Nutrition guide for FITNESS

COMPETITIONS

A practical guide that provides you with the education, guidance and structure to

crush your weekend competition.

www.phnutrition.co.uk

Introduction

pH Nutrition | COMPETITION

Competing in a competition can be brutal on your body. As there are normally multiple WOD’s with short rest periods in between a slightly

altered approach to your nutrition is required.

Unless you have the luxury of being able to train multiple times a day then this will be shock to your body. We want you to enjoy the day and have the energy to push yourself to your limits to ensure you crush the

competition. 

We have put together a practical guide to help you not just survive the weekend but push all the way to the last event. 

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT THE WEEKEND IS THAT YOU ENJOY IT.

EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE

DON’T PUT TOO MUCH PRESSURE ON YOURSELF

GO CRUSH IT

The week leading into the competition

Pre and post event nutrition

What to do in between events

Recipes, meal prep, supplementation

THE GUIDE WILL COVER

The weeks leading into the competition

One thing we need to focus on for the competition…performance. This is not

the time to be thinking about using the workouts to improve body composition.

You need your energy levels to be fully stocked and ready to smash the

workouts. Ensuring your muscle and liver glycogen stores are optimal should

be a priority.

Carbohydrates are the preferred source of energy for repeated bouts of high

intensity exercise with the week leading into the competition being imperative

to fuel the tank.

DO NOT BE CHASING YOUR NUTRITION ON THE DAY

To perform well in a competition we need carbohydrates.

JUST THE RIGHT ONES IN THE RIGHT AMOUNTS AT THE RIGHT TIMES

We have all heard of carbohydrate loading….that huge meal the

night before to “give us the energy” to perform our best the next day.

However this is not the best option in our opinion. This is a sub optimal way to

get your glycogen levels fully stocked ready to go. You can only digest a

certain amount of food/carbohydrates in one sitting so why try and eat a

bucket load of carbs the day before the workout?! Furthermore it is sure fire

way to cause gastric distress and nobody wants to have their repeating on a

burpee!

Optimal nutrition doesn’t start on the night before. Plan the week and slowly

drip feed your body so you are fully stocked ready to go at the weekend.

This is best achieved by following the tips on the next few pages.

pH Nutrition | COMPETITION

Multiple workouts in one day followed by more the next?!?

We want to include as many ANTI inflammatory foods as possible and reduce the PRO inflammatory foods.

EAT THE RAINBOW. Getting your veggies in, with high quality protein sources and smart fats will give you the best chance to perform well

over the weekend. Save the pizza for Sunday evening

Week leading into the competition

The meal after your last intense training session of the week before you complete the workout should be higher in

carbohydrates and protein.

If the comp you are doing is on a Saturday then the last intense WOD might be a Wednesday

Post session

Drip feed your body carbohydrates during the week. Add an extra 20-30g of carbohydrates to each main meal on the two days before

you are going to compete

This will help you to recover from your weeks training and prevent the need to chase your nutrition towards the workout. This

doesn't give you license to overeat or choose rubbish food.

Drip feed

Anti inflammatory

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COMPETITION SET UP

Sample week

SAMPLE WEEK

MONDAY TRAINING NORMAL NUTRITION PLAN

TUESDAY MOVEMENT & MOBILITY NORMAL NUTRITION PLAN

WEDNESDAY TRAINING

POST WORKOUT MEAL TO CONTAIN 1G/KG/BW OF CARBOHYDRATES

AND 0.6G/KG/BW OF PROTEIN AND SMALL SERVING OF FATS.

ALL SUBSEQUENT MEALS - ADD EXTRA SERVING (20-30g) OF CARBOHYDRATES TO YOUR MEALS

THURSDAY TRAINING / RESTFOLLOW ADVICE ABOVE. ONLY EAT FOODS YOU HAVE EATEN BEFORE

FRIDAY MOVEMENT & MOBILITY

FOLLOW ADVICE ABOVE. ONLY EAT FOODS YOU HAVE EATEN BEFORE

SATURDAY COMP DAY COMP DAY NUTRITION ADVICE

SUNDAY COMP DAY COMP DAY NUTRITION ADVICE

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Preparing for competition day

As with any competition you are often based at the event for the whole day.

There may be some coffee stall selling some goodies or a meal prep company

providing some meals. What you need to do is PREP.

MEAL PREP

You should be cooking some of your own meals. If you are relying on

getting all of your meals from whats on offer at the

event you will be taking a huge risk in our opinion.

As seasoned CrossFitters we love a bit of

meal prep hey?! We know it is a chore but the

feeling of being fully prepared will take the decision

stress away from what and when to eat.

With regard to your meals try to focus on using -

➡ An easily digestible form of protein

➡ Some nutrient dense, low inflammatory carbohydrates

➡ Small portion of fats high in omega-3

➡ Low fibre vegetables and fruits

Practise your competition meals a

few times to acclimatise your

body

SNACK PREP

We do suggest trialling a few of the snack recipes before the competition and

recording how you feel. We would prefer you to have more food than you

need than be caught short and having to choose between a ginsters pasty or

a dairy milk honeycomb bar from the nearby newsagents. Use the snack

section for inspiration.

pH Nutrition | COMPETITION

Preparing for competition day

ONLY EAT SOMETHING YOU HAVE EATEN BEFORE.

Do not start experimenting on competition day!! In an ideal scenario you will be

raring to go with fully stocked energy levels so the key areas we need to focus

on here are -

Maximising energy production

Reducing fatigue

Increasing neurotransmitter production for optimal mental focus

Increase blood flow and oxygen transport

At pH Nutrition we are constantly trying to get people to eat more

vegetables. However on competition day we actually want to reduce veg

intake at SPECIFIC points.

WHY?

Well with such short amounts of time in between events we want to ensure we

are not delaying gastric emptying. We want the food we are eating to be

digested quickly and efficiently to fuel the next event. Fibrous foods such as

vegetables, beans, breads and pulses can slow down the time it takes for food

to be digested. If it hasn’t been digested - how the hell are we going to use it for

fuel!

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INCLUDE THESELIMIT THESE UNTIL EVENING

MEAL

White fish, chicken breast, turkey, tuna Beef, oily fish, fattier cuts of meat

Beetroot, tomatoes Broccoli and cauliflower

Spinach, courgette Beans

Potatoes Sprouts

White rice Barley

Quinoa Lentils

Rx BARS PRIMAL PANTRY PULSIN BARS

Preparing for competition day

To prep your meals you can use the recipe section but keeping it simple is the

easiest way. You will find that snacks and smoothies will make up the most

amount of your food intake as there is not a great deal of opportunity to get a

full meal in. So prepare 2 meals for the day.

SNACK IDEAS

Using pre made bars, fruit and smoothies alongside your meals is essential.

Making your own is so easy and taste a lot better. Recipes later in the

document.

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NO COOK MAIN MEALS SNACKS

Pre cooked chicken, uncle bens rice,

tomatoes, chipotle sauce

White fish, potato mash, spinach

Protein bars (high carb)

2 wraps, spinach, prawns, beetroot and

mint dip

Turkey breast mince, Thai green paste, white

rice, green beansDates and nuts

Tin of tuna, greek yoghurt, pesto, mixed

quinoa and rice packet

Tofu, quinoa, salsa, peppers

Fruit

Spanish. Omelette (buy from Tesco or M&S)

Chicken with sweet. potato wedges, beetroot

Smoothies and pancakes

COMPETITION DAY

Competition day

What to eat for breakfast is very individual. You should know what works best

for you in terms of fuelling pre workout. Some people work better with protein

and fats, some with more carbs. However a few things we would say everyone

needs to consider.

Don’t go into the first WOD fasted. Get up early and eat. It is a long

day and the food you eat will help you to recover over the day as

well as fuel the first event.

If you can’t stomach eating this early then using some form of liquid

nutrition is necessary. We recommend to keep it simple and using a

smoothie, shake or BCAA’s that you have used

before.

Supplementation

There is limited evidence for supplements that

have an acute effect on increasing

performance. You will of needed to have been

taking them for a number of weeks leading

into the competition. However caffeine,

BCAA’s, beetroot concentration and beta

alanine do have some research backed

benefits for decreasing fatigue, increasing

power output and supporting recovery. We

also advise using a carb powder during the

day to help refuel. This is covered later.

Hydration

You should be sipping on water all day. Hydration is an area that is often

overlooked but plays a CRUCIAL role in performing at your best. Try not to just

take on huge gulps intermittently. Try to keep large intakes away from meals

and sip in between. And no - coffee isn’t classed as part of your hydration

strategy!

Now you have had your first feed of the day it is time to get after it!!

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Recovery and in between evetns

SATURDAY PRE POST

EVENT 1Eggs with rye bread and

avocadoOvernight oats or smoothie

EVENT 2 Coconut water + grapesChicken and sweet pot mash

with spinach

EVENT 3 Rx bar Banana Pancake

EVENT 43 x rice cake with mixed berry jam and small amount of nut

butter + 30ml beet active Turkey fried rice

Eat a large dinner. Eat clean! NOTHING DEEP FRIED OR POOR QUALITY.

SAVE THAT FOR SUNDAY!!

Example - Salmon and crushed new potatoes with lots of veg

PRE BED Yoghurt and cherries with pumpkin seeds

In this section it is all about fuelling and refuelling. Recovery from the workout

you have finished and preparation for the rest of the competition.

On competition day a mix of liquid nutrition and solid meals is advised. Finding a

strategy that allows you to refuel, recover and fuel again is imperative to optimal

performance.

Now the size and structure of this will correlate with the intensity and duration of

the workout. Carbohydrates are your friend. Don’t be afraid of them. If you are,

you run the risk of underperforming. You may feel great on

day 1 but if you don’t refuel adequately then that assault

bike on day 2 will feel a whole lot harder!

Try to have a solid meal when you have the largest

break between WOD’s. Other times using a quality

recovery shake and smaller meals or snacks is crucial to

maximising performance. Your body will be in a state of

depletion on multiple levels. WE NEED TO FUEL THE TANK!

A simple strategy is to use 1 solid meal / snack

and 1 liquid meal in between each

event

pH Nutrition | COMPETITION

Post day 1 and day 2

Ah the feeling of day 1 being done  - euphoric from smashing the workouts but

the fear of having to go again tomorrow!

After all events are finished we want to lower inflammation, replenish energy

stores and induce healthy sleep. We suggest 2 balanced meals in the evening

of day 1. Try to space meals around 3 hours apart.

You need to minimise any pro inflammatory foods. After a day’s competition

stress hormones are elevated and muscle damage is high so demolishing that

family size bucket of KFC isn’t going to help. Resist…for…one….more….day.

Eating before bed is recommended to help lower stress hormones, boost

serotonin and induce quality sleep. It will also aid in taking advantage of the

spike in growth hormone in the first 30 minutes of sleep to support recovery. For

extra credit - take some epsom salts and eat your pre bed meal in the bath :)

EXAMPLE - DAY 2

This is very much a repeat of day 1 but you should listen to your body and assess

how you feel. Don’t change anything drastic but small changes are ok.

HYDRATION HYDRATION HYDRATION

SUNDAY PRE POST

EVENT 52 x pancake or overnight

oats

Half of smoothie + 40g cyclic

dextrin

EVENT 6Dates with 1 piece of fruit

and cahsew nutsHalf of smoothie and meal

FINAL If you made it - repeat event 6. If not…allllll the PIZZA :) 🍕

POST COMPETITION

In an ideal world we would love you to be eating some clean protein, nice

amount of carbs and some healthy fats. All homemade and full of nutrients.

However….our advice….if you leave nothing in tank - enjoy a big feed with your

teammates! Then read the post competition section.

pH Nutrition | COMPETITION

 

Here are 3 excellent products that will help you in the week leading into the competition as well as after.

If you need any further advice then please do not hesitate to contact us

Supplements

Excellent addition to help increase energy and aerobic performance.

Can take every day in the week leading into the comp and then use in between one of

the workouts on the competition day

BUY HERE - ENTER CODE PHN20 FOR 20 % OFF

BEET ACTIVE

Provides a source of energy for the body. Unique formula that has no sugar but very

easy to digest. Excellent source of carbohydrates to fuel workouts

BUY HERE - MAYBE BUY & SHARE WITH YOUR PARTNER

CYCLIC DEXTRIN

Intense exercise can elevate stress hormones and deplete minerals. Use this zinc and magnesium in the week leading

into the comp and the week after.

Immune function can be compromised after a competition with zinc being an

essential mineral to help with this

BUY HERE

ZMA

pH Nutrition | COMPETITION

POST COMPETITION

  

`Recipes

PINA COLADA SMOOTHIE

1 Small Banana 75g Frozen mango and pineapple 330ml Coconut water20g Vanilla Protein

APPLE PIE ENERGY BALLS

1 tbsp ground cinnamon½ tps ground nutmeg50g rolled oats 2 small apples sliced 10 pitted dates 75g almonds 50g peanut butter 1 scoop vanilla protein powder

15g flaxseed to roll in

Blitz apple and oats and dates in food processor until combined. Then

add rest of ingredients and blitz. Should look like a dry mixture. Roll into

balls. 50g serving

pH Nutrition | COMPETITION

 

`Recipes

BEETROOT BAR

75g Beetroot raw 10g Cacao Powder 10g Cinnamon ground 25g Honey raw 75g Oats rolled gluten free 100g Peanut butter wholegrain 25g Protein powder

Blitz in a food processor - Cut or roll into balls / bars. 75g serving

SWEET POTATO PANCAKES

1 Banana

250g Sweet potato 5g Cinnamon ground 1 Egg

20g Protein

1. Microwave sweet potato for 5 mins. Flip over and cook for 3 minutes

more.

2. Scoop out flesh once cooled and mash with banana

3. Then add egg, cinnamon and protein

4. Mix well with fork

5. Non stick pan dollop 4 pancakes and spread mixture. Cook on medium

heat for 5 minutes

6. Flip and cook for 3-4 mins

Can use some nut butter in between to make a little pancake sandwich :)

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TURKEY FRIED RICE

Great meal prep the weekend

SPANISH OMELETTE

Superb option for snack or intra comp meal

QUINOA SPINACH TABBOULEH

Make a batch and top with fish, meat or just have as is for a veggie option

SALMON AND BROCCOLI POTATO BAKE

Great option for post workout meal

`Recipes

pH Nutrition | COMPETITION

CHICKEN AND SWEET POT MASH

Good option for comp day meal

RECOVERY POST COMPETITION

Post competition recovery

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Lower training volume for upto 4 days after.

Nutrient dense foods to boost immune health.

Specific foods for recovery.

GLUTAMINE - Glutamine is a very important amino acid

that can be depleted during times of intense training or

competition. Glutamine also helps to repair the gut

which can be compromised after prolonged intense

training stress. Most importantly it helps to regulate and

boost immune function.

GLUTAMINEBUY HERE

This “open window” is evident in the post

workout period (more reason we want to

refuel after our workouts), but

additionally there is a “J” curve

relationship.

The more intense the stimulus the higher

the risk of getting ill. There is an acute

suppression of the immune system, but

as the open is 5 weeks and we are still

training this issue can accumulate.

We feel good, yeah feel strong….then BOOM...we get hit for 6 and go into the next

training cycle in a sub optimal state.

This is why it is essential to take a recovery week and allow for the body to adapt.

We often see an increase in illnesses after an intense training period or

competition. Heavy exercise can leave us susceptible to illness and infection.

Immune boosting foods

pH Nutrition | COMPETITION

Brazil nuts are high in the antioxidant

selenium and pumpkin seeds are very high

in zinc. Both nutrients support your body at

a cellular level, strengthening your immune

system

A powerhouse vegetable that is highly

nutrient- dense, broccoli is rich in

chlorophyll and contains other beneficial

nutrients like vitamin C, carotenoids and

phytonutrients.

Rich in antioxidant polyphenols and catechins,

green tea has been used as a health-promoting

beverage for centuries. Catechins have

antimicrobial properties and the antioxidants may

help reduce the effects of stress, in addition to

supporting immune function. stimulate the T cells

responsible for immune health, and aid in cellular

protection, pretty impressive stuff!

Not only are shitake mushrooms high in

amino acids, rich in B vitamins and are a

good source of vitamin D. They also contain

beta glucans and polysaccharides which

naturally improve the function of your T-cells

(immune system cells).

Now this is a proper superfood! This spice delivers a

wealth of phytonutrients and has been shown to

numerous benefits for overall health and

performance. The active compound in turmeric is

curcumin. This warrior can reduce oxidative stress,

stimulate the T cells responsible for immune health,

and aid in cellular protection, pretty impressive stuff!

Nutrients for recovery

pH Nutrition | COMPETITION

OMEGAS- Needed for cellular regeneration, lowering stress hormones,

muscle recovery, anti inflammatory, gut health and immune function.

Cholesterol is the pre-cursor to all hormones so get those fats in.

VITAMIN C - Converts proline to hydroxyproline - which is major

component to collagen. It also helps strengthen connective tissues that

have taken a beating during the open. Can help to lower stress hormones

such as cortisol.

VITAMIN D - Essential for muscle function, immune health and hormone

levels. Would recommend supplementing this also

ANTI-OXIDANTS - When we exercise we create inflammation and by

products that need to removed before we can return to optimal function.

This is the time to LOAD UP!!

Cherry active

pH Nutrition | COMPETITION

Cherries contain several natural components called anthocyanins which are

commonly known for their anti-inflammatory properties. It is these

anthocyanins that can help reduce inflammation and ease pain during and

after intensive exercise.  

Cherries use their anti-inflammatory properties to help collect and free the

body of its harmful free-radicals (inflammation) during training. This allows the

body to train harder for longer and lowers the oxidative stress on the body and

muscles.

Cherry Benefits

1.Reduce muscle soreness

2.Reduce oxidative stress

3.Reduce muscle damage

4.Improve cardiovascular performance

5.Reduce inflammation

6.Can ease pain

7.Help prolong training times

8.Faster recovery times

Cherries are also very good and have been shown to increase sleep quality and

duration. If you are able to sleep longer and of better quality your body

especially as an athlete can recovery and repair a lot more effectively and

efficiently.

BUY HERE & ENTER CODE PHN20 for 20% OFF

pH Nutrition | Fat Loss 2

ENQUIRE HEREENQUIRE HERE

If after the competition you are looking to get your nutrition on point ready for the next training phase then we have

our nutrition services to help you crush it.

PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO FIND OUT MORE

Now go crush it

Remember the biggest thing is to ENJOY the weekend

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