I originally posted this blog in January 2014, but I think it's great to revisit the topic as we continue talking about nutrition for gymnasts.

I know, I know, carbohydrates are labeled as "evil" in a lot of popular diets these days, but before you write me off, hear me out! Carbs are actually an essential part of a gymnast's diet and should be included in moderate amounts. I recently came across an interesting research article on this issue. It was published in 2013, so it’s fairly new data, but the topic is one that’s not new at all in the world of sports nutrition: does carbohydrate intake during workouts help mitigate fatigue-related mistakes?

This question is usually applied to endurance sports that require a lot of energy to get through long races. Not so much the case in gymnastics, which lasts for a whopping 4 minutes of actual competition per athlete. So why the interest then? Although gymnastics isn’t an endurance sport, the long practices are physically demanding, not to mention mentally stressful (ya think?). Carbs are brain food, so it’s possible that eating or drinking something carb-rich during a long workout might help improve concentration.

Scientists in Brazil looked into this question and found some interesting results! The study involved two stages: first, researchers had gymnasts perform 5 rounds of a simple beam complex (involving handstands, cartwheels, split leaps, turns, etc.) either in a rested state or after a 20-minute exercise designed to induce fatigue. They found that the fatigued gymnasts fell more often. No big shock there, but it’s always good to have some evidence behind the seemingly obvious. On a separate day, the researchers performed the same protocol but let the “fatigue” group drink a sports drink before the beam complex. Results: if carbs were consumed, the fall rates were the same between the two groups of gymnasts! Now that’s interesting.

To be honest, the article is not particularly well-written, and there are some obvious flaws and holes in the research. BUT despite all of these flaws, I still think there are some valuable take-away messages to apply from the study.



Smart carbohydrate guidelines:
·   Coaches should offer gymnasts a snack break during long practices (> 3-3.5 hours). This is especially true for evening practices or those involving hard conditioning.

 ·    Gymnasts, choose your snacks wisely! Skip the candy and soda, and go for the good stuff instead. Examples include:
       - A handful of pretzels
        - Fruits such as grapes, orange slices, or a banana
       - ½ of a bagel with light cream cheese
        - A low-fat granola bar
       - 8 oz of a sports drink (ex: Gatorade, Powerade)
       - 4 oz of fruit juice

·   Within the first hour after a workout, eat a snack or meal that includes some form of carbs... this will help muscles start to recover from all that tough work! Examples include fruit, grains, cereals, milk and yogurt.

Related:
Body Image and Disordered Eating
Ideal Meal and Snack Timing
Nutrition's F-Word
Packing on Power With Protein
Nutrition During Injury Recovery