Improve Your Functional Fitness with These Six Nutrition Tips

Caffeine

Caffeine can help improve mental alertness, time to exhaustion and perception of pain. (5) This makes it an effective aid to help you get the best of each training session. However, it’s important not to overdo it and recommended that you do not consume more than 400mg at one time. (6) For context, a typical coffee contains around 90mg (depending on how it’s made) and a typical double espresso contains approximately 125mg. (7)

In order to get the biggest benefit from caffeine, it should be consumed 60 minutes prior to a workout. If you are sensitive to caffeine, you should avoid it in the afternoon as it has a long half-life (between 5 and 10 hours depending on the individual) and can affect sleep. (8)

Sources of caffeine include tea, coffee, green tea, diet soda and even some chocolate. You can also supplement caffeine, which may enable you to regulate your caffeine intake more accurately.

Supplement vitamin D during the winter

Vitamin D is a vitally important micronutrient with key roles in the body, including bone density and immune health. (9) However, dietary sources are sparse, and most of our vitamin D is absorbed from sunlight.

In winter months, this means we are at risk of being deficient so supplementing vitamin D during this time may help your immune system fight off any infectious germs that can reduce training time and knock you off your training plan. 10 micrograms of vitamin D per day during the winter should be enough to keep your levels topped up. (9)

Don’t drop carbohydrates too low

Carefully planning your carbohydrate intake can help optimise both your performance and body composition. Adapting your carbohydrate intake to suit your training is the best way to do this. (10)

For example, on days when you are working at a high intensity and training load, you want to eat more carbs. And on days when you have a lower training intensity, like a skill-based lifting session, you want to eat fewer carbs.

Avoid missing meals

Consuming regular meals throughout the day is important to fuel those all-important training sessions and ensure you are recovering properly. Making sure each of your meals contains an appropriate amount of protein is also important for many reasons.

Distributing protein throughout the day is the best way to build muscle, and for those focusing on body composition, regular doses of protein will also help manage appetite and total daily calorie intake. (1)

Regular meals will also help to periodise your carbohydrate intake around your training sessions. Regular meals containing a wide variety of different vegetables will also help reduce the risk of any micronutrient deficiencies.

Take Home Message

Following these nutrition fundamentals will enhance your functional fitness training, improve your exercise performance and help improve your body composition. These include consuming the appropriate amount of protein and carbohydrates, following a regular meal routine, staying hydrated and utilising effective supplements.

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