Depending on your sport, you should be able to enter the game with enough stored energy for a full 60 minutes. Two big points of focus when it gets close to game time? Carbs and water. With more than 2 hours before game time, I suggest having a more substantial meal. Most professional players choose to follow a high carbohydrate, moderate protein diet.
However many athletes have having great success following a low-carb approach to basketball nutrition such as the super effective targeted ketogenic diet. Professional basketball athletes will often dabble with very low carb or keto diets in the off-season to help them lose body fat fast without having to worry too much about the deleterious effects of in-season calorie and macro restriction.
All diets have negative and positive aspects. You need to find what works best for you. Don't worry, we're here to help you get your basketball nutrition on point! We'll also take a look at what some of your favorite pro basketball players eat. We hope your enjoy reading this ultimate guide to basketball nutrition. If you have any questions after you finish please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Please feel free to share this guide with your teammates. Most active basketball players will need to eat between and calories per day to fuel performance. A study by Silva et al, completed back in is still one of the best studies to date constructed to investigate the energy requirements of basketball players.
The study revealed that female high school athletes aged yrs have a daily energy expenditure of around 3, calories. Male high school athletes in this study were found to expend significantly more energy, burning through an average of calories per day [1].
These energy requirements are much higher than that of the average person who usually only requires between calories per day to maintain their current weight. Understanding the relationship between caloric intake and energy expenditure is very important for both weight management and performance on the basketball court. Basically if you consume LESS total energy than you burn you will lose weight. Of course nutrition for basketball players is much more complicated than just simply consuming the right amount of calories.
All calories are not created equal. Basketball players must be sure to consume the correct macronutrient fuel sources, such as carbs, fats and protein in the correct ratio in order to enhance both performance and recovery.
Macronutirent manipulation becomes even more important for basketball players who want to lose body fat while maintaining lean muscle mass. Carbohydrates are the preferred fuel source fo r basketball traini ng and games, however the body can use both proteins and fats for fuel. Carbohydrates found in grains bread, pasta, cereal , fruits and vegetables are the bodies preferred fuel source during basketball games and intense practice sessions [2]. When a basketball player eats carbohydrates it is stored inside the liver and muscle in the form of glycogen.
The average man stores around g of muscle glycogen that can be used as a fast burning fuel for exercise. The carbohydrate stored in the liver maintains blood glucose between meals. The liver stores between 75— g of carbohydrate, enough to maintain blood glucose during a hour fast.
After this point, in a carb depleted state, the body will begin to slowly turn to fats and protein for fuel. This process is known as gluconeogenesis. If carbohydrates are restricted for days on end the body will begin to produce ketones.
Basketball players can learn to adapt to using ketones as a primary fuel source by following a low-carb diet long term. Many professional basketball players use the ketogenic diet in the off-season to lose body-fat. There are many positives but also many drawbacks to following a low-carb approach to basketball nutrition, such as experiencing a long adaption period in which performance drops quite significantly [3]. However, a low-carb and keto approach tends to work well for recreational athletes who want to get lean fast and are not overly concerned about achieving top end performance.
The ketogenic diet can also provide recreational athletes many additional metabolic and health benefits. You can learn more about a low-carb approach to basketball nutrition in these articles:. A competitive basketball players who trains, lifts weights and plays most days of the week should be most concerned about eating adequate carbohydrates to keep muscle glycogen fuel stores topped up. Glycogen in the muscles is what will fuel explosive activities such as running the court, dunking, rebounding and playing intense defense.
You have probably experienced the feeling of a glycogen depleted state at some stage of your life. Stored glycogen becomes depleted after around minutes of high intensity basketball play. A competitive basketball player should ensure that they eat around g of carbohydrate per kg of lean body mass per day to ensure they should have plenty of stored glycogen to power them through a game. For example, an kg or pound basketball player would eat around g of carbohydrates per day to keep glycogen stores topped up.
Carbs contain 4 calories of energy per gram so in our example that kg player would need to consume between to calories worth of carbs per day. When competing in tournaments, eating that many carbohydrate in the form of food may not be an option, and in this case consuming a carbohydrate rich drink may help keep glycogen stores topped up.
Taking care of your carb intake will ensure you can go the distance. Bring on triple O. Milk brings protein and calcium. The meat provides proteins, vitamin B, iron, and zinc. Grains bring carbs and vitamin B-complex, and fruit and vegetables bring so-called protective vitamins A and C , precious minerals and protective substances like beta-carotene and bioflavonoids. The top basketball player also has to abandon many things, and unfortunately, the food is one of them.
If you skip any of the groups of food mentioned above, you risk lowering your chances for improvement. When I said that balancing meals requires a certain sacrifice, I was thinking about the so-called snack food or junk food. Many basketball coaches are desperate because of the secret consumption of such foods.
It means you can train more intensively and longer and replenish your depot faster. For a player weighing pounds, it would be g of carbohydrates per day. In that case, even junk food is okay. Because of the fast metabolism, protein consumption in basketball players should be higher than in regular people. The average recommendation for younger players in development is 0. How to eat all that protein? Well, if you eat something meaty but not greasy 3 times a day and something milky no cream and fat cheeses 3 times a day, that would be it.
Fat is responsible for the transfer of some vitamins A, D, E, K , skin elasticity, protection against infections and ultimately as an important source of energy. Keep it around 0. The food with mostly healthy fats: almonds, nuts, seafood, peanuts, olive oil , etc. One of the essential vitamins are B Vitamins covers the metabolism of carbs the cycle of energy. If not, the problem is easily solved through supplementation.
As for the water and other fluids, basketball players absolutely need more than non-athletes; at least big glasses a day. Accelerated metabolism, intense exchange of nutrient and the rapid evacuation of waste materials toxins.
If you play outdoors in summer or a gym without air-conditioner, the required amount of water is doubled and sometimes even tripled. Depending on the time of the game, different snacks meet different needs. Here is a guide to choosing snacks based on game day and time. Many kids have early lunch periods during school, so they might start the game hungry.
A good after-school snack provides quality carbohydrates and protein for quick energy and a satisfied tummy. Consider packing your cooler with these nourishing options:.
0コメント