When we look at fuelling performance for skating it’s easy to get caught up looking for hacks to make that last bit of difference. These hacks often come in the form of snacks in and around our skate time to give us the extra boost; energy drinks, lollies, fruit, pre-skate meals.

The truth is however, if you don’t have the basics sorted, none of these ‘extras’ will have the desired effect. It’s like looking at the 10% boost in performance when you haven’t first taken care of the 90% foundation.

This series is here to talk about that 90%: The simple things you can set up around your nutrition that will yield you the biggest boost in performance and give you far greater results than any last-minute sugar kick or internet skate hack. Get all of these foundational elements going together and you’ll be skating at your best.

Let’s start with the most important: Energy balance.

Energy balance refers to how much fuel (calories in), you are putting into your body as opposed to how much you are expending through basic bodily function, training, skating and general activity throughout the day (calories out). This balance becomes incredibly important when looking at performance on the board because failure to meet the energy requirements by eating enough calories results in a severe decline in performance.

When the body is depleted of energy it goes into ‘conservation mode’ where the aim is purely to survive and get by through basic functionality. In this state performance and anything performance related is simply not a priority for the body as it will be pushing all your resources towards survival. Unfortunately contrary to what skaters will say the body does not recognise skating as necessary for survival 😉 .

This is why, when looking at fuelling performance on the board, the first and most important thing you can do is balance your energy in versus energy out to ensure you are not in a ‘calorie deficit’; when the energy coming in is less than the energy being expended. Great for fat loss and weight loss, not so much for skate performance.

To get the best from our body, we want to be at ‘maintenance calories’. This is where the food you are taking is substantial to fuel your basic day to day bodily functions. Then matches your daily activity level.

So how do we do this? Easy, we simply monitor your weight to ensure you are not dropping.

Using your scales, begin taking your weight a minimum of 3 times a week (best practice is first thing in the morning after your first trip to the bathroom) and average this out. You can now track any movement in your weight from week to week to see if you are getting enough food to fuel your activity level. Here’s how:

If your weight drops from one week to the next, you are in a calorie deficit and need to eat more food. 

If your weight increases from week to week, you are consuming more calories than your daily activity level, which could affect your weight and therefore your performance on the board. Try cutting back a bit.

If your weight stays the same from one week to the next, you are at a good maintenance level. This is where you want to hold, although adjustments may still need to be made.

At maintenance level you can now experiment with adding extra snacks or meals to fuel your skate sessions. Continue to weigh yourself week to week as you begin to add food. If you see the weight start to move up, you have found your maximum threshold of food needed to fuel your skate performance. Dial it back slightly and hold here.

Now , its important to note that as we move on in this series we will begin to prioritize certain macronutrients for performance. Remember as we begin to add food in to our diet it will change our energy IN equation. So be sure to keep an eye on your weight to see how it is being received. If the scales begin to move up , in order to make adjustments you will now need to see what potential foods could be taken out of your diet in order to make room for the adjustment of these incoming foods.

Could you have less snacks during the day?

Do you have a sweet tooth you could cut back on?

Could you cut back on some alcohol during the week?

This is you now making a decision on how much you value your performance. What are you willing to give up or change in order to prioritize your performance. There is no right or wrong answer but it is also only you who will either benefit or not from making these adjustments.

Stay tuned for the next instalment in the Performance Nutrition for Skateboarding series.

We also cover nutrition for performance and for weight loss in the SS fundamentals program with an easy to use guide aimed at getting maximum results. Check it out.