Next time you are at a BJJ competition take a look around.
You will see people eating all sorts of crazy and wonderful
foods that they think will help give them the edge on the mat. People are
looking to get the smallest of advantages on their opponents and walk away with
some precious metal around their neck.
But are they wasting their time or even worse, hindering
their performance?
The object of this blog post is to try to give you a bit of
a better idea on what to eat come competition day.
Before I start going into details of food types etc I am
going to have say the classic line of “Speak to your coach and Doctor before
you undertake any major changes in diet”. Your coach will know your past
history with making weight and your performance, and therefore will know you a
lot better than me! Please use this as a rough guide and speak to your coach
first.
Making weight for a competition is a highly individual topic
well beyond the scope of this blog post. If you are having trouble making
weight or are thinking about moving a weight class then speak to your coach or
a professional.
OK, so lets talk competition day!
I’m going to assume that most of the people that are reading
this post have cut a little weight but nothing to drastic (no silly water cuts
etc), you probably wake up on comp day, check your weight then either panic
like mad and go running or find you are right on the line and are ready to
fight.
This will be about 90% of people.
Most people walk around a few kilos over their weight
category and cut a little weight before the competition. They wake up right on
the limit that they can be, then head to weigh in. This all goes fine but it is
what happens after the weigh in that makes most people feel crap. They eat the
wrong foods and either under hydrate or over hydrate to quickly.
So let’s take a look at an idea situation.
Wake up.
Check weight and make sure you are either right on the line
or have a little wiggle room. Having a few KG to spare is best for most people
as more and more competitions are following the IBJJF lead and having
competitors weigh in really close to fight time (let’s assume for this article
it’s 45 mins before the first fight).
So if you do indeed have a few KG to spare I recommend
having a breakfast of some low GI carbs and a little fat. If you handle gluten
well, then oats are a good bet with a spoon full of natural peanut butter.
If you are right on the line then just have a few sips of
water and head to the event.
After weigh in.
Now you have 30-45 mins to hydrate and fuel up for the first
fight. This is why doing massive water cuts and starving yourself is a bad
idea. You’re not going to be able to fuel yourself and hydrate for optimum
performance. You also run a high risk of cramp when you are in the fight.
After you have weighed in you want to do the following
things,
·
Hydrate.
·
Top off glycogen stores by having some fast
acting, easily digestible carbohydrates (being bloated and stuffed when about
to fight is a terrible idea).
·
Start warming up.
Now because this is happening in a short time window I
recommend having a liquid carb drink that has a low osmolity (clears the stomach
quickly and digests easily). Carb sources such as waxy maize, vitargo and
highly branched cyclic dextrin are great here. You want to have between 60-100g
of carbs depending on your size in about 1500ml of water.
This will allow you to sip this while warming up and be ready
to fight in 45 mins. I personally like to have 50g in 600ml water as soon as I
have weighed in and another 50g while I am warming up in 1000ml of water
(remember I have a few KG to spare and I am not very dehydrated).
Some people like to eat after weighing in. This is fine but
you should choose a carb source that is easily digestible and doesn’t give you
any issues. This is completely personal and you should know what works best for
you due to what you normally eat. White rice or bananas is a safe bet for most
people.
What you DON’T want to do is to be eating this like pasta,
sandwiches and cheap protein bars. These are often high in sugars and gluten
which can effect your already nervous digestive system.
Between Fights
Now at this point you’re not going to have much time between
each match.
You want to keep your energy topped up and available for the
next fight but not feel full and sluggish.
Most of my clients sip on a carb drink of about 50g of carbs
between fights in 2 litres of water. For most people it’s a bad idea for them
to try and eat anything as it just makes them feel heavy and bloated.
Obviously if you are fighting in the absolute division or
are doing NoGi on the same day then you will want to have something between the
two categories. Since there is often a few hours between them this is a good
opportunity to have some solid food.
Again you want to stick with easily digestible foods and
preferably foods that you are used to. Chicken and white rice with a little bit
of olive oil is a very good option for most. This will give you energy but
won’t hamper digestion.
Make sure that you are sipping water all the way through the
day. Most people pee a lot more on competition days due to nerves and the fight
or flight response we all get to people wanting to choke us and pull our limbs
off. Ideally you want your wee to be clear every time you go to the toilet.
Having a well though out and organised plan for competition
day is a must for every athlete intent on taking home a medal. It gives you one
less thing to worry about so that you know that you are fuelled up and ready to
fight.
Plan your nutrition just as serious as your training and I
guarantee that you will see a difference.
Stay Healthy,
Mike
