Nutritional Reccomendations

Nutrition plays an important role in our health, and it will be beneficial for your performance while climbing. Protein, carbohydrates, and fat are the key components our body will need for energy.

Avoid eating fat 30 minutes before climbing because “they are slower to digest” [6]. Within 30 minutes after climbing, you should “minimize fat intake to less than five grams; eating more than that will interfere with protein absorption and can slow digestion” [6]. However, fats are still important since they are “necessary to absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K), to provide essential fatty acids, protect vital organs and provide insulation” [3]. “Good sources of fat include lean meat and poultry, fish, nuts, seeds, dairy products, and olive and canola oils” [3].

Hydration is also necessary for pre-climb, during the climb, and post-climb because it helps [1]:

• your body function properly.
• regulate your body temperature.
• with preserving energy.
• decrease joint pain.

• Consume rich carbohydrate foods before climbing. Some examples are “dried fruit, bananas, quick oats, rice milk, or sweet potatoes, … brown rice, quinoa, or beans” [6].
• Consume protein. Some examples are “lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, beans and nuts, including peanuts” [3].

• Replenish energy with carbohydrate snacks about every hour of climbing. Some examples are “berries, buckwheat, wild rice, leafy greens, quinoa, sweet potatoes, yams, squash, legumes like lentils and beans, steel-cut oats, and honey or maple syrup as a sweetener” [6]. Also “dehydrated fruit like mango, apricots, or apples, nut butter packets with honey or maple syrup, jerky, trail mix, and gels” [6].

• Refuel with carbohydrates and protein snacks using some of the examples listed in the pre-climb and during climb sections.