Nutrition
Matt Fellingham is able to provide advice on what your child should eat before, during and after training and matches.
Preparing to play
The principles of taking food and fluid when you are getting ready to play
Tips for good preparation
• Your basic day to day good balanced diet is important to provide energy and health.
• Make sure you have practiced your eating and drinking routines during training so that your are used to the routine before a tournament.
• Eat plenty of carbohydrates in the last 2 - 3 days before the competition, particularly the starchy carbohydrates in bread, potatoes, pasta and rice.
• If you are staying away from home make sure you have the right food – ask for extra bread if you are concerned!
Morning Match
First match in the morning
Start with a light, high carbohydrate
breakfast:
• Fruit juice or fresh fruit
• Cereal or porridge with semi-skimmed milk
• Toast or bread with jam, marmalade, marmite or honey
• A drink e.g. squash, water, isotonic drink
Mid-day Match
First match at mid-day
Start with a light, high carbohydrate
breakfast and also have a mid-morning
high-energy snack:
• Fresh fruit, dried fruit or cereal bar
• A drink e.g. squash, water, isotonic drink
Afternoon Match
First match in the afternoon
Start with a light, high carbohydrate
breakfast and also have a mid-morning
high-energy snack. You will also need an
early, light mid-day meal:
• Sandwiches or rolls or pasta or rice salad
• Low fat yoghurt or fruit
• A drink e.g. squash, water, isotonic drink
If your match is delayed, keep yourself
topped up with fluids and eat small
snacks if time allows.
Fluids
Ensuring you are properly hydrated is one of the key points to ensure that you can perform well in any sport. Dehydration is common in sport. It is a disturbance in the balance of water and electrolytes (or salts) in your body. The disturbance means that your ability to tolerate exercise and perform well is reduced. The body cells are affected, the heart rate increases and your body finds it difficult to lose heat. By the time you feel thirsty your body is already dehydrated.
Importance of fluids
The amount of fluid you need will depend on how long you are exercising and how intense your game is. For instance, a long tennis match - over an hour - in a hot environment could increase the amount of fluid needed by a player from
2.5 litres per day to over 12 to 15 litres per day. You will need to make sure you drink more if you are exercising in a hot climate for a long period of time.
Finally, the important issue is to maintain fluid levels, but not to exceed them by drinking excessively. With a bit of practice you will find your own fluid balance to make sure that you are always adequately hydrated.
So fluids are important for you to understand!
What are the fluids you need in tennis?
• There are obviously a huge variety of different fluids, but in terms of sports performance some are better for you than others.
• Water and sports (isotonic) drinks are the most useful during sport. There are a number of different ones and you need to find one which you like and which suits you – they vary in taste.
• It is possible to make your own isotonic drink, but you need to know what to put in it. This should be 6-8 g of glucose powder for every 100ml of water, together with 1/5 teaspoon of salt. You could dilute ordinary squash (1 part squash to 4 or 5 parts water) and then add the salt. Take care not to add too much salt or glucose if you choose to make your own.
• Some normal soft drinks have much higher levels of sugar than isotonic drinks. Too much sugar hampers the body’s ability to absorb fluid so you may not be making the most of the fluids you drink. Dilute squashes are a good drink to have as they provide plenty of fluid with a little sugar.
When should you drink?
Regularly throughout the day and in different amounts during hot or cold weather because your ‘sweat rate’ will change.
Before exercise
• 500 ml to 1 litre is needed two hours before exercise (so that your body can absorb it), with another 300-600 mls 10-15 minutes before you play. This is so that your body can maintain a lower temperature and lower heart rate during exercise and that you can start playing with a fluid ‘surplus’.
During exercise
• It is important to keep up the fluid levels throughout a match or practice.
• Try to take 100-150 mls (about 4-8 mouthfuls) every 10-15 minutes – and always after the warm up and during every changeover. You will need to drink more in very hot weather when you could leave a bottle at the back of the court.
• Try to keep your drink cool if possible.
• If the match or practice is only up to an hour then water would be sufficient, but after an hour the fluid should be the isotonic drink described previously.
After exercise
• Rehydrating yourself after exercise is very important too. In fact, the most important time to do this is in the two hours after heavy exercises. A simple indicator of your level of hydration is the colour of your urine which should always be pale straw in colour. If it is much darker then your body needs more fluids.
Examples of a balanced meal
Here are some suggestions for different meals which would ensure a balanced diet and give you a good base for sport.
Remember:
• there are alternatives – don’t eat what you don’t like!
• the importance of balance in your diet – some carbohydrates, some protein and some fat as well as fruit and vegetables
• enjoy your food!
Breakfast
•Fresh fruit or fruit juice
•Cereal or porridge with semi skimmed milk (add a banana or dried fruit)
•Toast or bread with jam, honey or marmalade
or
•Pancake, crumpets or bagels
or
•Beans on toast
•Yoghurt or fromage frais
•Water, squash, tea/coffee or milk
Lunch
•Soup with bread
•Rolls, sandwiches filled with either lean meat, chicken, fish, egg, cheese or •Pizza
and/or
•Salad with pasta or rice and chicken, tuna etc.
and/or
•Jacket potato with baked beans, cheese, tuna etc.
and/or
•Tinned spaghetti on toast, salad and bread rolls
For dessert a selection from
•Malt loaf, banana bread, fruit cake, fresh, tinned or dried fruit
•Scones, biscuits, fig rolls
•Yoghurt, fromage frais, custard, rice pudding
•Fruit juice, squash, milk
Dinner
Your selection should include:
•For protein – either fish, lean meat, poultry, eggs, cheese or a vegetarian alternative
•For carbohydrate – a large helping of pasta, rice, potato and/or bread and plenty of vegetables, try them hot, with a salad or raw
Energy boosting main meals could be from:
•Pasta with tomato based sauce, melted cheese, lean meat or fish
•Stir fry chicken or beef with vegetables and noodles
•Lasagne with crusty bread and salad
•Rice with assorted vegetables and ham
•Tuna fish risotto
•Shepherds Pie with mashed potato
•Lean meat or chicken with boiled or jacket potatoes and vegetables
Energy boosting desserts could be from:
•Rice pudding or other milk pudding made from low fat milk and dried fruit
•Fruit crumble and custard
•Bananas or tinned fruit and custard
•Bread and butter pudding
•Sweet filled pancakes
•Yoghurt or fromage frais
Recovery
Food
• If you can take solid food, begin taking high energy snacks as soon as possible and certainly within 20-30 minutes of play. You might find it difficult to eat then, but you must at least start drinking a sports drink or diluted squash straight after the match or practice.
• Try to eat something as soon as you are able, to replenish your energy stores.
• Research shows that your body needs carbohydrates and protein to help the muscle tissue repair and it needs it quickly. You should eat a meal within 4 hours of your match or practice.
Fluid
• To recover quickly you will need fluid and electrolyte (salt) replacement –
that means:
1) You can choose isotonic drinks or make your own as described earlier.
Try to drink at least a litre of fluid.
2) Complete recovery needs 50% more fluid than the amount you have lost during exercise and this is needed within 24 hours. You need to make a conscious effort to drink plenty to replenish your fluid levels.
Shower
• Research shows that after a cool down, a hot and cold shower helps recovery.
Sleep
• You need to ensure that you have a regular sleep pattern – this means regular bedtimes and getting up times and a full night’s sleep.
• You can help this by avoiding caffeine in tea, coffee, chocolate and carbonated drinks and large meals just before you go to bed.
Rest
• Make sure you rest after a match.
• Work with your coach to plan an annual and weekly timetable. It is then much easier to ensure that you have sufficient rest between practice and competition.
Rest is a vital part of any training and competitive programme. The player who has a good programme and who has rest periods will play with more energy.
