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Simple Tennis NutritionWhy Simple Tennis Nutrition? Tennis nutrition is often ignored by tennis players despite it being one of the most flexible yet powerful weapons in their arsenal. To date, nutrition is used sub-optimally for energy and ignored for strength, mental focus, avoidance of injury and injury recovery. The main focus of most articles on nutrition revolve around pre and post-match nutrition as well as hydration but doesn’t take into account the days and weeks of optimal nutrition that have a huge impact on match days. You obviously give your training a lot of thought and plan it meticulously months in advance otherwise you would be guaranteed a very painful and disappointing outcome. Your travelling schedule is punishing and your chances of illness due to climate change or different foods is greater than any other athlete. So why are you ignoring the one tool which can be manipulated in such a way so as to ensure you are at your peak mentally and physically and remain there well after the competition has caved in? Everything in your body is made up of and kept energised by the food you eat. Eat the wrong foods and your body is sub-optimally prepared, repaired and energised. You will survive as a human being but your survival on the tennis circuit is questionable. Ask yourself; is survival enough or are you a winner? Simple Tennis Nutrition? Foods feed your brain and feed your muscles but is it simply about carbohydrates for energy? You need B-vitamins, magnesium, manganese, vitamin C, iron, selenium, copper and CoQ10 to turn carbohydrates into energy so don’t kid yourself into thinking that all you need is a baked potato or a bowl of pasta before your match. Nutrition can be fairly straightforward. In order to ensure good nutrient intake you can simply follow these rules: Foods 1. Avoid all junk food and eat real, fresh foods as often as possible 2. Variety is extremely important so aim to eat 5-6 different foods per meal aiming for 20-25 different foods a day (sounds complicated but can be very easy) 3. Make sure all meals are colourful which means include vegetables! Amounts don’t need to be large; one carrot stick or a slice of red pepper is always better than none.4. Avoid sugary foods (with the exception of fruit) unless directly before, during and after exercise. Liquids 1. Start your day with at least 4oz of water 2. Sip your water every 10 minutes or drink one 8oz glass every hour 3. If drinking fruit juice, drink fresh juice that is not made from a concentrate and that does not have any sugar added. Furthermore, 4. Dilute all fruit juices with 50% water 5. During exercise, sip regularly and depending on length of session and climate, you may need to consider using an energy drink of some sort.
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