How elite athletes stay at the top of their game travelling the globe

Today’s elite athletes are travelling to different corners of the globe on an almost weekly basis ahead of various fixtures, competitions, and training camps.

In order to remain at the top of their game whilst constantly on the move, each athlete will have their own bespoke nutrition plans, training regimes, and night-time rituals to help them compete on the world’s biggest stage week-in-week-out.

Dr Crionna Tobin, head of nutrition and education at Glanbia Performance Nutrition, who recently announced a partnership between sports nutrition brand Optimum Nutrition and McLaren F1, shares her insight into how the world’s best athletes keep themselves action-ready whilst constantly on the move.

What foods, drinks, or supplements do athletes use while travelling?

While travelling, it’s vital that athletes are eating a well-balanced diet that ticks every box in terms of nutrition, energy and hydration. Snacks such as nuts, fruit pots, and even sandwiches work to keep energy levels high, but it’s also important to implement a fibre-rich diet to help with constipation and bowel issues that often occur on long flights.

Choosing a diet that is high in nutrients, protein, and carbs, rather than being high in fat, is super important. It sounds strange when referring to elite athletes, but we even sometimes have to remind them of the importance of choosing a rice or noodle-based dish, rather than eating a burger and fries in the airport, to ensure energy levels remain high once they’ve landed. 

We also encourage athletes to eat as many pieces of fruit and veg as possible to support their immune system whilst travelling, as they’re likely to become more susceptible to infections and illnesses whilst constantly on the move. Funnily enough, using chewing gum whilst travelling also helps with saliva production, which helps fight off infection.

How are the nutritional routines of elite athletes likely to change while travelling?

It’s important to build an athlete’s nutritional routine around fuelling them for training and helping them recover after training. Athletes are always either in a fuelling phase or recovery phase, regularly switching between the two no matter where they are. 

After an event, we’ll give them foods with anti-inflammatory properties (such as oily fish, ginger, fruits and vegetables) to help with recovery, whilst packing them full of protein sources to help with muscle recovery and carbs to replace those lost during exercise. 

While ideally, athletes would get their protein from a variety of sources like meat, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds, legumes and tofu, it’s not always easy to do so. Many athletes instead use whey protein, which offers a convenient way to add high-quality protein to their meals and snacks and helps them hit their daily protein goals. 

How do elite athletes navigate spending so long on the road between varying environments?

You’d be surprised how much preparation goes into ensuring athletes are able to manage the change in temperature between countries whilst also navigating things like alternating time zones and general environments.

We advise athletes to eat fresh, local food as often as possible to provide them with as much nourishment as possible, though we also advise them to watch out for foods that might cause digestive issues. No athlete can perform if they’re stuck on the toilet.

Athletes have to learn how their body reacts to different climates and diets, so we ask them to document how they feel day to day when their environment is constantly changing around them. 

Last, but perhaps most importantly, is sleep! Getting the right amount of sleep is crucial to staying at the top of your game. Poor sleep leads to low energy, lack of focus, and reduced immunity, so we try and do our best to make sure athletes are getting high-quality sleep where possible.