Powerlifting Meet day nutrition guide
Meet day nutrition is all about keeping it simple and the golden rule of “nothing new on meet day”. The goal is to stay fueled and fed without feeling overly full or eating anything that may cause any digestive distress during a stressful day.
Meet day nutrition priorities:
Eat foods you know sit well with you
Focus on easily digestible protein and low(er) fiber carbs
Avoiding having too much sugar too early to avoid crashing
Avoiding over caffienating and crashing
Hydrate! Bring water and electrolytes
Meet day macro snack formula:
protein + low-fiber carbs + minimal fats
Protein source ideas:
Protein powder
Jerky
Chicken
Protein bars *make sure they aren’t high in sugar alcohols and don’t cause any digestive distress*
Low-fiber carb ideas:
Applesauce packets
Rice cakes
Pretzels
Crackers
White rice
Snack ideas:
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Chicken and rice
Rx bars or other similar bars
Nutrition timing:
Morning of: Eat your usual pre-training meal/breakfast. Try to eat your usual amount, but know that you may not be as hungry due to pre-meet nerves. Hydrate and drink your usual caffeine (if you drink caffeine).
General warm up & squat warm up: Eat a small snack if you didn’t eat much at breakfast. Be sure to hydrate!
After squat event: Eat a small snack. Sip electrolytes and/or water.
After bench event: Eat a slightly bigger snack. Sip electrolytes and/or water.
Pre-deadlift: If you’re feeling tired due to the long day, have some sugar or candy here plus another dose of caffeine if needed.
A note on caffeine: try to have your usual amount of caffeine, at your usual time. If you need a little caffeine post later in the day, save it for right before bench or after bench and before deadlifts. Caffeine takes about one hour to become effective, so consider that with your caffeine timing. Avoid over-caffeinating! Too much caffeine will cause you to crash out too soon and leave you dragging by the time you get to deadlifts.
No matter what, do what works for you! If you need to test out some items, bring them with you to the gym and try them out during training. Remember, nothing new on meet day!
Wishing you white lights!