3 Nutrition Tips For A Productive Gymnastics Off Season

Today I’d like to share my top 3 nutrition tips to help your gymnast have a productive off season this summer. For many of gymnasts, season is coming to a close which means off season is right around the corner for Developmental Program gymnasts.

At this point of the year, everyone is itching for summer break. In gymnastics terms that gets translated into upgrading to new skills. So fun! But many gymnasts are dealing with nagging aches and pains from season still. Or have experienced growth spurts or lost skills for our gymnasts going through puberty and struggling in their new bodies. Or maybe it’s been a super chaotic season with injuries and struggling with food and body from super inconsistent training/practices.

Keeping this in mind, it is very important to double down on proactive nutrition and recovery practices throughout their entire “improvement season”. Here are 3 nutrition tips that will help your gymnast this off season not only learn harder skills, but will also reduce her chances of being injured and stabilize her mental health.

Rule Out Underfueling

RED-S is a condition that so many gymnasts develop due to underfueling. When your gymnast’s body is in an energy deficit, it goes into “survival mode”. The body begins to only put its energy towards the most important organs to keep your gymnast up and running. This means that many very important pathways in the body, like the menstrual cycle and bone repair, are put on hold. A recipe for disaster as your gymnast attempts to train bigger and harder skills.

If you know that your gymnast has unhealed stress reactions or fractures, is 15 and never had her period, or is 15 had her period and then lost it, it is very important to take them to their local pediatrician. Have the doctor go over her growth charts with you to make sure that she is gaining an adequate amount of weight and height this year. Even though she’s a gymnast, it is still essential that she is gaining weight every year.

Rapid growth spurts during time off

The body is a pretty amazing thing. When your gymnast tries to keep her body as small and prepubescent as possible, the body fights really hard to be where it genetically is meant to be. That means during times of injury, illness, vacation, etc. there is often a rapid growth spurt that happens. This is because the body is not meant to be in a 12-year-old state at age 16. Many gymnasts will tell you that they wish they could go back and gain weight each year rather than having their bodies change rapidly. This sudden growth spurt leads to your gymnast having to re-learn all the biomechanics of her skills. Which is physically and mentally taxing.

This entire process of malnourishment, injuries, and sudden growth spurts is all rooted in under fueling. So, when your gymnast is going to physical therapy for her injury, check in with the physical therapist to make sure things are healing at the correct pace. Standard rule of thumb is that if her injury is not healing at the proper rate, it is a red flag that RED-S can be a contributing factor into the delayed healing. Don’t wait until next competition season when your gymnast is struggling with injuries. Focusing on nutrition during the off-season for your gymnast will help set them up for a productive summer and pre-season.

Get Labs Done

Another important thing to get checked is your gymnast’s labs. Going to the pediatrician and having your daughter’s vitamin D, iron, and any other ones the doctor recommends is always a good idea. Through this, her doctor will be able to see any other signs that RED-S may be on the table for discussion.

Unlike many other conditions, RED-S is not diagnosed by one specific diagnostic test. It is through a combination of labs, injury healing status, mood, food, etc. that this condition is diagnosed. It is so much more complicated than just labs. Meeting with a trained pediatric sports dietician to go over all of these things is a must in these situations. Although pediatricians know about the side effects of malnourishment, dietitians have more specific knowledge and training around RED-S. Leading to your daughter getting the best help possible.

Rest And Recover

Now this tip often gets very mixed reviews. Some gyms are all for giving their athletes a week off after season and letting them go on summer vacation. However, there are so many that “don’t believe” in rest and recover days. But think about it, your athlete has been going non-stop since last off-season. Her body needs a break.

The reality is that most gymnasts either under fueled and/or over trained. So it is essential that they have days to rest their bodies and minds. The 3-day test of no exercising, training, gymnastics stuff, etc., (basically a Netflix day), will really provide some good answers. It should be clear as to whether your gymnast is struggling because of over training or under fueling.

Overtraining vs Under-fueled

If your gymnast takes 3 days off with complete relaxation mode and comes back to the gym feeling reenergized and in less pain, this is a great sign that your gymnast was just over trained. It just goes to show that there is no need to train an excessive number of hours because it actually hurts the gymnast more than it helps. However, if your gymnast takes those three days off and returns to the gym still feeling exhausted and in pain, this is the red flag that she is under fueled. Yes, she may also have been over trained, but with rest and adequate nutrition the body should be able to bounce back relatively quickly.

This being said, rest is ESSENTIAL to longevity in gymnastics. Unfortunately there are still coaches who say “while you are resting someone else is getting 1 day better”. But the truth is that your gymnast is also getting better even on a rest day. She is allowing her body to recover and heal so that the next day of practice can be productive. Instead of not being mentally present or doing 20 beam routines on a sprained ankle.

The name of the game in gymnastics is long term. The fastest and safest way to get there is by taking rest days.

Prepare For Summer Schedule

I know the last months of season are super chaotic and intra-workout nutrition may have slipped through the cracks a bit. However, it is crucial now to reimplement that fueling technique as your gymnast’s training schedule begins to switch.

Going into summer training adequately fueled is vital. And making sure your gymnast is eating breakfast each morning is a significant part of this. Many gyms switch to morning practices in the summer. Fueling for a morning workout is not the same as fueling for an afternoon/evening practice. Keeping this in mind, get your ducks in a row as far as breakfast and intra-workout nutrition now. So when training schedules do shift, the adjustment won’t be as challenging.

Summary

Help your gymnast make the most of her off-season training by focusing on nutrition this summer. Take precautions against RED-S, push for more rest and recovery, and be prepared for the new summer schedule. With these three things in check, your gymnast is greatly increasing her chance of having a summer full of new skills and free from injury and exhaustion.

If you need more help ensuring your gymnast has a productive off-season, please check out The Balanced Gymnast® Program. Our 3-month nutrition coaching program is for parents of gymnasts in levels 5-10 and will teach you how to fuel your gymnast for peak performance + longevity in the sport. Plus optional 1:1 upgrade sessions.