Calisthenics Nutrition Tips and Tricks

If you’ve seen many advanced calisthenics skills being performed, you’ve probably noticed one thing the athletes had in common: being ripped. This trend is no mistake, being light and lean is almost required for more advanced skills like the iron cross or planche. For calisthenics, nutrition plays a key factor in ability.

Your body weight plays a big factor in calisthenics. It’s much more of a factor in calisthenics than in standard weightlifting because you are using your body as the weight, instead of an external load. The less you weigh, the less weight you have to move. If you want to weigh less, the easiest way to go about achieving that is to eat the right way.

Making all calisthenics skills easier isn’t the only benefit of eating well. By eating well and training hard, you’ll build a solid, lean physique over time. Aside from getting shredded, eating healthy food makes you feel better. It really is surprising how much of a change it is in your life when you improve your diet.

Neither Too Much Nor Too Little

Eating too much or too little can cause issues when you’re training calisthenics. Having a balanced diet that provides you with ample nutrition, without weighing you down with excess calories is key to continue making progress. Everyone has different caloric requirements and is affected by food differently. You have to find a style of eating that works for you.

Overeating causes obvious problems when it comes to calisthenics. The excess weight that eating too many calories will cause weighs you down. Aside from making everything harder, overeating can also cause bloating, stomach discomfort, and lethargy. All of those symptoms can make it much harder to keep up the habit of training.

On the other hand, undereating comes with another set of issues. If you don’t eat enough, your body won’t have the fuel it needs to repair and build new muscle. A lack of nutrition decreases your ability to recover, leading to overtraining and burnout over time.

Whole Foods, Full Stomach

Eating whole, unprocessed food sources is not only extremely nutritious, but it keeps you full for longer. Whole foods are foods that are left in their natural form, like a baked potato instead of tater tots, or chicken breast instead of chicken nuggets. The whole food blanket also includes fruits, vegetables, and beans.

Because they aren’t processed, whole foods still have all of their natural fibers and nutrients. All this extra fiber helps keep you full for longer, since it takes longer for your body to process. Whole foods also don’t have the extra added fats, sugar, salt, and preservatives. Eating more whole foods will not only reduce your calorie intake, but make you healthier too.

Empty Calories, Empty Stomach

Eating foods that have a lot of added sugar or fat, but little nutritional value is not as filling as eating healthy whole foods. The sugar and simple carbs spike your blood sugar, only to leave you crashing and hungry again in a few hours. More nutritious foods with more fiber keep you feeling full for longer, and usually have fewer calories as well.

Sweet and Heavy Drinks

Drink with excess sugar and fat can add an incredible amount of calories to your daily intake. Because the calories are in a liquid form, they’re processed quicker and don’t leave you feeling full. For example, if you were to drink just four cans of coca-cola each day, that would be an extra 560 calories a day! Cream and sugar-filled coffee drinks are also very high in calories. Each ‘iced caramel latte’ comes out to about 250 calories, or more depending on what you’ve added.

One of the easier changes you can make would be to replace sugary sodas with diet versions. You could also drink your coffee or tea without creamer or sweetener. And finally, of course, how could I get away with not mentioning number one: water. Ice cold water is always a great option whenever you’re feeling thirsty.

The Count (of Calories)

Counting calories might sound like a chore, but it undeniably works. If you consistently track your weight and everything that you eat, you can reflect on how much and what you eat impacts what you weigh. By adjusting your diet over time, based upon how your weight changes, you can incrementally change your lifestyle, instead of a sudden drastic shift.

This can also help those who are more sensitive to different foods to identify and eliminate foods that cause them issues. You can also work to manage your pre-workout meal and timing if intense exercise causes stomach discomfort.

Eighty-Twenty Rule

Despite what some people may lead you to believe, you don’t have to entirely cut out ‘unhealthy’ foods. So long as the majority of your diet is healthy, occasionally eating sweet, sugar-laden treats are fine. The keyword here is occasionally. Eating something ‘unhealthy’ is fine two or three times a week, not two or three times a day. This also still doesn’t mean we can binge eat three days a week, remember, it doesn’t matter if you ate three hundred calories less five days of the week if you still eat an extra six or seven hundred on two.

Understanding Calisthenics Nutrition

Managing calisthenics nutrition with your daily life isn’t an easy task, but the benefits are awesome. Firstly, who doesn’t want to look good? Building a strong, muscular body happens in the gym, but getting slim and revealing it happens in the kitchen. Don’t let yourself be fooled, getting ripped is only one benefit.

Aside from looking good, weighing less will progress your calisthenics abilities. The less weight you need to move, the easier all skills are. This effect only gets stronger when you move into advanced skills, because the leverages make your bodyweight feel exponentially heavier.

If all the benefits in terms of looks and training aren’t enough, if you eat better you’re also going to feel better. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “you are what you eat,” and it holds some truth. I think a more accurate version would be “you get out what you put in.” If you put in good things, you’ll feel good. Put in bad things? You guessed it, you’ll feel bad.

Eating properly is still a balancing act. Not too much, not too little, not too unhealthy, not too neurotic. The most important thing you should do is to find a way to eat that works for you. Everyone is different. Find foods and meals that only fit your fitness goals, but also fit into your actual life and day-to-day. Anyone can starve themselves for a month or two, but finding a nutrition plan that you like and can last is invaluable.