Fueling Your Body for Performance in the Martial Arts

Soon, Elite Training Center will host Eric Laciste for a nutritional seminar. It will focus on using proper nutrition and doing it right.

To this day, regardless of what studies come out, we as a consumer society are so inundated with images of health and fitness, we are never guided properly nor are we expected to. Supermarkets have so many options. Best tip I ever received when it came to eating right, “eat consciously.” We are always expected to hold ourselves in check when it comes to what is coming out of our mouths, what about what is going in? (please refrain)

In order to be successful in any of Elite Training Center’s martial disciplines it is important to practice proper nutrition. Don’t look at it as a “diet.” Never put yourself on a “diet.” None of us are perfect and we will all fall off if stressed out by cutting calories, never eating sugar, never eat this, that or whatever else you are NOT supposed to eat. So simply use consciousness.

Take an MMA fighter or Muay Thai kick boxer who is getting ready for a fight. There is no cheating while preparing for a fight. Either you eat a certain way or you don’t compete. Can you imagine all that training and not making weight because they didn’t eat properly? This doesn’t mean that we all have to live as strictly as a professional fighter, but we can instill some semblance of that discipline.

Often we hear about students or talk to students about the challenges they face with eating properly (whatever that means). I personally face it just like everyone else. Throughout the week I eat as “cleanly” as I can. I try to stay away from processed foods and then on the weekend I will have my cheat day, ok…days.

How many times have we heard or said this to yourself, “I worked out for 3 hours, so I can eat whatever I want.” Yeah, me too. That’s like running a marathon and smoking a pack of cigarettes and expecting your time to improve the next time you run.

Why negate all the hard work by fueling your body with junk or items where you can’t pronounce have of the ingredients on the label? The point is, be conscious to make yourself better. Krav Maga at Elite Training Center is in a constant state of change. As is Muay Thai, Kali, BJJ and MMA. As a working cog in the machine, and yes you are a part of it, be the best, most efficient working piece you can. If you can optimize your growth and evolution it can only help the machine/team move forward.