Top 3 Mistakes Fighters Make In Fight Camps
I have been working as a combat sport nutritionist for around 3 years now and I have seen tons of mistakes.
These mistakes are often made because fighters think they are doing the right thing or they have received poor information from the wrong people or places, which leads them into these mistakes.
The funny thing is that most of these mistakes are doing more harm than you think and are totally avoidable with the right plan in place.
So lets get into it…
#1 Eating too much protein 🍖
Most fighters are programmed to fixate on their protein intake when they start to improve their nutrition and whilst this can help, it may actually be negatively impacting you more than you think.
When people put too much focus on one thing, they let other things slip. The other thing in this case is carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates often get pushed to the back and forgotten about when they really should be on the same level as protein.
Let’s say you have 2000 kcals to work with each day and 1000 kcals are coming from protein. That does not leave you with enough room for carbohydrates and fats.
There is a ceiling with protein. Once you hit that ceiling or go beyond it, you will not get any additional benefits.
Protein requirements are as follows:
If you are losing weight and in camp, you need to hit 2 g per kg of body weight. A 70 kg athlete will need around 140 g.
If you are out of camp and not losing weight, you can bring this down to around 1.6 g per kg of body weight. A 70 kg athlete will need around 115 g.
#2 Not eating enough carbs 🍚
As mentioned before, carbohydrates are what fuel your training sessions, give you energy, and enhance your recovery. Without the right amount of carbs, you will feel flat and you will not have the drive or ability to hit high intensities in training.
In my opinion, this is the quickest strategy to see improvements in your training. Most other nutrition strategies take a while to really settle in. Simply adding more carbohydrates before training and in your meals will allow you to see benefits almost straight away.
This is why it is important to track your carbohydrate intake. Most fighters only focus on calories and protein and think they can get away with it. If you think you are eating enough carbs, you can probably fit more in.
You might be scared of an increase in scale weight but honestly, give it a few days and your body will find balance. You will not see it affect the scale long term.
Carbohydrate targets in camp should be between 3 and 8 g per kg of body weight.
A 70 kg athlete should be consuming between 210 g and 560 g.
Carbohydrate intake is highly dependent on how much weight you need to lose in camp.
#3 Worrying about small things 👌
A few examples include
Weight going up by 0.1 kg compared to yesterday’s weigh in
Not weighing food exactly to the gram
Skipping a step in a recipe
Forgetting to take supplements for a day
Waking up five minutes late
I could think of 100 more examples but you get the idea. Worrying about small things will drain the life out of you.
If you are consistently hitting your calories and macros, staying hydrated, timing meals well, sleeping properly, and feeling great, then stressing over fine details will do more harm than good. Focus on the big picture of your nutrition and fight camp, not the tiny details that probably have very little impact.
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