The GAA Body Composition & Performance Conundrum: How to Improve Both Together

Lads often (apologetically) apply to work with me saying, “I know it’s a bit vain, but I’d like to have a 6-pack to go along with performance improvements.”

This is in spite of most of my testimonials focussing on both areas, and every social media platform and webpage of mine saying “Working with everyday athletes to improve body composition AND performance.”

That shows the level of stigma athletes can feel about admitting they also have body composition goals.

It’s strange, because if we’re being honest, we all want a body that reflects the level of work we put into training and nutrition, even if performance is also a goal.

But balancing both can be difficult.

You may have tried losing weight, but ended up eating too little, affecting your energy levels and recovery.

You may have tried increasing food intake to fuel up for training and matches, only to realise you ended up adding a few unwanted pounds.

You might have tried a bodybuilding program, only to realise performance wasn’t improving.

Or you may have done many Strength and Conditioning programs, but never seen the body composition improvements you wanted.

From working with 100s of athletes on addressing these issues, there are 3 things I now see as critical to achieving both your body composition and performance goals.

1. Manage Your Progress Expectations (Not rapid, not slow, but steady progress)

Most approaches fail because they’re too extreme.

You want to lose a few kg, so you cut out all carbs, stop eating sweets, and start running an extra 3 sessions per week.

You see great progress on the scale, and the belly is starting to go away.

But 2 weeks in, you realise that you’re struggling to keep going to the final whistle, and you’re starving all the time.

You’re delighted that you’re seeing fat loss, but you know you can’t keep it going at this rate.

Ultimately, you give up, either not keeping at it long enough to see progress, or seeing some progress and undoing it all after you go back to your old ways.
What if instead, you were willing to make slightly slower progress, but this allowed you to do so whilst still performing and recovering well, and not being hungry all the time?

If you’re willing to make that small trade-off, adjusting your progress expectations from rapid to steady, you’ll ultimately see more progress, because you’re able to stick to it for longer.

Not only that, but you’ll also be able to fuel yourself along the way, meaning your performance doesn’t suffer.

Walking that fine line can be tough, but the first step is the next point.

2. Get Accurate with Your Nutrition (Enough fuel for the work required. Not More. Not Less.)

So you’ve accepted that this time around, you’re going to avoid the extremes, and instead, find that balance between fuelling and fat loss.

Getting accurate with how much food you’re consuming is going to be key.

Consider trying to save money to buy a new car.

To read the full article go to knowyourselfperformance.com/articles/training/bodycompperformance