Diet and Nutrition for Peak Condition (Part I: Understanding Condition)

In order to perform better, you need to keep your body in good condition. In sports, the words "condition" and "conditioning" are often used, but have you ever thought about what these words mean?

"Condition" is exactly what it sounds like: a state at a given time. Condition changes daily, influenced by training content, diet, nutrition, mental state, and more. "Conditioning" means preparing the body and mind to achieve higher performance and better results in sports. In other words, it is no exaggeration to say that "best performance" can be achieved through conditioning.

In this content, we will learn how diet and nutrition relate to various types of conditioning. Then, we will think about the conditioning that we need and incorporate it into our lives.

1. Understanding the conditions

In order to condition yourself, you must first know your condition. How do you keep track of your daily condition?

What should you do to know the condition? It may seem like you have to do something special, but that's not the case. Below are some ways to know the condition in your daily life.

As you can see, it is possible to understand the conditions without using special equipment. It is a good idea to select an index that suits your own situation.

Well, the basis for understanding your condition is to weigh yourself every day. You should measure yourself at the same time every day (preferably after waking up), after urinating, and in the same clothes (preferably close to naked). By understanding the increase or decrease in weight (body fat), you can roughly grasp the balance between the amount of exercise and the amount of food you eat. Short-term fluctuations are mainly due to the inflow and outflow of water from the body, so there is no need to worry too much about them, but medium- to long-term fluctuations (one month or more) should be seen as changes in body composition. It is important to look at the increase or decrease on a weekly or monthly basis, compare it with the weight you set, and review the amount of food you eat.

When intense training or matches continue, fatigue accumulates and recovery is delayed. You may feel "tired," but knowing what your actual condition is can help you deal with it.

For example, dehydration can cause fatigue, but you can get a sense of the state of dehydration to some extent by checking the color of your urine. If it is darker (brown) than light yellow, it is evidence of dehydration. You can also get an idea of the condition of your digestive system by checking the condition of your stool. If it is not the so-called banana poop, you can infer that there is some kind of strain on the digestive tract (fatigue, mental stress, etc.). If you have loose stools or diarrhea, it is likely that the food you ingested is not being adequately digested and absorbed. You can take measures such as drinking more water than usual or changing the contents of your diet.

In this way, you can grasp your condition without using any special equipment, which will lead to daily conditioning.

Many athletes use record forms or apps to select and record the above condition indicators every day. In addition, recording the amount of training you do will help you understand your condition in more detail.

It is important to make it a habit to keep these records, and if any changes occur you can consider "why did that change occur?" and take measures or corrections to help with conditioning.

In sports nutrition, you can use indicators to understand your condition and consider the amount and content of your meals. To aim for the best condition, measure and record your condition every day and try to live as regularly as possible. Also, consider the effects of meals and snacks on your condition.

<Supervisor>Shota Sasaki

Shota Sasaki
Lecturer, Department of Health and Nutrition, Faculty of Human Sciences, Hokkaido Bunkyo University.
After completing her doctoral studies in applied life science at the Graduate School of Life Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University (2011), she obtained her doctorate (academic), and worked as an assistant professor at Obihiro Otani Junior College before assuming her current position in 2019. She is a certified sports nutritionist and registered dietitian. She is also the editor of "Nutrition for Skiers" in the monthly magazine Ski Graphic.

To date, she has provided nutritional support primarily to junior and female athletes involved in speed skating and ice hockey. Currently, she is providing nutritional support to students aiming to become registered dietitians, as well as high school baseball and track and field athletes. Although still in the early stages of development, she is also working on a research project to find nutritional intake methods specific to sports played in cold environments. She aims to be a bridge between research in the field of sports nutrition and the field itself.