Maximize your Sports Performance

The foundation of a Sportsperson’s performance is greatly determined by the nutrition lifestyle.

As a sportsperson, it is important that you incorporate a comprehensive diet plan that matches the physical demands of sports activities. A good balanced diet ensures that you have the right amount of energy to prepare, participate in, finish, and recover from a sports activity. It ensures that you consume the right amounts of calories, carbohydrates, fluids, proteins, vitamins, and minerals, which generates the energy you need to boost your performance, improve your concentration, and accelerate muscle energy.

Understanding the composition of the diet you should adopt as a sportsperson is key in achieving this balance.

The type of sport activity, the amount of training you do and the amount of time you spend doing the activity or exercise, are also factors to consider when choosing a diet plan.

The recommended energy intake breakdown for a sportsperson is 45 to 65% from carbohydrates, 15 to 25% from proteins and 20 to 35% from fat.

Carbohydrates are vital macronutrients for any sportsperson as they are used as the key energy source for your body. Consuming carbohydrates before, during and after a sport activity ensures that your body has a constant supply of glycogen, which translates to a constant supply of energy. The proper amount of carbs can also help modify hormone balance to enhance performance. Hormones, such as insulin and cortisol which help in muscle building are affected by carbohydrates.

Proteins are important for providing your body with the necessary amount of amino acids to help build and repair muscles and tissues and transporting molecules and for our body’s defenses. When more protein is being generated than degraded, more lean muscle mass will be developed, resulting in an enhanced sportsperson’s performance.

Fats are essential to maintain bodily processes, such as hormone metabolism. Studies have shown that hormones like testosterone play a major role in muscle development, as well as performance and its levels are affected greatly by fats. As a sportsperson, your body needs fat not just for energy supply but also to protect your organs from injury. Fat is necessary in order to absorb fat-soluble vitamins and contains essential fatty acids which are necessary for the production of hormones and the building of cell walls.

Fluid intake before, during and after sports activities is key at ensuring you remain hydrated as a sportsperson. Dehydration can impair athletic performance and, in extreme cases, may lead to collapse and even death. Hydration is particularly important for events lasting more than 60 minutes, of high intensity or in warm environments.

As a sportsperson, your performance during sports activities is determined by the amount of preparation you do, and the same principle applies to your nutrition. To achieve a long-term and sustainable nutrition lifestyle that contributes to your optimum performance as a sportsperson, you must start today.

See you next time, as we unpack ‘Pre event meal basics’.

Sign up for the MSA Program https://portal.msa.co.ke/register

By Eunice Nthenya,

Certified Nutritionist, Nutrition By Nthenya

The Momentum Sports Africa (MSA) Program includes eight programs on different fields with the aim to build your capacity. Click the button to Learn More.

Friends of MSA

What are they saying

Biko Adema

Nondies RFC Rugby Player

I was excited to join Momentum Sports Africa's platform and build my professional brand further through their support and guidance. The nutritional advice I got has allowed me to consider the most appropriate diet choices based around my daily schedules.

Benson Salem

Nondies RFC Rugby Player

I am privileged and excited to be working with Momentum Sports Africa in building my brand as a sports person. I got equipped with the right information about Nutrition so that I can be in perfect health to compete effectively and I’m looking forward for more.

Fidens Onyango

Nondies RFC Rugby Player

I enjoyed the Profile interview as I got to share a little about my personal life as well as my sports life and it was the first step of building my brand as a Sportsperson. The Nutrition interview was quite educational as I got to learn a lot about the best foods to eat at different times of the day during both on and off-season.

Ian Mumbwani

Nondies RFC Rugby Player

Momentum Sports Africa is a professional organisation and breath of fresh air in the sporting scene, I am stoked to have worked with them in an upcoming production that has given athletes like myself a platform to create my own brand as well as equip me with the right information in as far as Body Nutrition is concerned, I am excited and can't wait until it's out. Thank you MSA.