Combined with nutrition and energy, a well-balanced diet is essential for human beings. From satisfying your taste buds to boosting your everyday performance, food is one of the most essential parts of our lives. We, humans, are always on the hunt for food, and being a wise person, you should choose the healthiest option for yourself.
Your diet can either work for you or against you. Special tasks require special and good nutrition in the diet. If you aren’t eating right, you can never achieve your full potential.
Martial arts training needs a lot of mental focus, endurance, and energy. It is extremely important to follow a healthy and well-balanced diet plan to meet the mental and physical requirements of martial arts training.
If you want to move forward and reach your full potential, let’s pack all the right nutrition for you!
Important Nutrition In Foods For Your Martial Arts Training
Protein
Our muscles, tissues, blood cells, and most of our body organs are made up of protein. Protein can assist your body muscles in repairing, recovering, and growing faster. On average, most healthy adults require around 0.75g of protein per kilo of their body weight daily (45g for women or 55g for men). As a martial arts athlete, you should ensure that your protein intake doesn’t get any less than the recommended amounts, especially on the days you train.
Most athletes worldwide take protein from animal-based foods like eggs, fish, and meat, but if you are a vegan, you can add plant-based protein to your diet. Plant-based protein includes beans, broccoli, chickpeas, greens, lentils, nut butter, nuts, and seeds and peas.
Many brands around the world offer artificial protein supplements to fulfill protein deficiency.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates should make up the largest part of your diet which is 45 to 65% of the everyday calories. They’re found in pasta, rice, white bread, fruits, and many other foods. Balancing this particular aspect of nutrition in the diet can be a tricky subject for some. Its overconsumption is often considered unhealthy, especially when it comes to losing weight. However, carbs aren’t all bad! If consumed in a calculated way, they are an essential macronutrient, especially for martial art athletes.
Carbohydrates requirements for martial arts are not unlike other combat sports. Due to the high level of physical contact and the demands of intense physical training, consuming carbohydrate adequately is extremely crucial to creating a healthy diet for teenagers, especially martial artists. Since carbs are the main fuel required during high-intensity exercises, it is particularly important to consume CHO-rich foods pre- and post-workout to boost performance and recover from training.
Common naturally occurring sources of carbohydrates include sweet potatoes, beetroot, Corn, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, quinoa, brown rice, mangoes, dates, Raisins, oats, bananas, apples, goji berries, lentils, and many other foods.
Minerals
For any athlete, minerals should be a critical aspect when balancing nutrition in foods. People often assume minerals and vitamins are the same, but they are not. The major difference between them is that minerals are considered inorganic, whereas vitamins are considered organic. The food has the same minerals as copper and iron cookware or tools.
Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc, Phosphorus, Copper, Iron, Potassium, Selenium, and Manganese are some of the important minerals your body needs to function optimally. You can find all the essential minerals in nuts, leafy greens, beans and lentils, salmon, shellfish, seeds, wholegrain, milk, yogurts, tofu cheese, dark chocolate, and many more to boost your martial arts performance.
Vitamins
Martial artists push their bodies really hard to boost their performance, and their bodies may need a big boost to peak their full potential. The need for vitamins in the human body varies from person to person, but as a martial artist, it’s very important to take the right amount to maintain your best form. If your body is deprived of any vitamin, you may increase the risk of getting a disease. Worrying right? Let’s have a look at some essential vitamins with their good sources to help you enhance your martial art activities.
Vitamin A
Good sources: These include liver, cod liver oil, cheese carrots, eggs, broccoli, apricots, sweet potatoes, butter, milk, kale, spinach, pumpkins, cantaloupe melon, and collard greens.
Vitamin B1
Good sources: These include yeast, pork, kale, cereal grains, sunflower seeds, brown rice, asparagus, cauliflower, oranges, potatoes, liver, and eggs.
Vitamin B2
Good sources: These include persimmons, cottage cheese, okra, chard, milk, yogurt, meat, eggs, asparagus, bananas, fish, and green beans.
Vitamin B3
Good sources: Examples include salmon, milk, eggs, chicken, beef, tuna, tomatoes, leafy vegetables and seeds, broccoli, carrots, nuts, tofu, and lentils.
Vitamin B5
Good sources: These include whole grains, broccoli, meats, avocados, kale, and yogurt.
Vitamin B6
Good sources: These include squash beef liver, bananas, chickpeas, and nuts.
Vitamin B7
Good sources: These include egg yolk, cheese, spinach liver, and broccoli.
Vitamin B9
Good sources: These include legumes, liver, leafy vegetables, peas, sunflower seeds, and some fortified grain products.
Vitamin B12
Good sources: Examples include meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, fortified cereals, and fortified nutritional yeast. And fortified soy products.
Vitamin C
Good sources: These include vegetables and fruits but don’t cook as it drains out vitamin C from them.
Vitamin D
Good sources: Exposure to Sun for UV rays, Fatty fish, beef liver, eggs, and mushrooms
Vitamin E
Good sources: wheat germ, kiwis, eggs, nuts, almonds, leafy greens, and vegetable oils.
Vitamin K
Good sources: These include leafy greens, natto pumpkins, parsley, and figs
Healthy fats
There are two types of healthy fats, polyunsaturated fats, and monounsaturated fats. Both are essential for a healthy diet for teenagers, especially those who do martial arts.
All fats are very high in calories, and as an athlete, you must keep an eye on your portion size. Gaining weight from the fats may affect your training. Still, at the same time, you also shouldn’t try to eliminate the fats from your diet. This is because both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats assist in decreasing your bad cholesterol and leveling up your good cholesterol, decreasing the risk for heart disease.
Avocados, almonds, peanuts, olive and sunflower oil, seeds, fish, salmon, and tuna are some of the healthiest and most nutritious foods to add to your diet for better martial arts activities.
Water
Do you know that your body is 70% water? This implies the importance of staying adequately hydrated, especially for martial artists. Your body tends to lose fluids when you indulge in vigorous activities resulting in heavy sweating. Hydrating alongside your martial arts training is important to restore your natural hydration level. As an athlete, you should consider taking at least 4 liters of water. It not only quenches your thirst but also keeps your tissues moist, regulating the body’s temperature.
Prescribed water intake enables your body to throw out or excrete all the waste through urination, perspiration, and defecation. This explains how important adequate hydration is to keep you fit for your next martial arts kicks.
Wrap up!
It’s popularly said, “You are what you eat!” So, don’t get too harsh on yourself and deprive yourself of your favorite food, as it can result in frustration and anxiety. Customize each meal according to your taste and nutritional requirements, and you’ll be on your way to being the best! At the same time, if you’re looking for martial arts classes for yourself or a children’s Jiu-Jitsu institute for your child, Activolution Sports Academy has got you covered. You can check our service pages or contact us to learn more.