Optimal Athletic Performance

Your athletic abilities are influenced by a number of factors, including time dedicated, training effort, and coaching — not to mention natural talent. However, the key driver in reaching optimal athletic performance is sports nutrition, including hydration.

The Importance of Proper Sports Nutrition and Hydration

It’s easy to underestimate the importance of sports nutrition. For an athlete, not all calories consumed are equal. If you’re not fueling your body with enough energy from sources full of nutrients, you’ll never achieve your full potential as an athlete. For a balanced diet, be sure to eat:

• At least five servings of fruits and vegetables

• Whole-grain carbohydrates instead of refined grains and sugars

• Healthy sources of protein, such as chicken, turkey, fish, nuts and nut butter, eggs, and legumes

• Whole foods rather than pre-packaged, highly processed foods

Hydration is equally important to athletic performance, and unfortunately, it’s often a misinformed subject. Most athletes, under most conditions, need a fluid intake of 18 to 27 ounces during exercise — much less than people often assume. Options during exercise include milk, water, 100 percent fruit juice, and sports drinks, but remember that juice and sports drinks tend to be higher in sugar. Even a two percent drop in hydration levels can negatively impact performance. Conversely, drinking too many liquids can have a negative effect as well, with acute over-hydration resulting in serious consequences such as hyponatremia (low sodium) induced coma or death.

Working with The Kahm Clinic to Reach Your Potential

Whether you’re training for your first marathon or you’re a seasoned athlete practicing your favorite sport, The Kahm Clinic can help optimize your nutrition so you can perform at your best. Increasing your training without the proper diet plan can lead to lower energy levels and even chronic fatigue, inability to build muscle, a higher rate of injury, increased and prolonged muscle soreness, and inability to improve performance. With that thought in mind, we believe in open communication with your coach, trainer, family, physician, and other health professionals. 

Using our unique methodology, we can run a Metabolic Test to determine what substrate — fat, carbohydrate, or protein — your body is depending on for fuel. This data allows us to create a nutrition plan that suits your body and enhances your athletic performance. Additionally, our Body Composition Analysis can determine an optimal muscle and fat mass that allows you to be your strongest self. By sticking with the nutrition plan we develop from these tests, you’ll see the results you want. 

To read a sample Metabolic Test case for improving athletic performance, check out Zach’s story. In this instance, Zach’s daily caloric intake was not high enough for him to reach optimal athletic performance. In fact, the way he was burning fat, carbohydrates, and protein showed that his body was in mild starvation mode. By doubling the number of calories he ate each day, he saw major improvements to his athletic abilities as well as his overall health. After following our nutrition plan for a year, Zach had improved his metabolic rate and was burning less of his own protein and more of his own fat. He significantly improved his sleep as well as his energy levels and achieved many of his fitness goals. 

To talk to a professional about reaching optimal athletic performance, please contact our staff or schedule an appointment at The Kahm Clinic.