Over the past several weeks, we’ve received a number of nutrition-related questions. While those questions were answered in private, we thought “you know what, if one person needs an answer to it, others probably do too.”
To dive deeper into some of these questions, I’ve asked my friend and colleague - Darin Huslander (click on his name to follow Darin on Instagram) - to outline the practical implications.
But before we get into the details of today’s post, I wanted to share the following:
On February 14th, we’ll be releasing NEW sections of the High-Performance Preparation resource. There will be a nutrition section (courtesy of my man Darin!), along with some more detailed info pertaining to off-court programming for tennis players.
For more info about this release, sign up to our newsletter below (yes, we’ll be running a promo!).
Without further ado, here’s Darin with this week’s post:
1. If a player has about 30min between a gym session and an on-court session, what would be an optimal 'in-between' session meal/snack? And does it change if gym comes first and vice versa?
Well there are three factors we want to be sure we’re aware of here - glycogen (energy), electrolytes, and protein. With that much work, our energy stores will definitely be depleted and needing a quick refill. There will also be some sweat lost during the activity for sure, and we don’t want to worry about muscle sparing either, hence the need for protein. Note, while protein is important, it’s the lowest on the totem pole here as it can always be replenished later.
With that said, I’d start with a carb and electrolyte drink - such as a Gatorade - between sessions. Another option is mixing a dextrose (glycogen) powder and a protein powder at about a 4:1 ratio of dextrose to protein. This way, we are covering all of our bases.
The concern with more dense food such as bars and sandwiches is that the body might use energy breaking them down through digestion, etc, and that energy is better spent performing at our best on the tennis court! For this scenario, I think a carb/electrolyte drink is optimal regardless of which session comes first. However, I might be more lenient on a bar if the gym session came second since the body will be working slightly differently and can process the bar a bit more efficiently.
Here’s a great article that dives into this further: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/workout-nutrition-explained
2. What's your take on creatine supplementation for players that have matured physically (around the age of 16+)? Does the recommendation differ from male to female?
Creatine is an amino acid stored in skeletal muscle. The most valuable creatine research is in strength and power sports, and has little to no effect in endurance sports. Tennis is sort of in between, so we usually recommend trying it to see how it fits.
We recommend starting at 5g/day and moving up to 10g within 1-2 weeks. Creatine enhances physical performance and strength by increasing the number of times that ATP (which is fuel for muscles) can be recycled during activity.
Also to note, vegan and vegetarian athletes (or athletes that do not eat red meat) may have lower creatine levels.
About 20% of creatine users are deemed “non responders” and this can occur because they most likely already have a high enough dietary intake. If no benefit is seen, then it’s not worth continuing. I’d also discontinue 2-3 days before any tournaments to prevent any possible water retention, which is a known side effect, but has been vastly improved over the years in the process of creating the supplement.
Check out this journal article for more info on this topic: International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Creatine Supplementation and Exercise.
3. Have you seen good results with pickle juice or alternatives for both preventing and alleviating cramps? If so, what would your recommended intake be? If not, why not and what's a better/more sustainable solution?
Research from the now-infamous pickle juice study showed that cramps lasted about 50 seconds less when a small amount of pickle juice is consumed during a cramping session, or within 30 seconds of the cramps beginning. Speculation is that the vinegar in the pickle juice and the way it signals the brain is what causes the cramping to ease. Since most of us play some portion of tennis in a hot and humid environment each year, it’s certainly a research proven solution! However, it’s not necessarily the most palatable solution.
What I encourage our athletes to do is if they know they’re going to be in a hot and/or humid environment for their hitting, is the following:
1. Test it alongside something to make it more palatable, i.e. gatorade, juice, etc, and make sure the actual consumption of it is ok prior to a competitive scenario.
2. The second thing is to make sure you have some nearby. Remember, it’s not necessarily required to consume it during the match, rather ONLY if a cramping episode begins. And there really isn’t another proven way to deal with cramps compared to the magnitude this juice has. Remember the research has it at 1ml per bodyweight in kilograms as the recommended amount. For a 150lb athlete, that’s just a little over 2 ounces.
See this article for more on cramping - the whys, whens and hows: http://www.mattspoint.com/blog/muscle-cramps-in-tennis
4. If a player needs to gain some 'good' weight, what would be your recommended rate of increase (weekly)? Same question for a player carrying too much weight.
This is a person to person answer. Because there’s no bulletproof way to gain only muscle and not bring some fat alongside with it. Good weight gain we define as weight gain with ‘minimal’ fat gain. It can be done a number of ways. The real progression is weight gain followed by a light cut to shed any unwanted fat gained.
Some athletes prefer adding calories via things such as sandwiches, extra fruit, etc. We usually encourage different strategies such as fast eating, so that the calories can be consumed before any fullness signals are sent back down from the brain. Things like fruit, whole grain peanut butter sandwiches, and nuts (but never around a match) are all good ways of getting good calories in for weight gain.
Another solution is one which is more liquid based. We like different types of whole milk, chocolate milk, and dairy (if the dietary needs allow) as they are generally higher calorie, more easily digested calories but with a balance of omega 3s, protein, and carbs. We also like this solution as well because when we want to begin cutting any excess fat, it’s very easy to simply remove the liquids more so than the solids.
5. What’s your take on gels, bars and similar type products during matches?
As mentioned above, the two biggest things athletes need in tennis matches are carbs and electrolytes. Often we recommend liquids because it’s easy and convenient versus a bar or gel - and it’s not difficult to get all of the necessary energy/nutrients in liquid form. However, if some kids prefer a gel and the gel has a balance of electrolytes and fast digesting carbs (the gelatin that comprises the gel should allow the transport of the carbs to the bloodstream so little to no digestive processes actually take place), then by all means it’s a decent option to work with.
6. What's a good in-training drink (on-court and/or fitness) for young juniors? Does duration, environment change this? If so, in what way?
The biggest thing with young juniors we see is the tendency to under hydrate. This can directly affect their on court performance. With them being juniors still, things like the metabolic adaptations of a carb drink etc., aren’t as high of a priority as hydration since juniors can have adult level water losses during tennis and most don’t realize it.
We usually recommend the following: 2 Cups the night before, 2 Cups the morning of, 2-4 Cups within an hour of exercise and 1-2 cups within 20 minutes of exercise starting. Now when we tell most kids that, a “whoa!” usually follows. But this is more or less adapted to what science says about athlete hydration and goes to show why most juniors under hydrate themselves. We also recommend 2-4 cups of a carb + electrolyte hydration drink during a match. And for those that sweat a lot more or those with a history of cramping, adding a pinch of salt to the water intake on the day of any hitting or matches is recommended.
Here’s a tremendous article that discusses it and shows the importance of fruits and vegetables in regard to hydration:
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-dehydration