Fueling Gymnasts for Two-a-Day Workouts: What to Eat Before, During and Between Practices

Tis the season! Many gyms have two-a-day workouts for high-level gymnasts, especially in the summer and during school breaks. Some schedules I’ve worked with are 9 AM-1 PM and then 4-7 PM, or 9 AM-2 PM and then 3:30-6 PM. That makes fueling the gymnast quite tricky.

Here’s the thing: two-a-days make it SO easy to fall behind on nutrition. Let’s talk about how to fuel before, during and between two-a-day workouts so she can recover and show up strong for practice number two.

By Christina Anderson MS, RDN, CSP, CSSD · Updated October 2026

Two-a-day workouts for gymnasts: the quick answer

The priorities for two-a-day workouts are:

1. A real breakfast before the first practice
2. Carbs and fluids during both practices
3. Aggressive refueling, rehydrating and recovery between practices
4. A full dinner after the second practice

Gymnasts need at least 3 meals a day plus 1-3 snacks, on top of the fuel they eat around practice. On two-a-day days, carbohydrate needs are on the higher end, about 5-7 g per kg of body weight per day.

When she falls behind, she can end up chronically underfueled, which can lead to REDs, overuse or non-healing injuries, loss of her period and poor performance.

Start with breakfast

It is paramount to get in a decent breakfast before two-a-day workouts. What happens with a lot of gymnasts (one practice or two) is they fall behind from the start with an inadequate breakfast. By the end of the day, they’re in such a deficit that they’re STARVING and want to eat “all the food” after practice.

There’s nothing wrong with eating later at night, but you don’t want her catching up on half of her daily needs at 8 or 9 PM with only 1-2 hours before bed.

Ideally, she’d eat a high-intensity plate (1/2 carbs, 1/4 color, 1/4 protein, plus dairy and some fat) at least 1.5 hours before practice, with about 1 g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight. If she has less time, she may not handle that much food. Practice usually starts with warm-up and stretching, so lower the fiber and fat a bit so digestion isn’t slowed down. At minimum, a smoothie or a carb drink empties from the stomach faster.

Include carbs, protein and fat at this meal if you can, because for the next 4-6 hours, carbs are really what she’ll want during practice. (For more on two meals before long training days, listen to Why Your Gymnast Needs Two Meals Before Summer Training.)

Fueling during both practices

Carbohydrates are a gymnast’s main fuel because gymnastics is high-intensity and anaerobic. Carbs include fruits, grains, starches (like potatoes), sugars (like honey and maple syrup) and, to a smaller degree, some vegetables (which are mostly fiber). As practice goes on, her stored carbohydrate (glycogen) drops and she needs more fuel.

During practice, choose lower-fiber carbs with little fat or protein so they’re digested and absorbed quickly, like:

• Fruit or dried fruit
• Pretzels
• Lower-fat, lower-fiber granola bars
• Sports drink

I tell my gymnasts to “maximize nutrition when able,” so if she’s short on fruits and veggies during the day, fruit is a great intra-workout fuel.

How much? For practices 3.5 hours or longer, I have gymnasts start carbs about 2 hours in, and practices of 4+ hours always need them. 12-20 oz of a sports drink works well (12 oz of Gatorade has about 20 g of carbs). Some high-level gymnasts need more, depending on body size and how hard they train. (More in Top 3 Mistakes With Intra-Workout Nutrition and Do Gymnasts Need Sports Drink?)

On two-a-day days, she’ll likely need carbs and fluid during BOTH practices, especially the longer one. It also depends on what she eats around practice and how well hydrated she is. (More in Gymnast Hydration.)

Aggressive recovery between practices

Normally, post-workout recovery nutrition can happen within an hour or two after practice. Not with two-a-days. The clock starts after the first practice, and within about 30 minutes she needs carbs, fluids and protein to start refueling (carbs), repairing (protein) and rehydrating.

A good target between practices:

• Carbs: at least 1.1-1.5 g per kg of body weight to refill glycogen
• Protein: about 20-40 g to start muscle repair (younger and smaller gymnasts may need less)
• Fluids: enough to replace what she sweated out, which varies a lot from gymnast to gymnast

Most gymnasts can eat lunch between practices. Keep fiber and fat a bit lower so she doesn’t feel heavy or too full in the second practice. This may not be the time for gigantic salads or veggie bowls. It’s totally fine (and encouraged) to add color for vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, but respect what her stomach can handle. (For quick ideas, see The Best Snacks for Competitive Gymnasts.)

Dinner after the second practice

Her final meal of the day (usually dinner) can be higher in fat and fiber, since there’s no practice right after. You don’t have to go crazy limiting fat and fiber in the earlier meals, but meals right around practice may not be the time for a whole avocado or lots of fiber-rich foods.

If dinner was early or she’s still hungry, a dairy-based bedtime snack like Greek yogurt or milk is a great way to keep recovering overnight. (For full sample days, see the Gymnast Meal Plan.)

Sample two-a-day fueling schedule

Here’s what a day could look like for a 9 AM-1 PM and 4-7 PM schedule:

• 7:00-7:30 AM: breakfast (high-intensity plate)
• During practice 1: water, plus fruit, pretzels or sports drink starting about 2 hours in
• 1:00-1:30 PM: recovery snack or lunch with carbs, protein and fluids
• 3:00 PM: small carb-focused snack if lunch was early
• During practice 2: water, plus carbs if she’s low on fuel or the session is long and hard
• 7:30-8:00 PM: full dinner
• Before bed: dairy-based snack if needed

Every gymnast is different, so use this as a starting point, not a rule.

Frequently asked questions

Get help fueling your gymnast’s two-a-days

Most gymnast parents are never taught how to fuel a gymnast around a schedule this busy. Start with our free masterclass or take the free Gymnast Fueling Quiz. And if you want more than a generic meal plan, The Balanced Gymnast® Program is our 1:1 program, built by a former gymnast, nationally rated NCAA/USAG judge and pediatric sports dietitian who lives and breathes this sport. We build her plan around HER training schedule, her appetite and the foods she actually likes, so she can close the recovery gap each and every day.