy, etc are considered proteins. Meaning, they are missing one or more of the essential amino acids or building blocks of protein that the body must get through food.

Special attention needs to be given to the vegan or vegetarian diet of a gymnast. Plant proteins, except soy protein which is comparable to dairy protein, need to be combined at meals or snacks.

Examples: oils, nuts, seeds, animal fat, and dairy fats like butter are considered fats. Hydration For The Gymnast All humans need a certain amount of fluid each day to maintain appropriate hydration.

Fluids play an important role in the body: Moisten tissues in eyes, nose, mouth. Assist the body in thermoregulation via sweat. Provides lubrication to the joints. Is the medium for transportation of nutrients, oxygen, waste products of the blood and across cells.

Meal Timing And Eating Schedules Many gymnasts face logistical challenges when it comes to meal and snack schedules.

Male gymnasts are typically ready for elite competition in their twenties when muscle mass peaks. A general healthy eating pattern helps to support the needs of a gymnast. The training diet usually includes Lean protein for muscle repair and recovery, carbohydrate appropriately timed for fuel and fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds for vitamins and minerals, along with healthy fats.

Individual nutrition requirements will be determined by training load, specific athlete needs, training goals, body composition goals, health and adjustment for growth in younger athletes. During periods of heavy training it is important for a gymnast to have the right nutrition with adequate energy and nutrients to avoid fatigue which can lead to serious injuries.

In addition, gymnasts are usually quite young and many prefer small frequent meals to fit their nutritional needs around their busy schedules of school, homework and long hours of training. Ideas for nutrient-rich snacks that can be eaten in the car between school and training include:.

Low body fat levels are advantageous in gymnastics, for agility, dynamic power and technique. However, excessive dieting can lead to health and performance issues. It is important that parents, coaches and other staff aim to develop a positive body image in these athletes and seek the guidance of a Sports Dietitian for support and advice.

Despite training indoors, gymnasts need to maintain good hydration levels during training to prevent dehydration that can negatively impact performance. In most circumstances, water will be sufficient to meet hydration needs in training. However, well timed use of sports drinks may be beneficial during long or hot sessions as they simultaneously provide fluid, carbohydrate for the active muscles along with electrolytes for hydration.

Good oral hygiene is important for dental health and excessive use of sports drinks should be avoided. Gymnasts need to choose foods and drinks that are easy to digest before competition to avoid gastrointestinal upset from fast movements, turns and flips.

As a result, kids who overeat may gain weight, not muscle. If a coach, gym teacher, or teammate says that your child needs to lose or gain weight, or if you're concerned about your child's eating habits, talk to your doctor.

The doctor can work with you or refer you to a dietitian to develop a healthy eating plan for your young athlete. Kids need to eat well on game days. The meal itself should not be very different from what they've eaten throughout training. Athletes can choose healthy foods they believe enhance their performance and don't cause any problems like stomach upset.

Athletes need to eat the right amount and mix of foods to support their higher level of activity. But that mix might not be too different from a normal healthy diet. Eating for sports should be another part of healthy eating for life. KidsHealth Parents Feeding Your Child Athlete.

en español: Cómo alimentar a su joven deportista. Medically reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD. Listen Play Stop Volume mp3 Settings Close Player. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. Nutritional Needs of Young Athletes Active, athletic kids and teens need: Vitamins and minerals: Kids need a variety of vitamins and minerals.

Calcium and iron are two important minerals for athletes: Calcium helps build strong bones to resist breaking and stress fractures. Calcium-rich foods include low-fat dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese, as well as leafy green vegetables such as broccoli.

Iron helps carry oxygen to all the different body parts that need it. Iron-rich foods include lean meat, chicken, tuna, salmon, eggs, dried fruits, leafy green vegetables, and fortified whole grains. To be adequately fueled for practice, a gymnast should eat a full pre-workout meal hours before the start of a workout AND have a high energy snack minutes before the start of a workout when possible.

If this isn't possible, aim for a modified mini-meal about hours before practice. The goal of pre-workout meals and snacks is to top off your energy stores with foods that make you feel your best.

For most gymnasts, this means a snack containing mostly simple carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates like fruit and quick-digesting low in fiber starches are best when eating a snack minutes before practice. You know your body best, so try to choose your pre-practice snacks based on how you feel at practice after consuming each snack.

Some of my favorite pre-practice snacks for gymnasts to eat hours before a workout include:. A PBJ with pretzels. Oatmeal, berries, and nut butter. Veggies, Pita, and Hummus. Cottage Cheese, Cantaloupe, and mixed nuts. Peanut butter and banana wrap. Cereal, milk, and blueberries. You decide to have a drink with some caffeine like a coffee or Celcius before practice to give you the energy you want for your long practice.

However, drinking caffeine before practice will not actually give you the long-lasting energy that you think it does - only a balanced meal can. Caffeine can not replace the actual energy that food provides and even "tricks" your body into thinking it has energy, making you crash even harder when it wears off , and a successful practice is dependent on fueling your body in a way that meets your energy and nutrient needs through food first.

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests consuming caffeine with caution. For teens between the ages of , daily caffeine intake should not be more than mg or the equivalent of one 8oz cup of coffee.

For children under 12, there's no designated safe amount of caffeine. Excess caffeine intake can do serious damage to your health. Some research has found that excessive caffeine intake is associated with nervousness, irritability, nausea, cardiovascular symptoms, osteoporosis, gastric ulcers and can negatively impact your training sleep and performance.

Caffeine in high doses is also a banned substance by the NCAA. A urinary caffeine concentration that is higher than 14 micrograms per milliliter equivalent to about milligrams of caffeine, energy drinks, or oz of coffee , will result in a positive drug test.

As for energy drinks, they are not reliable, and may contain unclear amounts of banned substances along with unknown amounts of caffeine.

Nutrition is a powerful tool to help athletes improve their performance. And while the intentions behind these messages are likely good most often are meant to insinuate that an athlete should eat more whole foods, more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, unsaturated fats, etc.

These foods are often low in carbohydrates and high in fiber. Carbohydrate, as previously mentioned, is the body's primary fuel source for gymnastics activity, including short moderate-to-high intensity activity like a stop-and-go circuit or a second routine in addition to bursts of extremely high intensity activity like sprinting 5 seconds down the vault runway.

A pre-workout meal or snack without enough carbohydrates will likely leave you feeling sluggish and tired. Fiber is one of the nutrients that takes a longer time and a significant amount of energy to digest, meaning that it will be hours before any of the energy is actually accessible to use and will, instead, be more likely to cause an upset stomach, nausea, and bloating.

For a gymnast with a performance nutrition strategy, there are many other opportunities in the day to incorporate nutrient dense foods like vegetables. At the pre-workout snack, it is much more important to prioritize energy and performance, meaning grains, starches, fruit or even something with sugar.

Some of my favorite high-carb pre-practice snacks for gymnasts to eat with less than 1 hour before a workout include:. Yogurt covered fruit. Fruit cup or piece of fruit. Granola bar. Pretzels or Crackers. Applesauce or GoGo Squeeze. Cereal dry or with milk.

Fruit Leathers or Dried Fruit. Fruit smoothie made with yogurt, fruit, and oats or cereal. Bear Bites or Belvita Bites.