[Characteristics of Nutrition in Competitive Sports, Ranging from Leisure Activities to High-Performance Athletics]

Nutrition has a crucial influence on physical and mental performance ability and is an important measure along sidetraining in high-performance athletes. However, this form of nutritionis not applicable for every athlete and in every situation. The question of optimal nutrition requires involvement with the particular type of sports, an athlete's current training stage, and athletes' individual requirements and objectives. Implementation takes time and individual motivation on the part of athletes and the specialist staff who engage intensively with the nutritional needs of athletes. In addition to adequate energy provision, it is important to divide the energy sensibly among the energy sources carbohydrates, fats, and protein. Performance athletes' higher need for protein can usually be covered in their regular diet; supplements are needed only in exceptional cases. Studies have shown that small amounts of 15 - 25 g protein are sensible after weight training, in order to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. The need for carbohydrates increases dynamically with the intensity and duration of physical exertion. A sufficient supply is crucial for achieving maximum performance. Low carb diets are unsuitable for performance athletes. So called low-glycogen training, however, can lead to better adjustment/adaptation processes in selected training stages and can increase performance ability.