Professional athletes need to monitor their diet carefully to ensure they have the right fuel in their body to meet the demands of intense training. Elite gymnasts have the added pressure of maintaining a lean body while developing power, strength and endurance. British Gymnastics states in its coach education guide that "a gymnast needs a controlled diet that maintains an optimum body weight for safety and aesthetic purpose." It is therefore important that coaches, parents and gymnasts work together to ensure that elite gymnasts eat the correct food to fuel their body for training.
The Basics
Many gymnasts are young athletes who also need to ensure they have the right intake of nutrients to grow and develop, on top of ensuring they have enough fuel to train. The regularity and duration of training sessions can affect the way an elite gymnast eats. Eating small, frequent meals that are low in fat but high in energy is the general pattern that an elite gymnast's diet follows. Focus, endurance and coordination can be affected if the right diet is not maintained. Gymnasts also need to eat the right foods after training as well to enable the body to recover from the strain it is put under.
Balancing the Diet
The overall amount of calories a gymnast eats is dependent on her personal training schedule, the intensity of training and her body type. Elite coaches take great care in ensuring each elite gymnast's diet is carefully maintained. Ideally, around 60 to 65 percent of the diet should come from carbohydrates, such as whole grain pasta, rice and fruit. To aid muscle growth and repair, 12 to 15 percent of the diet should consist of meat, eggs and fish to provide adequate amounts of protein. A gymnast usually follows a low-fat diet, with only 25 percent of calories coming from fatty foods, such as unsaturated fats found in olive oil, nuts and fatty fish, rather than sweets, chocolate or fast food.
Fluids
Maintaining the correct levels of hydration is essential in ensuring elite gymnasts perform at their best. As gymansts only require short bursts of energy to perform, loss of fluid through sweat is not a large problem during training. However, it is important that gymnasts take regular drinks throughout training and competitions to ensure sufficient hydration. Elite gymnastics should avoid drinking nutrient-free carbohydrate fluids such as soda, instead opting for water or glucose-based drinks.
Eating Disorders in Elite Gymnastics
Due to the physical demands of the sport and the importance placed on having a lean body, gymnasts are prone to developing eating disorders. The American College of Sports Medicine recognizes the link between young female athletes, disordered eating and health problems in its research and development of the "Female Athlete Triad" syndrome. Early intervention of eating disorders and education of athletes, parents, coaches, trainers, judges and administrators should be a priority, according to research by the ACSM. Coaches and parents should look for signs of malnutrition in elite gymnasts and be aware of any changes in their eating habits and training.
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