Understanding The Importance Of Diet

The human body is composed of water, bones, muscles and fat. The proper and PERFECT BALANCE of all these components will give an athlete the edge when playing his game. If you are not at the right weight your performance will suffer.

Every athlete needs the perfect bodyweight to perfect this game. The human body is composed of water, bones, muscles and fat. The proper and perfect balance of all these components will give an athlete the edge when playing his game. If you are not at the right weight your performance will suffer.

I have seen athletes lose out in selections because of their heavier, pudgier look. As a nutrition coach I am constantly looking to enhance the performance of the sports person by trying to enable the best muscle-to-fat ratio in the body. Too much fat is like carrying a heavy boulder; it affects speed, agility and endurance. Only in the case of a sumo wrestler fat is useful in terms of weight.

Take sport such as boxing, wrestling, judo and karate, which are dependent on weight category, and even sport like cricket, hockey, football, tennis, squash and every other competition, they need an athlete to push the body which actually requires more muscle and less fat.

As I evaluate teenage athletes, I notice one startling fact. All sport, all ages and all genders will focus on equipment, coaching and trainers, but when it comes to food, everybody slacks off on the meals or nutrition.

Everything for an athlete is so strict and disciplined. From waking up to multiple sessions and then having no social life, there is so much rigid structure. Food is the only way to escape — to allow the body to relax, to allow cheating from a very disciplined life.

This has to change. If you want a better muscle and fat structure that ensures you can have the highest level of performance, day in and day out, you need to really get disciplined with food, right from the moment you open your eyes to the end of the day when your tired body hits the bed.