Key Topics Covered
Avoid doing things that make you feel worse
- Focus on foods you know and tolerate well and have practiced before around training
- Nailing your nutrition can mean that you perform the best you can on the day, maybe even adding an extra few kilos to your total
- BUT not fueling correctly can mean absolutely tanking on the day and running out of gas far too early – if you are going to pull a max deadlift at the end of a 5-8 hour day of lifting, you want to be well fueled and hydrated throughout
Focus on foods to fuel performance:
These are usually:
- High carb – Best source of energy
- Low fiber – Makes it easier to digest, which means less food sitting in your stomach
- Low/moderate protein – Try to keep it similar to your usual intake
- Low/moderate fat intake – Makes it easier to digest
So it is probably going to look a little different from your day to day nutrition
Consider low-FODMAP foods
- If GI distress is risk – low FODMAP foods on the day (and the day before) could help reduce the risk of this in some cases
- This is obviously not relevant for everybody but can be useful if you tend to have a bit of a nervous belly or are worried about an IBS flare up on the day
- This could look like going for:
- low FODMAP grains – rice and oats over bread products
- No onion, garlic
- Low FODMAP fruits and avoiding dried fruit, fruit juice
- Low lactose dairy products only etc.
- But don’t just reduce your carb intake! You still want a focus on high carb foods pre comp day and on comp day – might be best to consult with a sports dietitian

Caffeine
- 5-7mg/kg of caffeine per day is evidence based range prior to a 1RM
- It literally improves power production – the research shows as much as 3-4% improvement in 1RM
- 5-7mg would be 500-700mg for a 100kg athlete. This is a lot.
- 1x 500ml Monster is 160mg.
- 1x serve (usually 2x scoops) of pre-workout is often 300mg.
- 1x shot of coffee is ~80mg (but super variable)
- 1x NoDoz is 100mg.
- But a meet is typically 3-6 hours long which presents logistical challenges. Do you go higher than this? Are there downsides to going higher and drawing it out for longer?
- Caffeine peaks in your system after 30–60 minutes normally (quicker if using some techniques e.g. gum). If you have a multiple comps and feel tired later on, potentially “top it up”.
- This is a personal preference thing. Most people at some stage should probably try going this high to see if it helps. But it can be detrimental for some people.

Hydration
- Losing just 2% of your bodyweight through dehydration can lead to significant decreases in performance & cognitive function as well as increased perception of effort (hello warm ups and openers feeling harder than they should – leading to lack of confidence)
- So being hydrated is a no-brainer
- It becomes more complex if a weight cut has been done, since we want to then be factoring in fluid, electrolytes and carbohydrates
- This would probably be too in-depth for this podcast, but it was covered in Episode 16 on Nutrition for Making Weight
- General recommendations would be to have adequate fluid intake in the days leading up (unless actively doing a weight cut), hydrate well after weigh in, the morning of and sip on fluids throughout the day

Timing of food
- Timing of food can be based mostly on how you feel throughout the day since it is so variable
- But ideally breakfast is planned at time that suits the schedule e.g. maybe 2 hours before lifting (if it is a morning start)
- The first lot of caffeine 15 min before squat openers
- Snacks throughout squats, and then throughout the day.
- Top-up caffeine throughout the day.
- Then an easily digestible meal directly post bench press.
Common Snacks We Recommend
- Rice cakes and honey
- Muesli bars – I like LCMs, Cliff bars and FODBODS (low fibre, high carb)
- Lollies
- Muffins/finger buns/pikelets with jam
- Sports drink, full sugar energy drink
- Fruit if tolerated
- Rice pudding
- Fried rice
- White bread sandwiches or wraps

Useful Links/ Resources
Studies Mentioned
Related Blog Posts