Planning your Competition Day Nutrition
By: Greg Schiltz MPH, RD, LDN
Overview
One of the things that sets Strongman apart from other sports is the unique competition day. 8 or more hours of stop and start action, often outside in the elements, coupled with anxiety, emotion, and adrenaline. Not to mention the fact that you may have been traveling, and potentially done a weight cut. It’s these special aspects of the sport that create distinct dietary needs from the lead-up to the meet through some time after. With all of these variables in mind it’s a good idea to have a plan for competition day fueling if you want to get the most out of your performance.
Optimal nutrition always requires an individualized approach, but this article will address some key basic concepts and give you some things to think about when planning your pre/during/post competition nutrition. I purposefully left out specifics on weight cutting and re-feeding as those will be covered in another article. As always, if you get stuck or can’t invest the time into thinking about this, consult with a qualified and experienced coach and/or dietitian.
Leading up to the competition:
Fueling for competition can start weeks in advance, where you can start training your stomach to handle what you might be throwing at it on competition day. For example, if you normally don’t eat until 10:00 AM in the morning but your competition starts at 9:00 AM, then you might be in for some gastro-intestinal “surprises” when you try and stuff down a big breakfast at 7:30 AM for the first time since you were in grade school and then hit max reps event. For at least 2 weeks beforehand, try to match your schedule on training days with your expected competition schedule, and include any foods you like to have on competition day.
More research related to “training the gut” suggests that eating a high carbohydrate diet for at least 4 weeks prior to competition might improve your ability to digest, absorb, and assimilate carbohydrates (1). This effect brings with it the possibility of reduced GI distress in response to food in the stomach before or during exercise. Either way it seems like a good idea to adopt a higher carbohydrate diet prior to competition if possible, and practice eating at least small amounts prior to, or during longer training bouts especially if this is new to you.
“You can train your stomach to process and handle food better in a competition setting.”
What you eat the day before the meet is also a factor to consider. First and foremost, stay away from any food that might have lingering effects on your stomach. Whether it is from a true intolerance or just that every time you have a specific food it puts you in a weird spot the next day. This is a challenge when you are traveling and options are limited, so pack “safe” meals to have the day and night before. It probably doesn’t need to be said, but stay away from sketchy food and food sources. Everyone has heard the story of the gas station sushi that ruined their friend’s competition, don’t be that person. I recommend going heavy on complex carbohydrate foods, think whole grains, dense starches, and starchy vegetables like potatoes. These should top off your glycogen stores, and bring enough fiber to keep you regular and blood sugar balanced going into the meet.
The morning of:
Competition fueling is all about controlling as many variables as you can and preventing negative consequences. If you have a pre-training routine and/or foods you like to have, bring them with you. Sure this is individualized and some people can go eat a random breakfast at a local restaurant and be just fine, but for many the inconsistency might throw off their stomach, if not their confidence. Even if you are comfortable placing your pre-competition meal in the hands of your hotel or local restaurant, still follow the “play it safe” mantra, and fight the temptation to overeat.
Below is a list of foods and practices known to contribute to acid reflux or indigestion. Since individuals vary, don’t restrict any of these that you know you can eat without a problem (2).
Dietary practices that may cause indigestion or heartburn
Eating large meals that leave you overly stuffed
Drinking with a straw
Laying down too soon after eating
Foods that may contribute to indigestion or heartburn
High fat foods like fatty meats, dishes made with lots of oil
Acidic foods like citrus fruits and tomatoes
Garlic, onions, and peppers
Chocolate
Peppermint
Carbonated beverages
Excessive caffeine
Additionally, think about start time for competition, and plan your mealtime according to your usual training/diet schedule. For instance, if you usually eat your breakfast and then train 2 hours later, try to time your first meal 2 hours before the lifting will start. Athletes tend to eat earlier than usual before meets, only to have their hunger kick in while warming up for the first event.
“Planning pre-competition meals is mostly about preventing negative consequences”
Pre-competition Meal Composition
Serving size: It should leave you feeling full and satisfied, not stuffed or still hungry. Recent research even suggests that having something in your stomach might be beneficial for performance, regardless of what type of food you are eating (3). However, this meal will be fueling your whole day of events, so you also want to pay attention to proper composition discussed below.
Carbohydrates: Carbs are needed to top off your glycogen stores and provide some lasting glucose availability through your meet. Foods that are most likely to do this are complex carbohydrates or starches such as whole grain items and starchy vegetables. A starting point of 1g/kg body weight of carbohydrate is recommended prior to resistance training bouts (4).
About ½ to ¾ of your pre-competition meal should consist of oatmeal, whole grain cereal (i.e. Raisin Bran), bagels, and potatoes. Remember to only include foods you are familiar training with.
Protein and Fat: These macronutrients are less important than carbs on competition day, but they still have a purpose.
A moderate amount of protein foods (20-30g or about ¼ of your meal) such as eggs, yogurt, or meats with a medium to low amount of fat and oil will help keep you feeling full and satisfied with stable blood sugar.
Hydration: This is highly dependent on the environment, but be sure to at least have a 16-24oz of fluid in you by an hour before your first event.
Below are some examples of actual pre-competition meals preferred by athletes. Note the presence of neutral carb sources and low to moderate fat protein.
During the competition:
The choice of eating small snacks through the competition or one big meal is an individual preference and often dependent on what you usually do, or how you feel on game day. It might also depend on the promoter and the specific show, as a long show with a lunch break would lend itself to having a decent sized lunch meal more than a fast-paced meet. Use your experience with how you normally like to train or from previous meets to guide your strategy of timing things out because the scientific reasoning for certain timing strategies pales in comparison to what feels the best for the athlete in this sport. Below I will break down food choices into macronutrients to help you decide on what foods you want to have available on meet day.
Carb sources - Walk around any meet and you will see all manner of candy, gummies, pastries, and other snack foods. Glucose is one of the primary fuels for most Strongman events (and all of those warm-up techniques and reps) so most athletes benefit from a higher carbohydrate diet during competition. From a technical standpoint, there is probably not a large advantage to consuming processed and simple sugars over more complex starches in Strongman compared to endurance sports where work is prolonged and repetitive. The relative work to rest ratio of Strongman allows plenty of time to assimilate carbs from most sources. However, it is still advised that with less than 4 hours of recovery time between bouts, that carbohydrate replenishment with high glycemic index (i.e. simple/processed) sources can be beneficial for resistance training, though the term “bout” likely implies more than one max effort set (4).
Further still, I recommend simple carb sources for most people for a couple reasons, digestibility and palatability. As discussed earlier, many athletes experience performance anxiety, which is often exacerbated by over-caffeination and general excitement, leading to GI disturbance and indigestion. A nervous stomach is much more likely to handle Pop Tarts or gummy bears than a baked potato and broccoli without generating significant unease. This leads to my next point that palatability encourages consumption, so highly processed, sugary, salty snacks might sound a lot better than the aforementioned potato meal.
The take home: Bring at least 3 simple carb sources with a variety of flavors and textures. For example, I like to have sour patch kids, pretzels, and Pop Tarts; one is sour, tangy and gummy, one is crunchy and salty, and one is sweet and soft. No matter what situation my stomach and brain are in, one of those 3 options is going to sound good. The best strategy for these is to go to the grocery store hungry, and see what you end up with.
Protein sources - Protein is primarily just for a change-of-pace from the carb foods, and to make you feel more full and satisfied. You can mix some protein into your snacks with jerky, deli meat, tuna pouches, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, or protein powder and bars. Or, you can have something like a deli sandwich if you feel like a full meal around lunch time.
Fat sources - Similar to protein, fat sources can help you feel full and satisfied or “settled,”as well as keep your blood sugars more stable. Nuts and seeds, such as in trail mix, work well, but also peanut butter or moderately fatty meat with your pre-comp or lunch meal should be sufficient, as there is no benefit to excessive fat in this instance but there is potential for an upset stomach.
Hydration: Staying hydrated is paramount and can be rather difficult in certain environments. I can recall some very, very hot and humid competitions where I felt that I had to be constantly drinking to maintain any level of hydration. Providing exact amounts to drink is difficult given all of the variables involved, but be sure to pack more water and beverages than you think you will need. Some event spaces have drinking fountains but you can’t be sure of their availability, or the palatability of the water, plus physically going to get some can discourage drinking. Bring sports drinks or flavor packs and have clean ice as well, since flavor, and temperature can make you drink more than plain water. Due to the high salt content of just about every food I have recommended so far, you probably do not need to be supplementing with any salt, however, it would not hurt to be safe and drink sports drinks especially if it is one of those hot days.
Foods to avoid: As a rule of thumb, only avoid or restrict foods if you either know you have a problem with them, or have not had them before or in a long time and are unsure. The main potentially avoidable consequences of certain foods beyond the aforementioned heartburn are gas, bloating, or bowel upset. Below is a list of foods that may contribute to these symptoms, especially when coupled with exercise.
Foods that can contribute to gas, bloating, and more GI consequences
High fiber foods
Vegetables and Fruits (especially large amounts)
Some protein bars and fortified “health” foods
Certain cereals (anything over about 3g of fiber per serving)
Gas forming foods
Beans and other legumes
Fermentable fruits and vegetables (FODMAPs)
Lactose
Sugar alcohols (sorbitol, maltitol, xylitol)
Some Protein bars
Gum
Sugar free candy
Sugar free condiments such as: syrups
Prunes and Prune Juice
After the competition:
Once the competition is over, you should shift your attention to protein as you enter the recovery phase. You no longer have a need for simple carbohydrate sources (and are likely sick of them), and you may have been limiting protein throughout the day, so make sure to have at least one significant source before bed. Be sure to continue to drink fluids afterwards as well. If it was a hot and sweaty one and you have the availability, try to weigh yourself after the meet, and replace each pound lost with 16oz of fluid.
For some athletes, it is paramount that you have a plan for post-competition, especially those who are more competitive, have another show in the near future, or had to do a weight cut for the competition, particularly a longer-term body fat cut vs. water depletion. Ideally, you will want to return to and maintain your training weight as soon as possible to prevent any potential detrimental effects of being in a deficit, but there is a tendency for athletes to rebound and overshoot. Post-meet emotions coupled with the lifting of dietary restrictions can set you up for disordered eating behaviors like binging or feeling out of control. This is why I highly recommend getting to your final weight (pre-water cut) at least 4 weeks before your competition so you are going into the meet with less restrictions, and returning to a sustainable maintenance diet afterwards for 4 weeks instead of back into a cut. As always, if you have concerns, consult a nutrition professional for guidance, and look for our Acute Water Manipulation article to come out in the near future.
One of the most important things you can do that is often ignored is to take notes on the outcomes of your strategies, or lack thereof, for next time. You may not feel like thinking about these things, but write them down because you will likely not remember them next time.
Some questions to ask:
Did I feel full and fueled for the events?
Did I experience any GI distress that I can relate to a food or drink choice?
What foods did I enjoy and/or made me feel good?
Were there any foods that I craved and wished I had with me?
“One of the smartest things you can do is take good notes about what worked and what did not for next time, individualized data like this is better than most research-based recommendations.”
Competition Checklist
Below is our competition checklist that includes examples of food choices to have with you as well as gear, clothing, and miscellaneous items you might forget during the hustle and bustle of packing.
Supportive gear
Knee/elbow sleeves
Wrist wraps
Straps
Belt/Belts
Gloves
Chalk (most comps have this, but some don’t. Either way it’s nice to have your own).
Tacky Towel and/or tacky when allowed
Warm-up gear - (bands or PVC, foam roller, theragun etc).
Shoes
Training shoes (We suggest a second pair for the ride home)
Olympic Lifting shoes if you use them
Other specialty shoes for certain events
Clothes
Shirts - bring several. It is nice to have clean shirts for events as sweat gets slippery. They may require you wear the comp shirt though
Bottoms (extra shorts and/or sweats)
Sweatshirt/sweatpants (weather dependent)
Towel
Miscellaneous
Sunscreen (if it has any chance of being outside)
Sunglasses (this is big, imagine trying to log press directly into the sun).
Camping Chairs (sitting on a hard floor all day is not good for performance)
Hand Sanitizer (trust me)
First Aid Kit - Bandaids, Athletic Tape, Second-Skin, Aesceptic wipes, instant ice packs, Athletic tape
Food
Lunch - Carb dominant, but still contains protein and fat in moderate amounts. Examples Below:
Deli sandwich, Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Rice and meat, Overnight oats
Snacks - Easily digested and palatable carbohydrate-based foods with various textures and flavors. Try to have at least 3 different types of food. Example below
Fruit
Bananas, Grapes, Watermelon, Anything dried
Candy
Sour Patch Kids, Gummy anything, Red licorice, Jelly Beans
Crunchy sweet
Graham Crackers, Rice Cakes, Trail mix, Cereal
Crunchy salty
Pretzels, Chips, Nuts, Rice cakes
Soft Sweet
Pop Tarts, Uncrustables, Cookies/pastries, Fig Newtons
Protein
Beef Jerky, Tuna pouches, Greek yogurt, Protein bars
Drinks
Gallon of water
Electrolytes
Gatorade/Powerade/Pedialyte (Powder packets are convenient for travel)
Caffeine source (If you plan to use it)
Ice (to keep cooler cold and to put in drinks)
References
De Oliviera, E.P., Burini, R.C., Jeukendrup, A. Gastrointestinal Complaints During Exercise: Prevalence, Etiology, and Nutritional Recommendations. (2014). Sports Med; 44(Suppl 1): 79–85.
Newberry, C., Lynch, K. The role of diet in the development and management of gastroesophageal reflux disease: why we feel the burn. (2019). J Thorac Dis. Aug; 11(Suppl 12): S1594–S1601.
Naharudin, M. N., Yusof, A., Clayton, D. J., & James, L. J. (2021). Starving Your Performance? Reduced Preexercise Hunger Increases Resistance Exercise Performance. Intl jrnl of sports physio and perf, 1–7. Advance online publication.
Kerksick, C.M. et al. International society of sports nutrition position stand: nutrient timing. (2017). JISSN, 14:33
