Episode 212: A Tale of Two Gymnasts- Pre-Season Edition

So much of the fatigue, skill plateaus, injuries, and burnout we see in gymnasts gets chalked up to gymnastics just being hard—and yes, it is. But that doesn’t mean all of these struggles are normal.

The problem? You don’t know what you don’t know. And you can’t necessarily look at your gymnast’s teammates as the benchmark when many of them are likely underfueling and struggling too.

Our most successful gymnasts get their nutrition dialed in before competition season starts. Yet January continues to be one of our most popular times for families to reach out—when everyone is panicking because their gymnast doesn’t feel ready for season, is still stuck on skills, is exhausted, or is dealing with an injury that just won’t go away.

By that point, we’re playing catch-up. And issues that have been building for months aren’t always going to be fully resolved by Regionals.

In this episode, Christina tells the story of two level 10 gymnasts who took very different approaches to preseason nutrition — and had very different comp seasons because of it.

The first, a four-time national qualifier with a full-ride D1 scholarship, was struggling badly going into her senior year: constant sickness, injuries, skills falling apart after years of consistency. When her mom joined Christina’s preseason nutrition challenge that September, an initial consult revealed underfueling, iron deficiency, and an H. pylori infection. Correcting her intra-workout fueling and hydration made a difference within weeks, and by comp season she was hitting high 38 all-arounds, qualified to the Nastia Liukin Cup, made nationals, and is now competing in college.

The second gymnast waited much longer. Injured in preseason, she rehabbed in time to attempt a comeback but had no energy or endurance. She didn’t start working with Christina until April, and recommended bloodwork was delayed until summer — which revealed months of undiagnosed iron deficiency anemia. She missed nationals that year, losing an entire season to a fixable problem caught too late.

Christina uses both stories to make the case for why preseason, not January or April, is the time to get fueling right.

In this episode, we cover:

❗ Why gymnasts shouldn’t compare their struggles to teammates who may also be underfueled
❗ How one gymnast turned her senior year around by fixing fueling in the fall
❗ Why iron deficiency and H. pylori infections take months, not days, to resolve
❗ How delaying lab work cost another gymnast an entire competitive season
❗ The difference between iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia
❗ Why January is the most popular — and most reactive — time families reach out

Christina’s takeaway: gymnastics being hard doesn’t mean your gymnast’s fatigue, plateaus, and injuries are normal. Families who get ahead of nutrition before comp season starts see dramatically different outcomes than those who wait until crisis mode. With four months left before the new year, there’s still time to change the trajectory of this season.

If your gymnast is heading into preseason and you want to make sure fueling isn’t holding her back, reach out. Information on how to connect is below.

Links & Resources
The Balanced Gymnast® Program (Level 5–10)
Connect with Christina on Instagram @the.gymnast.nutritionist