One simple nutrition concept to increase energy, recovery & skate performance

How to use this article.

There's a lot here in this article and it might seem a bit overwhelming at first. To get the most out of it, I would first have a quick flick through the image below which summarises the article:

I would also download the "Essentials of Skateboarding Progression" ebook for free here and use the nutrition section to reference to as you go through the article.

Jobs to be done.

Everything you eat is made up of different combinations of nutrients or little tiny pieces of stuff that make that food a physical thing. You can think of these nutrients or pieces as little tools your body uses to get different jobs done.

For example, one nutrient tool might do the job of giving you energy for the tricks you do during your session, another might help your body with the job of recovering from the damage the slams and impact created.

By knowing what tools your body needs to do the jobs that help you skate, recover, feel energised and function on point, and what foods you can get these tools from, you can easily make better choices to give your body what it needs whilst still enjoying eating.

The toolz.

For the purpose of this video/article and to keep it simple I've outlined 6 main tools. Each tool also does much more than what I'm going to go over, but we're just going to talk about the jobs they do that will have the biggest impact on your skating and how you feel.

Protein

Protein's main job are helping you recover from the damage you accumulate during your session. It's also involved in helping you maintain muscle because if you don't get enough protein from your diet, your body will break down other healthy muscle/tissue to get the tools it needs, aka turning you into a flappy sack of bones and skin.

Click here for a full video/article on protein and skateboarding.

Carbs

Carbohydrate's main jobs are giving you energy for more high powered movements like doing tricks, running onto your board or punching a seagull.

It's also essential for recovery as it provides energy for the actual repair process of the damage your session built up.

Click here for a full video/article on carbohydrates and skateboarding.

Water & salt

Water and salt are essential for pretty much everything functioning in your body, but just think skate performance, fatigue reduction, preventing overheating and just keeping all the other systems the other tools rely on functioning on point.

Click here for a full video/article on water, salt and skateboarding.

Fat

Although fat powers more low intensity movements like pushing around, resting inbetween tricks, your fat stores are so large they aren't going to run out (no I'm not calling you fat, this applies to everyone).

So for fat just think skate performance by keeping your body functioning on point, along with helping you absorb certain vitamins.

Click here for a full video/article on fat and skateboarding.

Micronutrients

For micronutrients also just think skate performance by keeping your body functioning on point.

Click here for a full video/article on micronutrients and skateboarding.

When you need each tool.

What's more important than anything is you get enough of each tool throughout the day for you personally. People stress about timing of specific nutrients, but it's only important in a few situations.

Pre-sesh

After your sessions you want to think water, and potentially carbs, protein and salt if you've gone for a long session and haven't eaten a proper meal for many hours.

Click here for a full video/article on pre-skate nutrition

Mid-sesh

For sessions up to 60-90 mins long, just think water. For sessions longer than this you're going to want to add some carbs and salt, and if you want to be an absolute skate-nutrition beast, a bit of protein too.

Adding carbs periodically throughout your sessions from the start of your session has been shown to prolong fatigue, meaning longer sessions at a higher level of skating.

Click here for a full video/article on mid-skate nutrition

Post-sesh

In most cases, if you ate a proper meal before your session and haven't had a really long one, you just need to focus on rehydrating, and eating as normal throughout the rest of the day.

If you're planning on going for another session or working out again within 24 hours, then getting in some carbohydrates as soon as possible will help you restock your energy tank, so you start your next session with a more fully stocked tank.

If you didn't eat before before you might benefit from getting in a full meal straight after your session.

Click here for a full video/article on post-skate nutrition

When to mix up the amounts of each tool.

So for protein, water, salt, and micronutrients you don't want to goo below what's baseline for you personally. To figure out what "baseline" is for you, you can check out this video/article.

Long, intense sessions, along with ones with a lot of slams and impact are going to require more recovery and therefore more protein, carbs and fat.

The opposite is true for lower intensity sessions, where you won't need as many carbs or fats.

Water and salt needs are going to go up during long, sweaty sessions.

I know this sounds really complex, but check the article I just mentioned and it will break this all down in an easy way that's easy to implement.

Outro.

Alright a quick summary before we get to some recommendations on how you can implemet all this stuff:

• Your carb and fat need goes up or down depending on activity level - long, heavy sessions with lots of slams and impact need more of these tools, especially carbs.

• Protein is essential for recovery and muscle maintenance and you’re probably not getting enough of it. After heavier sessions, lots of impact or slams, you’ll probably benefit from slightly upping your protein for about 24-48 hours.

• What you eat and drink throughout the day and what you’re consuming most of the time is way more important than timing.

• If you eat a wide variety of all the tools above and go for mainly whole, minimally processed options, you’ll massively increase the chances of getting the nutrients and tools you need. 

Next steps.

If you're feeling overwhelmed right now thinking how the fudgeflap are you going to implement all this, well, relax and try some of these simple steps.

1. First figure out how much of each tool you personally need (using this article or the Essentials of Skate Progression ebook)

2. Learn which foods are high in which tools (by checking the links above) so you can create solid meals without thinking much about it. For me now when I’m building a meal, I just think ok what foods do I like from each category, and just make sure my plate has all of them.

3. Make a tiny change in your diet (don’t do it all at once). For example, try adding or increasing one tool in your diet, trial it for a couple of weeks and build on top of it from there.

Let me know if you have any questions or need help with anything on this page via the contact page, or sending me a DM on The Daily Push Instagram.

Matt