AS the body ages, the strain of years of competition, training and making weight take their toll. The body finds it harder to recover after intense and exhaustive training sessions and the stress placed on the body during a fight is harder to repair. It therefore becomes crucial for the older boxer to utilise their nutrition to help maintain their peak physical prowess. Here are four rules to abide by if you wish to continue to make weight as you get older.
Next: page 2 of 5 – Get a bespoke diet
Robert Seaborne BSc (Hons), MS
@RobbySeaborne1
1. Get a bespoke diet
WEIGHT-MAKING for boxers is a very controversial area. However, via the correct nutritional plan, boxers can make weight in a safe, gradual and healthy manner. Using specific nutritional diets that are designed for an individual boxer (by a sports nutritionist), that avoid the use of chronic dehydration and food restriction, can help maintain a boxer’s long-term health. These diets also help control a fighter’s metabolic behaviour, making it easy to stay at a new healthier weight post-fight. So, employ safe and healthy weight-making regimes with the right diet.
Next: page 3 of 5 – Eat sensibly after training
Robert Seaborne BSc (Hons), MS
@RobbySeaborne1
2. Eat sensibly after training
RECOVERY after intense sparring, cardio or resistance training becomes increasingly harder, the older you get. However, by perfecting the post-exercise nutrition, a boxer can supply their muscles with the ideal remedy of nutrients to aid recovery. This is about 30g of protein and 60g of carbohydrate, or one large chicken breast, two medium sweet potatoes and some mixed vegetables.
Next: page 4 of 5 – Get the right micronutrients
Robert Seaborne BSc (Hons), MS
@RobbySeaborne1
3. Get the right micronutrients
THE older you get, the more vital and important the smaller nutrients become. For example, vitamin D and calcium help to maintain bone health whereas vitamins C and A can help to bolster the immune system and fight off diseases. All of these will play a crucial part in allowing an older boxer to maintain their training regime, maximise their time spent in the ring and gym, but also help them to recover following intense sparring and/or training. So it’s sensible to eat a ‘rainbow’ of fresh fruit and veg throughout the day, everyday.
Next: page 5 of 5 – Try caffeine
Robert Seaborne BSc (Hons), MS
@RobbySeaborne1
4. Try caffeine
IT is common to get a dip in energy levels the older you get, and this is the same for boxers as they age. This can have a negative effect on training intensities and can impact on performance. To stay in fighting-fit condition, older boxers may look to utilise pre-exercise stimulants to bolster performance – i.e. caffeine. Using caffeine in the correct way (as I explained in my blog on the subject) may aid both physiological and psychological components that can help training and performance. During periods where a boxer seems deflated or has a lack of energy, caffeine use could help maintain training intensity.
Robert Seaborne BSc (Hons), MS
@RobbySeaborne1
