Episode 181: Comp Season and REDs—Injuries, Immune Health, and Endurance/Performance Issues

ICYMI… this week we launched our new, FREE, 4-week Zoom webinar: the FUELED Comp Season Series. Each Tuesday this month at noon MT, I’m covering a key topic your gymnast needs to navigate competition season successfully. First up: injuries, immune health, endurance/performance issues, and REDs during comp season.

In this episode, we’re diving into the overlooked connection between why so many gymnasts struggle with injuries, illness, and performance decline right when it matters most and REDs (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport). 

This episode is especially for parents who:

• Have a gymnast training 20–30 hours a week, ideally Level 5/6 through Level 10 and elite (male and female gymnasts welcome).
• Have a gymnast with big goals and big dreams—whether that’s D1 college gymnastics or elite—and know they need to stay healthy, strong, and progressing over the next several years.
• Have watched their gymnast deal with injuries during comp season, repeated illness, or frustrating endurance/strength/power issues that don’t match their work ethic.
• Want to prevent the performance-limiting issues that silently build in the background and eventually derail progress.

Competitive season is a high-stress window for gymnasts—physically, mentally, and physiologically. When fueling isn’t adequate for the training load, this is often when REDs symptoms show up loud and clear:

• Never-ending fatigue
• Decreased strength or endurance
• Chronic or overuse injuries
• Poor recovery
• Back-to-back illnesses
• Inconsistent performance

Warning Signs

Parents often assume these problems are “just part of season,” but they’re not. They’re warning signs.

If you want this to be the year your gymnast stops falling apart mid-season, stops getting injured or sick right before big meets, and finally performs to their true ability, this episode will show you what needs to change now. Before comp season stress catches up. 

  Links & Resources  

• Episode 150: When denial gets in the way of nutrition for gymnasts [Replay]
• Episode 04: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport and Gymnastics
• The Balanced Gymnast® Program for level 5-10 female gymnasts 
• Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist or christinaandersonrdn.com