Rock Climbing: Performance Nutrition

I'm back! Hello viewers, today I am here to teach you the best part about rock climbing or even the best part about anything, FOOD! Rock Climbing requires a lot of energy, and it exerts a ton of calories. Meaning, you need to eat the right foods and the right amount of them. "The foods and beverages you consume play a primary role in determining your mental acuity, physical performance output, and ability to recover from vigorous training or climbing." (Hörst 193) 

Protein

Protein is a major piece to a fantastic meal for rock climbing, in order for your body to build muscle, and repair body tissue, you need a good helping of protein in your diet. Some exceptional protein infused foods could be things such as bacon, eggs, steak, assorted nuts and much more. In the meal that I cooked, I used bacon and eggs as my protein. The book that I chose to use as my guide says this about proteins, "Protein has many functions in the body, including building and repairing of tissue, acting as a major component of the immune system, and making up enzymes, which facilitate every reaction that goes on in the body."(Hörst 194) This just goes to prove that protein is essential for your climbing diet. Now here are some pictures of me cooking up the protein portions of my breakfast.

Carbohydrates

Another key piece to obtaining the fuel you need to climb is carbohydrates, these give you short bursts of energy to do the climbs that you want to do. An example of an excellent carbohydrate is whole grain toast, to make the taste a little but better you can put pieces of avocado on it, or you can just put any type of spread that you like on it. "Although fat and protein can be used to provide energy, carbohydrate is the most efficient and effective source of energy for the muscle and brain."(Hörst 196) Carbohydrates will give the energy you need to do the hard climbs that you are performing. So make sure that you include carbohydrates in your next meal. Enjoy the next few pictures of me cooking the superb serving of carbohydrates to fuel me throughout the day. My whole grain toast is on the right in the toaster, and yes it is the same picture.

Water


Maybe one of the most important pieces to having outstanding nutrition is water, it keeps you going all day and keeps your body functioning throughout the body. When climbers are out climbing all day, it is natural to sweat, and when they do it drops there water percentage. You want to keep your water percentage as high as you can. In the book it explains how crucial your water consumption is, the book says, "even a 1 to 2 percent drop in water will cause problems in performance." (Hörst 198)
This just goes to show that water is so important to your nutrition. A common rule about water consumption says, you should never be thirsty, you should just be constantly drinking water. I try to live by this rule, although it never really works.

Now that you know the basics of what to eat, go out and try some new food combinations. Also, make sure you are balancing sweets and fats to your whole grains and lean meats. Nutrition can mean everything in climbing, so make sure you are aware of what you are eating.


Hörst, Eric J. Training for Climbing: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Climbing Performance. Guilford, CT: Falcon, 2003. Print. 


Question: How much water do you consume a day, and have you ever gotten a headache from not drinking enough water?