Meal Plan for a Gymnast

Gymnastics is a sport that requires a lot of physical activity and training sessions may involve a mixture of cardiovascular exercise and strength training so the gymnast needs to be adequately fuelled. Power to weight ratio is important: the gymnast needs to be light, agile and strong, so low levels of body fat are desirable.

In addition to several long periods of gymnastic practice per each week, gymnasts may compliment their training with both some weight training and cardiovascular workouts. A well-structured nutrition programme will help concentration and coordination during long, tiring training sessions.

Here's a sample meal plan which a gymnast could follow for a typical day:

This plan is based around sustained slow released low glycaemic carbohydrates to help provide energy for long exercise sessions and to promote recovery. The structure of food in the plan is to help replenish stores and help attain top physical fitness.

The above plan provides sufficient levels of all nutrients; however, the plan is merely a general guide, and there is no mention of portion sizes; adapt it to suit your own needs according to the amount of exercise you're doing, age, gender and lifestyle; males will generally require larger portions than females. You must eat a variety of different meats/fish/vegetarian protein foods, complex carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables every day, and drink plenty of water.