TBP 246: Nutrition Session with Climber to Improve Recovery and Performance (It Worked!)
Nov 8, 2023
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Alex Aguilar, a 28-year old climber, seeks nutrition advice to improve recovery and performance. They discuss optimizing energy levels, analyzing diet logs, and the importance of snacking. The hosts recommend supplements, discuss the impact of calorie intake on climbing sessions, and provide nutrition recommendations for recovery and performance. They emphasize the significance of electrolytes and balancing meals and snacks. Small dietary changes can lead to noticeable improvements in energy, recovery, and performance.
Balancing meals and evenly distributing caloric intake throughout the day can increase energy levels and improve sleep quality.
Adding more carbs to meals and snacks, particularly post-training, enhances endurance and reduces fatigue.
Proper nutrition, including balanced meals and meal planning, is crucial for climbing performance and recovery.
Deep dives
Implementing balanced meals and evening out caloric intake improved energy levels and sleep quality.
By implementing the suggestion to balance out meals and evenly distribute caloric intake throughout the day, Alex experienced increased energy levels and better sleep quality. He found that having larger dinners and smaller breakfasts, as well as incorporating snacks with balanced macros, helped him feel more energized throughout the day. Additionally, by reducing his coffee intake, he was able to sleep better and no longer relied on multiple cups of coffee to sustain his energy.
Optimizing nutrition positively impacted climbing performance and recovery.
Alex noticed significant improvements in his climbing performance and recovery after implementing the nutrition suggestions. By adding more carbs to his meals and snacks, particularly in post-training meals, he experienced enhanced endurance and reduced fatigue. He also found that timing his meals properly, including having a substantial lunch after training sessions, translated into better performance during climbing sessions. Overall, optimizing his nutrition allowed him to climb at his hardest level and respond positively to training without compromising his weight or body composition.
Small dietary changes produced significant positive results.
Despite the simplicity of the recommended dietary changes, such as adding more vegetables to meals and incorporating healthy snacks, Alex experienced remarkable benefits. These small adjustments resulted in improved energy levels, better sleep, enhanced endurance, and more successful climbing sessions. Alex's positive experience highlights the importance of fine-tuning nutrition and the significant impact it can have on overall performance and well-being.
Importance of Proper Nutrition for Climbing Performance
A key point discussed in the podcast is the importance of proper nutrition for climbing performance. The speaker emphasizes the need for balanced meals that include a good balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fats. They highlight the significance of fueling the body with enough calories to meet the demands of climbing and training. It is mentioned that many climbers tend to eat too little in an effort to lose weight, which can negatively impact energy levels, recovery, and performance. The podcast encourages climbers to listen to their bodies, eat enough to support their activity levels, and ensure they have a good balance of macronutrients.
Addressing Challenges in Meal Planning and Timing
Another main point discussed in the podcast is the importance of meal planning and timing to support climbing performance and recovery. The speaker mentions the need to prepare and pack meals in advance to ensure climbers have access to nutritious food throughout the day, especially when climbing or training for extended periods. They suggest incorporating more vegetables into meals, such as stir-fries, sandwiches, and breakfast options, to increase nutrient intake and promote satiety. Additionally, the speaker encourages climbers to be mindful of timing meals properly, such as consuming a well-balanced breakfast before training. Overall, the podcast emphasizes the significance of proper meal planning and timing to optimize energy, recovery, and performance for climbers.
In this episode I do a full nutrition session with a climber who has been struggling with poor recovery from climbing and training. I go through his diet log, ask him a bunch of questions to help me understand his situation, and give him really concrete suggestions to change small things about his diet. We then did a follow-up session at the end where he talks about how the changes helped his climbing (spoiler alert: he had some amazing success due to the diet changes!)
Alex Aguilar is a 28-year-old male climber from Keystone, Colorado, who was climbing every weekend outside in Rifle, Colorado. He was also training in the gym during the week. He was experiencing a lot of fatigue and muscle soreness and just not feeling great during his climbing sessions, so he wanted to see if nutrition could help him.
If you or anyone you know has similar issues (it’s common – it’s ok!), please listen to this episode because I really go in-depth with him and the changes we make to his diet are basically imperceptible. They are not difficult things to do, which is how I like to do things because it’s easy, sustainable, and doable. Here’s what Alex emailed me a few weeks after this session took place, and we’ll talk all about his results at the end of this episode.
Just wanted to send a follow up to our consult from a few weeks back. I have been feeling amazing! Recovering well from sessions, sleeping better, and have even skipped the coffee on a few mornings which is a rarity for me.
On top of that I made really quick progress on some limit routes for me and had my hardest flash in rifle this season. I have felt energized and ready to perform all day on my outdoor days.
It’s been so awesome feeling this good for the start of my fall season.
Thanks again,
Alex Aguilar
I hope you enjoy this episode!
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