It is usually said that health is like a stool composed of 3 legs, which are Nutrition, Exercise and Rest. I always like adding one more leg since, especially today it is fundamental, and this is the Emotional management. Regardless of whether we do Crossfit Or no, nutrition forms one of these pillars. If this "paw" laziness, the stool falls, as with any of the other "legs" mentioned. Now, by practicing training tan plaintiffs such as those made in Crossfit, the Food charges a much more relevant role. Above all, the more intensity, training volume or more advanced we are in this discipline, the greater the importance of being well fed. There is no single food that is essential in the diet of a crossfitter or crossfitera. After all, it is a mostly nutritious food compendium that will make us pay in the WOD and recover in the most optimal way.

Without health there is no performance

What should I include in my diet if I practice crossfit?

Proteins, a basic in the diet crossfit

The recommended daily amount (CDR) of protein according to WHO of 0.8 to 1 g / kg weight / day has often been questioned. That a low consumption, even a bit below that minimum CDR can be feasible to survive, does not mean that it is the most optimal. In addition, those Recommendations are based on sedentary population, when at sports protein requirements increase considerably. The most important thing is that we ensure that we are contributing enough protein, this being between 1.6-2.4 g/kg Weight/day, depending on the athlete, objective, phase of the season and body composition. Now, apart from the quantity, the quality of that protein is also important. We must incorporate into our diet high biological value protein, that is, complete protein containing all essential amino acids. The best complete protein sources are mainly of animal origin such as meats, the Fish, he seafood, the eggs or dairy products but we also find it in plant foods as soybeans and its derivatives, being of great quality protein the Tofu and the Tempeh. On the other hand, the seitan does not have so much protein quality. Where we can find more difficulty in covering these requirements of both quantity and quality is in the vegan population. But this does not mean that all essential amino acids cannot be obtained by performing this type of food. The key here is to know and make a good choice and combination of foods such as legumes, the cereals, the tubers, the Wife and seeds.

Proteins are a basic food from an athlete who practices crossfit

When making a vegan diet we must pay special attention to the *Limiting amino acids Like Metionine, being scarce in legumes, and above all, to lysine, since it is the limiting amino acid par excellence. It is enough to regularly consume foods such as soybeans and derivatives mentioned above, legumes such as lentils and chickpeas and pseudocereal such as quinoa. On the other hand, although the most relevant is the quantity and quality of the protein, the ‘Timing’ Or moments of that protein intake throughout the day it will also have some importance. He Chronobiological protein cast It should be between 2 to 4 equal parts during the day, increasing more parts especially if we do more than 1 daily training.

Fats, necessary and recommended

About fats, between a 20-40% of the daily caloric daily It is advisable to dedicate it to them since they exercise energy, structural, regulatory, hormonal, conveyor, thermal, protection, etc. functions. As for the improvement of body composition, people with a higher percentage of fat tend to have better results with a higher diet in fats than more “defined” people. This is very personal and will depend on the objective and the type of preparation we are carrying. It has also been possible to observe that women usually improve their body composition with somewhat higher fats in fat, and also usually do very well for a phobia theme to ingest this macronutrient and at the hormonal level and satiety. Now, Not all fats are the same. We must incorporate good sources into our diet, through our great Aove (extra virgin olive oil), Blue fish, whole dairy, fruits such as avocado or coconut, nuts and seeds.

Olive oil is a source of good fats. Apart from applying variety in our diet among all these foods mentioned, the key here is to ingest enough fatty acids Omega 3 and Omega 6 since they are essential. You have to pay special attention to the ratio that we are taking between these two. Until relatively recently, it has always been said dichotomously that Omega 3 played an anti -inflammatory role and the proinflammatory omega 6. This is not really like that. Today it is not known very well what the ideal ratio is but for the moment a 2: 1 ratio to 4: 1 In favor of omega 6 fatty acids. To contextualize more towards an athlete from Crossfit, I would opt on a personal level for the lower range since it will surely benefit us more in our performance for inflammation produced by being an exercise of very high intensity. Must Prioritize foods rich in Omega 3 as fish (especially blue water), seafood, hazelnuts, nuts, chia and linen seeds or even milk and egg.

Carbohydrates, the essential energy supply

The main function of carbohydrates in living beings is to contribute to storage and obtain energy immediately. That is, it has a fundamentally energy paper And little else. Therefore, we must bear in mind that the contribution of hydrates in our diet will be determined mainly by the protein and fat requirements that we have previously calculated, approximately. Not many people know that carbohydrate is the Unique of the 3 macronutrients that is not essential. Fats and protein are essential to live. This already gives us an approximate idea where the shots have to go in our diet, speaking in a general way. Of course, this does not mean that the hydrates are harmful or that we should not include them in our diet. The greater the intensity of physical activity, greater dependence on muscle glycogen that quickly becomes ATP, that is, energy. It is therefore Important adapt carbohydrate intake (in quantity and type) to the requirements of each sport or discipline. The type of training that is done in Crossfit, It is mainly HIIT style (high -intensity intervals training). This means that our body will demand a lot of the Glycolytic route, the path of carbohydrates.

How can you know how many carbohydrates do you need?

The Amount of hydrates to incorporate will depend a lot of the current body composition of each individual, of the volume and intensity of training, how their lifestyle and profession, whether it is an amateur athlete, advanced or elite, if it is in pre or post competition, or in different phases of body composition improvement, etc. What needs to be taken into account is that greater number of training, and above all, if they are several training on the same day or at a lower temporal space between each of them, it charges a lot More importance include hydrates to replace as soon as possible that spent glycogen, and thus be able to recover and perform more efficiently in the following training. Good sources of carbohydrates are Cereals, the pseudocereales Like quinoa, amaranth or sarracene wheat, legumes, the fruit and the tubers like the potato, sweet potato, sweet potato or cassava. We would also include honey.

Food in crossfit, Legumes and carbohydrates

There are another type of carbohydrates less interesting both in health and at the sports level, such as any type of ultraprocess and soft drinks. As expected, it would be advisable to reduce this type of products to the maximum.

Micronutrients and antioxidants

Our body when training (especially in excess) produces a Increased free radicals (ROS), very reactive molecules that produce the inevitable aging, cardiovascular diseases, tumors, degenerative diseases, diabetes, and ultimately, nothing good for our quality of life. To try to compensate for the damage caused by these molecules for the simple fact of breathing, there are food They can counteract negative effects that produce and prevent major evils. Therefore, at the end of the day we should not only make an examination of awareness about how many calories or macronutrients we have ingested, if not how many foods with antioxidant power we have included in our diet. For this, it is key that our dietary base we do through food, and try to avoid abusing ultraprocessed or supplements, which can accommodate in a healthy lifestyle of any crossfiter@, but knowing when, how much and why incorporate them. Content written by Fabio de laurentiis With the collaboration of Yaiza Perdiguero