Are you making the most of your nutrition?
Climbing requires a tremendous amount of focus, determination, and hard work. As such, your diet can and should be optimized to complement your efforts, provide your body with the tools for success, and make you feel good. The way in which we fuel ourselves season over season can be the difference-maker in achieving your ambitions. In this blog, I will break down the 5 mistakes I most commonly see amongst my clients and provide an introduction to combatting these prevalent detriments.
1 // Putting too much stock in body weight's influence on climbing performance
TW: Eating disorders
Climbing is a gravity-based sport, there’s no getting around that.
It’s easy to get into the mindset that lighter is always better. It’s not uncommon for athletes to have a perception of their ideal “send weight” or “race weight.” If you tell yourself you won’t send your project if you aren’t x weight, what do you think is going to happen? It can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. While someone in a larger body may see some performance enhancement with fat loss, provided it is safe to do so, one study in climbers (who were mostly in “normal” BMI category) found that body size did not have a direct impact on climbing performance. Years of experience and frequency of training were more correlated with climbing ability than BMI. There is also evidence that climbers tend to be smaller and have lower body fat than the general population, especially at the elite level. However, similar correlations exist in other sports in regards to body fat. These correlations may suggest the success of athletes comes from being light, or that the athletes are light due to their higher activity levels compared to the general population.
Pursuit of weight loss carries risk for eating disorders (ED) (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, etc.), which have the second-highest to highest mortality of all mental illnesses. A survey conducted in international rock climbers with a wide range of climbing ability found that 8.6% (n= 498) of male and female sport climbers had disordered eating tendencies. Further, 16.5% of female climbers in this study had disordered eating tendencies. Under-eating puts athletes at risk for not only disordered eating and ED, but also relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S). RED-S refers to having low energy availability, or simply put: under-eating. It can lead to a host of undesirable and potentially long-term side effects such as reduced athletic performance, decreased training response, reduced muscle and bone mass, gastrointestinal issues, weakened immune system, delayed/stunted growth in children, and much more.
“Eating enough throughout the entire day will boost energy for climbing, aid in recovery, and is more favorable to body composition.”
This is not to suggest that every person who pursues weight loss will develop an eating disorder or even worsen their relationship with food and body. However, given that dieting is a known risk factor for developing an ED, these risks should be taken seriously by athletes, coaches, and trainers, both in how personal fitness goals are approached and in how coaches/trainers give recommendations to their athletes. There are other ways to improve performance through nutrition including meal and snack frequency, improving nutrient density, meal/snack timing in relation to exercise, and incorporating strategies to improve the relationship between food and body.
2 // Under-Eating Carbohydrates
With the popularity of low-carb diets such as the ketogenic diet, which is often touted by supporters for its benefits such as weight loss, increased energy, and less “brain fog,” climbers may wonder if steering away from carbs may help them maintain energy levels and keep body fat down. However, the scientific literature is incredibly robust in support of a high carbohydrate diet for athletes to maximize performance and recovery.
Why? Carbohydrates are the primary fuel source for moderate to high intensity exercise. If you want a safe, effective, and inexpensive way to improve your climbing performance, the answer is likely to eat more carbs.
| Recommended Daily Carbohydrate Intake for Trained Athletes | |
| Type of Activity | Recommended Carb Intake, g/kg of body mass |
| Very-light training program (low-intensity or skill-based exercise) | 3g – 5g |
| Moderate-intensity training programs, 1 hr/day | 5g – 7g |
| Moderate to high intensity endurance exercise, 1-3 hrs/day | 6g – 10g |
| Moderate to high intensity exercise, 4-5 hrs/day | 8g – 12g |
For example: a 170 lb (77.3 kg) person climbing in the gym two days per week, at home hangboard/strength training once a week, and 2-3 days of cardio or other cross training (total training: 5-6 days a week for 1-3 hr) may need, at minimum, 5g/kg of body weight, which is 386 grams of carbohydrate per day. This is about 1545 kcal worth of carbohydrate. Yes, this is a lot of carbs!
Arguably, the amount of carbohydrates needed to maximize athletic performance is likely a non-intuitive amount, and it may take special attention to consume ideal amounts. Additionally, given this high amount of carbs, athletes can easily meet fiber needs from complex carbs (whole grains, legumes, fruit, and vegetables) while also incorporating simple carbs (cue common foods that often get dubbed as, “bad”) like juice, crackers, rice, sports beverage, and white-flour based foods.
3 // Inconsistent Eating Patterns
One of the most common nutritional issues athletes face is inconsistent eating patterns.
Often, this means eating light during the day and crushing the majority of food in the evening when hunger and cravings catch up. It’s easy to do for folks who have full schedules, and everyday distractions like work, school, gym, etc., can get in the way of us perceiving hunger. However, prioritizing your nutrition and eating enough throughout the entire day will boost energy for climbing, aid in recovery, and is more favorable to body composition by supporting muscle growth.
Ask yourself: Do you eat a robust breakfast, or do you rush out the door with merely a protein bar in hand? Do you have a plan in place for lunch, or do you just graze on whatever’s in the pantry while you work from home or snag something grab-and-go from the student union? Do you often forget a carb-containing snack at the gym or crag? Optimizing these meals and snacks is a great first step towards consistent, complete nutrition.
4 // Over-Reliance on Supplements
Supplements can be a convenient way to meet nutrition needs and give us an extra edge for performance. However, if you haven’t nailed the foundations of sports nutrition, tacking on multiple expensive supplements is unlikely to be very effective. If you’re strapped for cash but prioritizing multiple supplements over real food, there’s likely more effective ways to boost your nutrition.
Due to the supplement industry having different regulations than medications and food, the industry is unfortunately rife with ineffective and downright dangerous supplements. Make sure your supplements are third-party tested to ensure safety and efficacy. If you’d like to learn more about how to find a safe and effective supplement, check out this article.
5 // Intermittent Fasting to Get Stronger
Intermittent fasting (IF) is having a moment, for sure. But research shows it’s unhelpful for athletic performance, not superior for weight loss, and may actually slow metabolism. Fasted training isn’t all bad, however. If you have an easy, short workout first thing in the morning, fasting before may be totally fine. However, for active individuals, going prolonged periods of time without eating means missing out on opportunities for nutrient-dense foods that will help repair and rebuild muscle, while keeping glycogen stores (stored sugar) topped off. There is quite a bit of research that supports eating adequate amounts of protein regularly throughout the day maximizes muscle repair and growth. Consuming food with ample protein (20-40 g depending on the person), 3 to 4 times per day will stimulate more muscle growth than consuming the same amount of protein 1 to 2 times per day. See a deep dive into intermittent fasting and athletic performance here.
The internet is full of nutrition information that ranges from credible to downright dangerous. It can be tough to sift through all this noise, especially if you lack confidence in eating and/or are quick to jump on the next diet trend bandwagon.
Additionally, applying nutrition knowledge to actionable steps to better fuel yourself can be a difficult task. Working with a nutrition professional can help improve your eating habits, support your training, and maintain or improve your relationship with food.
Many climbers train so hard- don’t let nutrition be the reason you don’t send your projects.
By Hayden James
Owner of Satiate Nutrition
Hayden is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, runner, climber, and skier living in Salt Lake City. She owns Satiate Nutrition LLC, a sports nutrition and wellness company and social media platform. Through one-on-one coaching, meal guides, and race day fueling plans, Hayden helps clients feel empowered about fueling their sweaty endeavors and living well.
Learn more at www.satiatenutrition.net and find her on Instagram @satiatenutrition.
