Diet leading up to a competition...and warmups.

[AdamKralic]

I write this on behalf of my 12 year old son who trains a lot. He has 4 days a week just in classes. (3 fighting classes...1 class that is for everything else) He has fought in about 10 tournaments so far but I feel that we haven't dialed in the proper diet as of yet.

I am just now getting him to understand being properly warmed up...next phase is maxing out his diet leading up the event.

All advice is greatly appreciated.

[JusticeZero]

What is it like so far?

[AdamKralic]

What is it like so far?

He is dominant until he becomes winded. Then he is merely average which is not near good enough. He gets frustrated when he eats a technique and in frustration will eat another.

Normal enough I suppose.

I would see his endurance increased. I would perhaps carbo load him...but when? Carb/energy bars? When? His teachers are truly elite...they prefer chocolate immediately before a match. That is fine...we have not tried that yet. We will.

He does not like taking water in breaks...I am making him take gatoraide between hard matches. If it was up to him he'd take no liquid. I do not get that as I always went a bit too much on liquid when I fought...but to each his own...to a point.

He has another tourney in 2 months. He gets plenty of training and fights a good 20-25 kids a week.

He REALLY needs energy for longer periods of time. His technique when fresh is exceptional.

Edited February 12, 2013 by AdamKralic

[Evil Dave]

Fitness / Performance starts in the kitchen!

I'm going through this with my daughter and swimming... It's hard to get it through their heads. It's not just the week leading up to competitions that you need to worry about, you need to up the diet for training as well. In order to get my daughters calories up we are using one of the smart phone apps {it doesn't really matter which one, just get one that takes into account the workouts expenditure of calories} and since they are programmed for weight loss and not athletic performance, we set it up to increase her weight by 5lbs per month {she did not like that...}. Also, it has to be good food going in, the old saying is: garbage in, garbage out!

It really makes a difference. My daughters last two swim meets before we did this she tanked. We changed her diet two weeks before this last meet and she was feeling much better, had better practice sessions, and her coach noticed. During the meet she had personal bests in 4 out of 5 events.

[AdamKralic]

Fitness / Performance starts in the kitchen!

I'm going through this with my daughter and swimming... It's hard to get it through their heads. It's not just the week leading up to competitions that you need to worry about, you need to up the diet for training as well. In order to get my daughters calories up we are using one of the smart phone apps {it doesn't really matter which one, just get one that takes into account the workouts expenditure of calories} and since they are programmed for weight loss and not athletic performance, we set it up to increase her weight by 5lbs per month {she did not like that...}. Also, it has to be good food going in, the old saying is: garbage in, garbage out!

It really makes a difference. My daughters last two swim meets before we did this she tanked. We changed her diet two weeks before this last meet and she was feeling much better, had better practice sessions, and her coach noticed. During the meet she had personal bests in 4 out of 5 events.

Great idea on the app. Thanks. A fighter really is an engine. Control the fuel, control the air...you gain control period. You are also right on the thickness of children's heads. It's like they do not see themselves as proper athletes or something. That what "real" athletes do is not 100% compatible to what they do.

[JusticeZero]

Could part of the reason he is "dominant until winded" be because he isn't doing as much to conserve energy for the length of the match as the competitors?

And dehydration will flatline your performance. If I see a student sagging and performing horribly, I send them out to drink water. Lots of water. Five minutes later they are up to full speed. Dehydration alone would explain his lack of wind.

[AdamKralic]

Could part of the reason he is "dominant until winded" be because he isn't doing as much to conserve energy for the length of the match as the competitors?

And dehydration will flatline your performance. If I see a student sagging and performing horribly, I send them out to drink water. Lots of water. Five minutes later they are up to full speed. Dehydration alone would explain his lack of wind.

I think you are right on both counts. He combos to drive people back too much. The everything must touch drill is one that my son is weak at. And for the life of me idk why he dislikes drinking water...his shirt is soaked after every practice.

Thanks.

[Evil Dave]

You have to find a way to get through to him! Every kid is different, try science articles, have him experiment, Google some of his sport idles and you will be able to show him what they need to do, etc. Also, lead from example, sometimes a hard one, but a good one.

[DWx]

You have to find a way to get through to him! Every kid is different, try science articles, have him experiment, Google some of his sport idles and you will be able to show him what they need to do, etc. Also, lead from example, sometimes a hard one, but a good one.

This is great advice. Few kids will understand the bigger picture and won't really care when you talk about nutrition and hydration.. it'll just seem like you're nagging them. Make it fun to learn about or bring it down to their level and they might be more interested.

[AdamKralic]

FYI: We had a surprise tourney that was announced to us on Friday...(event was on Sunday)

So I decided to go carbo load.

Pancakes and blueberries for Saturday breakfast. Pasta with chunky red sauce with shredded chicken for lunch...and dinner. (I made a massive amount at lunch time and was lazy that night) Had pancakes and fruit the morning of the competition as well.

We got there at 10:30 am...found out he wasn't fighting until afternoon...so to keep his belly from grumbling but not stuff him...we split a hotdog at noon. He fought at 2:30 and did very well. He had more energy than usual imo and I will now carbo load the day before until it proves non-helpful.