La diet is undoubtedly one of the pillars to improve both sports and aesthetic performance, thanks to the stimulus received from training.
Without the diet, most of the improvements your physique would make in response to training would be misused.
It is the diet that will provide all the essential nutrients to your body to recover from each training session and to develop.
In CrossFit®, unlike the bodybuilding, training sessions are not done on muscle groups, on alternate days.
CrossFit® workouts involve different muscles, which is why the recovery muscle is so important. So how can you improve your muscle recovery and performance? With a proper diet!
What should the diet be like in CrossFit®?
It is necessary ingest specific calories and nutrients in sufficient quantities to meet training needs.
With a good diet you can improve muscle recovery, decrease muscle pain and avoid that annoying feeling of tiredness.
Since CrossFit® training is usually quite intense, it is important to have pre and post workout meals, so that you have energy to perform the workout and then nutrients for recovery and the synthesis of new proteins.
In order for you to get an idea of what a correct diet might look like to have good results, here are some important tips for the right diet:
- Maintain good consumption of fruit: they are rich in antioxidants, fiber and carbohydrates that can provide energy for training and recovery;
- Ingest enough protein in all or almost all meals, especially pre and post training, it will help in recovery; furthermore, they can improve the force;
- Eat a good amount of carbohydrates: vary the amount according to your goal (to lose weight or gain mass, for example) and the type of carbohydrates depending on the time of day you consume them;
- To hire fibers: about 25-30g per day; for a good intestinal function and to promote a good intestinal microbiome;
- Consume good fat sources, as avocado, olive oil and walnuts. Always give preference to sources of omega 3, which have many benefits;
- Drink water in adequate quantity according to your weight, climate and training;
Supplements
Furthermore also consuming some supplements can lead to improvements!
Powdered protein, amino acid, and carbohydrate supplements can make getting these nutrients into your routine much easier; in some cases, consuming them during training can even promote further improvements!
There are also supplements that aim to improve physical and mental abilities. Usually, pre-workout supplements work like this: they generate physical and mental stimuli and work to reduce the perception of fatigue, allowing you to train more.
Some supplements that can be used in CrossFit® are: caffeine, creatine, beta-alanine and sodium bicarbonate, always under the observation of a doctor.
Physical results will begin to appear over time, so be patient! It is also necessary to have a good coach to guide you and organize your programming.
In this way, as you evolve, your physical capacity increases and your diet should also be modified to accompany this evolutionary process.
Rest
Having adequate rest is essential for the body to recover from training and be ready for the next ones. So, as already mentioned, the periodization of the training days should be very well worked out.
Have a good one sleep routine with quality rest it is very important; unfortunately most of the people fail to do this in everyday life.
During sleep, in addition to resting the body, hormones are released that help regulate the correct functioning of our body metabolism; this gives us better results, such as increased muscle mass and fat loss.
Lack of rest, poor diet, and excessive training can lead to overtraining, a condition you should avoid.