In ancient Greece, the Olympics were only open to men, but it didn’t mean women never engaged in sports. Around the same time as the first Olympics, it also hosted the Heraean games, named in honor of the Greek goddess Hera. From there, the fine line barring women athletes from becoming a thing disappeared until their first official participation in the 1900 Olympics in France.
Since then, female participation in the Olympics has been steadily growing to equal that of males. The 2020 Tokyo Games (postponed to mid-2021 due to COVID) would see the ratio of male and female athletes almost reach 1:1. The numbers were much closer three years ago during the 2018 Youth Olympics in Argentina.
More women are getting into sports, which isn’t surprising. Everyone’s familiar with names such as the Williams sisters, Ronda Rousey, and Alex Morgan, earning accolades in sports only limited to men in the past. It brings home the phrase ‘women can do what a man can.’
Whether it’s tennis or mixed martial arts, there’s no denying that preparation is critical. While men and women compete separately in most sports, it’s essential to maintain a competitive edge through training, diet, and sacrifices in between.
It’s okay if you’re not gunning for the Olympics, as these helpful nutrition tips for women athletes apply to any sporting event, big or small.
1. Build Up Key Nutrients
To handle the rigors of sports, building your nutrition portfolio is an ideal first step to take. Females need around 600 fewer calories than men but require 200 mg more calcium and 10 mg more iron. Strong bones and muscles are necessary for performing strenuous training, lest risk a career-ending injury before it even begins.
One essential nutrient often overlooked is iodine. The thyroid gland works to regulate muscle size, releasing hormones while the muscles are in action, but it needs iodine to keep working. A lack of iodine will force the thyroid gland to swell in an attempt to absorb as much as it can, which can lead to a goiter–a visible indication of poor health.
You can get enough iodine from table salt, in which a healthy diet provides between 30 and 77 µg. However, it’s easy to lose that much iodine through sweating during training and sporting events. Consider having supplements handy to maintain a working thyroid, in which you can visit the site to know more.
While women’s nutritional needs can be demanding, overeating isn’t the way to fulfill them. Many experts urge eating when hungry and stopping when full since often eating in small portions can ideally sustain you during training. This is why athletes work closely with sports dietitians.
2. Don’t Skip Leg Day
As brutal leg workouts are, skipping ‘leg day’ will result in more leg days ahead. The only instance that you should sit a leg day out is when you feel sick or injured. But after that, you have to devise a plan to make up for the lost time.
An athlete’s legs are vital assets, even when the sport won’t call for them much. The muscles that make up the legs are among the strongest and leanest in the human body, especially the quadriceps. Training these muscles through leg exercises provides a slew of benefits.
First, strong leg muscles help the athlete exert enough resistance, translating to more power for the core and upper body muscles. The extra oomph makes as much difference in sports that don’t use legs much (e.g., rowing, swimming) as sports that do (e.g., marathons). The muscles also provide a stable footing, which is a must for weightlifting and other high-resistance sports.
Second, as leg muscles are also the largest in the human body, leg workouts help keep their mass. Skipping leg days will make those muscles lose their density over time, and regaining them means an increased effort on your part. Many people who tried missing leg day say they ended up with a well-sculpted upper body but a rather skinny lower body.
3. Stay Fit Off-Season
Professional athletes often enjoy an off-season measured in weeks, which is plenty of time for their bodies to catch their breath. Although they usually don’t do intense training around this time, they fear resting for too long. Bernard Lagat, a professional long-distance runner, says that he’s worried about how a simple jog might feel harsher than usual once he returns to training.
While rest is essential, keeping fit in between sporting events is just as crucial. It’s possible to lose everything you’ve gained in months of training without keeping up with routine exercise. The lull in the action can make even the most renowned athletes lose their luster come their big day.
Off-seasons don’t require you to exert yourself. The older you get, the more time it takes for your body to make a full recovery. Engage in light activities like doing chores around the house or brisk walking to stay physically active. You can also engage in mental exercises such as solving puzzles or reading a good book.
At this period, your body’s metabolism will slow down drastically due to a lack of intense training. Consume just enough calories and nutrients to perform your off-season activities. Many athletes do this by eating fewer carbs and more fats, relying on the body to burn its fat stores when it needs bursts of energy.
When it comes to hydration, nothing beats water since it doesn’t contain any sugar or other ingredients, a clear choice for when you want to maintain a healthy weight. If you have to reward yourself with a glass of beer, experts recommend keeping it under two drinks a week.
Conclusion
Despite the differences between male and female athletes, they can agree on at least one thing. To reach greater heights, they’ll need a combination of hard work and a can-do mindset. After all, no success story doesn’t involve hardships and obstacles along the way. At the end of that experience, the medal dangling from your neck while standing on the podium will all be worth it.
