What supplementing looks like for athletes
Elite athletes must air on the side of caution when it comes to supplements and what they put in their body. Competing on a world stage is amazing but you don’t get to do that without the less glamourous side of it. Training through all weathers, drug tests at any hour of the day and what can be really long periods of putting your body under immense stress can all hugely impact your wellness.
Athletes are subjected to drugs testing when they reach a certain level. These can come in 2 typical formats, a blood test or a urine sample. They can also be done at random times. When you are taken for a drug test you are given a form which you must state any supplement or medicine that may be in your system during that test.
Adding in the complexities that long stints of travel can have on your body and it’s no surprise that athletes and supplements go hand in hand.
I remember a few times when I was going to be racing abroad with larger time differences, we would shift my training sessions to start allowing my body to be adjusted to needing to perform at that time. Sometimes you might find your race being at 9pm at night and with that you need to factor in when you eat throughout the day, when you wake up, when you need to hydrate, how quickly after your race you can start your winddown and get in rest (really hard when you have taken caffeine tabs at 8pm).
Building small habits that are easy to recreate
Elite athletes and routine are a match made in heaven. Whether they train in the morning, noon or evening, the need for continuous and consistent routine is something that aids and benefits their training and performances. My body thrives on routines, even since shifting out of the athlete space I still need a consistent routine.
For me as an athlete, it was about building in small habits that were easy to recreate wherever I was so a small very well thought out handful of supplements including: Vit D, Vit B12, Omega 3s, caffeine for night races & a multivitamin.
Sleep was always a hugely important part of recovery, minimum of 8 hours sleep every day was one of my non negotiables I would consistently ensure I was doing. Your body needs sleep to help recover, it’s probably one of the most underrated parts of someone’s routine.
How I looked after myself
When I was an athlete every year in November/December time I would get sick without fail and it would start to undo some of my hard winter training just before a huge indoor season block. Whilst everyone typically gets hit by a cold at some point when your immune system is slightly off balance it can have a much bigger impact in terms of how long it takes to recover. I used to always seem to lose about 2 weeks of solid training and within a 2 week period you can also start to see a negative decline in your fitness levels.
I wish I’d known more about what a huge impact the gut can have on your immunity during this time. We spent a lot of time working out what works best for me to try and reduce the amount of time I was out of training leading into a busy new year of racing.
I don’t like fast food. Luckily my taste buds just don’t like overly greasy foods and I would always eat a mixture of whole foods and complex carbohydrates.
My current 4 morning non-negotiables
1. Every day starts with Symprove
Every morning, I wake between 6:30 and 7am (ideally 7am – I’m not really a morning person at all) and come downstairs to the fridge and take my shot of Symprove. Pineapple or Mango and Passion Fruit for me.
2. Take my puppy for a walk
I recently got a new puppy so the next thing on the list is to get her out for a 20/30 minute walk around in the woods locally to my house, this is a new feature in the routine and actually I’m really enjoying embracing a low intensity morning movement before I start my day. Getting outside in the morning helps reset your circadian rhythm and allows the body a chance to absorb some crucial vitamin D.
3. A good old-fashioned brew
When I get home, I dive straight to the kettle for my much-loved morning cup of tea. Before I would make a cuppa and take it back up to bed to have 10 mins of chill time before getting ready but now I’ve moved this to after I’ve got myself out for some air and movement.
4. Some me time
I prep everything I need for work the evening before, so my morning is a lot of a slower relaxing start to the day. The fun of PR is the unpredictable day to day but these little steps help make me know that I’ve got myself set up for the day and allows me a chance to enjoy a slower morning.
Discover more tips to help support your gut-immune connection.
