The martial arts diet

Introduction

In a sport where you put your body on the line it is important that you optimise your diet to enhance recovery, the effectiveness of your training, your performance in sport and reduce injury risk. When it comes to performance in your martial art, specific training for that martial art is most important but over time optimising your diet can help create a notable increase in your performance and ability to train.

Calories

When mentioning calories the first thing that a lot of people think of is weight loss and weight gain. Having a hypercaloric diet means that you are consuming more calories than which you are burning, this leads to weight gain. Having a hypocaloric diet means that you are consuming fewer calories than which you are burning, this leads to weight loss. Having an isocaloric diet means that you are consuming the same amount of calories that you are burning, this leads to weight maintenance, this is typically desirable during the bulk of training for competition before weight loss is necessary to enter a certain weight class to compete (but I will discuss this more later), of course, there is exceptions, such as when an athlete wishes to gain weight, often primarily through muscle gain, this is largely achieved through a slight hypercaloric diet when combined with more bodybuilding type training, on the other hand, if an athlete wishes too loose weight in order to enter a lower weight class than they should do so through a slight hypocaloric diet, this is done as to prevent excessive muscle loss which is common when the body is in a large need of energy and instead the body will use fat for energy, however, fat is essential for so many functions of the human body so please be logical when deciding if it is possible for you to lose any more fat without any risks to your health. It is possible to lose weight while gaining muscle, and lose fat whilst gaining weight, although this usually occurs in those who have previously not been taking their diet very seriously or have not previously been partaking in intense resistance training and so its effects usually begin to wear off after several months.
 

Calories are burnt during the process of recovery, and martial artists often have the additional recovery need not only from micro tears in muscles but also from damage created during training. A lot of high-level martial artists up the intensity of their training leading up to competition whilst reducing their calorie consumption in order to make weight, this means that as their recovery needs increase their ability to recover decreases, this may mean that the chances of injury, sickness and lethargy are elevated, this is a flaw in the way which people train in preparation to compete, coaches are often so cautious about not injuring their fighter before performing, although they rarely consider this as a factor, however, this has been done for decades and for some athletes it may be worse for their performance to change this. A way around the problem of a hypocaloric diet when regularly performing intense training, is to stay at a reasonable weight all year around meaning that not a large calorie deficit is needed for weight loss and to perform all of your most intense training 1-4 weeks out from competing depending on the sport your partaking in, another possible solution is to disperse the amount of training your partaking in more equally across periods in between competing, meaning that less volume of training is performed closer to competing where a calorie deficit usually is applied.
 

When deciding your new diet caloric intake you first must do your best to find your maintenance calories, which is the amount of calories you consume which will not result in weight gain or weight loss. Martial arts practitioners usually burn a lot of calories from training and recovery and so their maintenance calories are already pretty high. Other factors also play a role in how high your maintenance calories are such as NEAT, stress, body size, sex, drug intake, body fat percentage, metabolic rate (as determined by someone's genetics) and even someone's surface area as compared to volume, people with more surface area are more exposed to the environment and it therefore costs them more energy to keep the body at a stable temperature.

Protein

Protein helps create every cell and many enzymes in the human body, we are constantly losing proteins through things such as tissue damage, loss in skin, hair, intestinal lining and bodily fluids and through amino acids use for energy, this amino acid loss therefore needs to be replenished through protein consumption. Proteins are made up of amino acids, there are many amino acids which exist but only 20 make up the proteins in our bodies, of these 20, 9 of them can not be produced naturally and it is, therefore, essential to get these from the diet, these amino acids are appropriately named essential amino acids (EAAs). 

Without sufficient protein consumption, your body will not be able to function. Protein is particularly important for muscle growth, muscle maintenance, tendon, ligament and bone health because it comprises a large amount of these things. Not consuming sufficient protein has even been shown to reduce the amount of haemoglobin in red blood cells, meaning that insufficient amounts of oxygen can be transported around the body which leads to poor endurance, weak joints and bones, and a reduced ability of bodily functions essential for health.
 

Now let's figure out how much protein to consume in the diet, this heavily depends on the martial artist's goals, but there is generally no limit to protein consumption for healthy individuals, as long as you are not exceeding your calorie goals, and still consume at least minimum amounts of fats and carbohydrates. As long as minimum protein consumption is met there is likely no additional benefits to consuming more protein for general health, the recommendations are around 0.3g of protein per pound of body weight per day, martial artists who are not too particular about their muscle mass can eat like this when away from training, as long as they don’t have any large recovery needs, but during regular training increasing protein consumption can promote muscle mass maintenance or growth and injury resistance, they should likely aim for  0.8-1.5g of protein per pound of body weight per day, but there is not any point in aiming for the upper end of this range unless you have a goal of gaining muscle mass. Protein consumption needs likely increase gradually once someone has reached middle age, especially when considering that their sensitivity to EAAs in muscles decreases, it is important to account for this by increasing your protein consumption, for better muscle maintenance and longevity.
 

Protein consumption is anti-catabolic so on a hypocaloric diet 1-1.5g of protein per pound of body weight per day should be consumed to minimise muscle loss, if this is desired. Protein is also the most satiating macronutrient so on a tough diet it is useful to keep you full. Ideally, you should eat as much protein as you can on the diet whilst still consuming adequate amounts of fat and carbohydrates to perform and stay within your caloric restrictions.

A hypercaloric diet is anabolic on its own and so I would therefore recommend consuming 0.9-1.2g of protein per pound of body weight per day. Fascinatingly, research has shown that there is no additional anabolic effect of protein beyond 0.9g of protein per pound of body weight per day, however, carbohydrates have a much higher cap and so more calories left over should be allotted to carbohydrates which causes the largest increase in insulin in the body which is highly anabolic. 
 

A protein source's quality depends on the proteins ratio of EAAs to non-essential amino acids and its ability to be digested, the best protein seems to come from dairy, eggs and isolated protein powders, after these, meat and soy products are slightly less beneficial. Plant-based proteins seem to be the worst sources of protein because plants contain cellulose in the cell wall which makes the protein hard to break down. The processing of plant-based proteins can break down cellulose and make the amino acids more likely to be absorbed in the intestines. Mycoprotein/quorn and nutritional yeast do not contain cellulose which make them an excellent protein source for vegans and vegetarians. Vegans and vegetarians would also be wise to vary their protein sources so their bodies can obtain all EAAs across different foods. Do not misinterpret what I’m saying as meaning that plants are in some way bad for you, they are in fact packed with fibre, vitamins and minerals which are essential to health, fibre can also be obtained from whole grains, and other important vitamins and minerals can be found in animal products, although, phytochemicals are a type of biologically active compound which is exclusively found in plants, these are not essential to health but they likely have a small benefit.

Carbohydrates

All carbohydrates, except for fibre, are converted to glucose in the body. Glucose can then travel in the bloodstream to be used by cells for energy, or be stored in muscle or the liver as glycogen. Glycogen stored in the muscle is used during exercise for energy and glycogen in the liver is used to top up blood glucose levels as they are depleted. When glucose first enters the bloodstream it is used by cells which need energy, it is then stored in muscle tissue, then it begins to build up in the bloodstream before the liver begins to store it. Carbohydrates play a minimal role as structural components of the body and so their primary role is for energy, in which they are far superior to any other macronutrient, especially in cells which need a large supply of energy, such as neurons and muscle cells.
 

Glucose can be synthesised through macronutrients other than carbohydrates, although not as efficiently, this means that you could survive with no carbohydrate intake, but your performance in martial arts will be severely hindered. Although you can technically survive without carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits and whole grains are typically essential in the diet to obtain adequate amounts of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fibre, these foods also contain high amounts of carbohydrates, this is why the intake recommendation for general health is around 0.5g of carbohydrates per pound of body weight per day.

Not only does carbohydrates work as the primary fuel source during most martial art competitions but they also increase muscle mass through their stimulation of insulin and glycogen-related growth pathways and by providing an energy source so that the body doesn’t need to break down muscle tissue for energy. To gain the full effects of insulin on a muscle growth phase it is more beneficial when it is chronically elevated throughout the day by eating multiple meals. Even when carbohydrates are not used directly as a fuel source when partaking in a marital art, during explosive movements which require stored ATP and creatine phosphate carbohydrates are required to replenish these stores.

The recommended range for carbohydrate intake for martial artists is 1.5-3g of carbohydrates per pound of body weight per day. The lower end of this range can be consumed on days of low-intensity training and the upper end of this range can be consumed on days of high-intensity training, when the energy demands are much greater. Because of carbohydrate's anabolic effects on a hypocaloric diet after your protein has been accounted for and the minimum amount of fat has been reached, you could delegate the remaining calories towards carbohydrates, this should ideally fall within the 1.5-3g per pound of body weight per day range but if it doesn’t due to the intensity of the diet you may need to minimise protein intake and even reduce carb intake down to 1g per pound of body weight per day, however, going any lower than this would likely deplete all glycogen stores in most major muscles and deplete blood glucose levels resulting in fatigue and muscle loss, when doing this it may be essential that you reduce your training intensity as not to further reduce glucose in the body.

Fat

The essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 must be obtained in the diet. Omega-3 makes certain hormones which regulate blood clotting, inflammation and the contraction and relaxation of artery walls, whilst omega-6 helps maintain healthy bones, stimulates skin and hair growth, regulates metabolism, and maintains a healthy reproductive system. Omega-3 and omega-6 are found in a variety of foods such as fatty fish, eggs, walnuts, soybeans, flaxseeds and tofu, it can also be supplemented. Fat is also essential for the absorption of certain vitamins in the gastrointestinal tract, these are termed fat-soluble vitamins, these are vitamins A, D, E and K. Fats are also essential for hormone production, including testosterone and estrogen. Fats are even partly responsible for the production of physiologically active lipid compounds which play a key role in muscle repair through its mediation of the inflammatory process. Fatty acids can be used for energy but their usage for energy is very slow and does not reach its peak rate of usage until about 2 hours of exercise, even then glucose is still typically the primary source of energy, the only time when fatty acids may be prioritised for energy is during very low-intensity activity or during ultra-endurance sports, and still carbohydrates will be largely used as a fuel source. Fat intake recommendations are the same whether on a hypo, iso or hypercaloric diet. The recommended amount is around 0.3g of fat per pound of body weight per day and as a maximum, I generally wouldn’t recommend exceeding 0.7g of fat per pound of body weight per day as this may cause issues involving the gut.
 

When choosing your source of fat it is important not to consume too much saturated fat which has been shown to increase LDL and HDL leading to an increased risk of a heart attack and stroke, although some evidence suggests that saturated fats have a positive effect on anabolic hormone levels which may aid in sport performance, although further research will be needed to verify this. Trans fats should be steered away from completely for optimal health due to its ability to increase LDL and decrease HDL, also due to its ability to potentially decrease muscularity and increase fat mass, although a lot of governments do try to minimise the amounts of trans fats found in foods already and the occasional consumption of trans fats likely has no effect on the body. Unsaturated fats should therefore make up the majority of your fat intake due to their ability to decrease LDL and increase HDL, but you do still need some saturated fat in the diet. The source of your fat intake whether it is saturated or unsaturated matters as well, as evidence suggests saturated fats can at times be healthy and monounsaturated fats can likely be unhealthy. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated are two types of unsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats promote health and to a small degree it supports a leaner and more aesthetic physique, and they should comprise the largest quantity of our fat intake. Polyunsaturated fats appear to have a small role to play when it comes to health but a more impactful one when it comes to performance, polyunsaturated fats include omega-3 and omega-6, omega-3 in particular is often undereaten and it may be worth supplementing. Saturated fats are found in a large quantity in fatty meats and dairy products. Monounsaturated fats are found in olives, some nuts, eggs and avocado. Polyunsaturated fats include some fish, walnuts, sunflower seeds, soybean oil and corn oil. Fats are slow-digesting and they also slow the digestion of other macronutrients, this makes them desirable to keep you satiated but undesirable to quickly get nutrients into the bloodstream such as pre or post-workout.

Micronutrients

Vitamins are converted to an active form once they have entered the bloodstream which they are then used to regulate various bodily processes, such as resisting infections, bone formation and energy metabolism. Vitamins are essential for optimal sporting performance and health. The fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E and K, these require fat to enter the bloodstream from the intestines and also to be used in the body, they are found in vegetable oils and dairy products. There are also water-soluble vitamins which bind to water in the intestines and then enter the bloodstream. Water soluble vitamins include vitamin C and all B vitamins except from vitamin B12, these can be found in seafood, meat, dairy and eggs. When eating a varied diet vitamin deficiencies are rare, but it may be worth taking a multivitamin just in case, particularly on hypocaloric periods when fewer amounts of food are consumed.
 

Minerals are naturally occurring and they are required for basic function and health. Trace minerals are required by the body in small amounts but can be toxic in large amounts, these include chromium, molybdenum, selenium, iodine, manganese, copper and zinc. All minerals are necessary for health but a group of minerals known as electrolytes are likely the most important for sporting performance and body composition. The electrolytes sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, iron and magnesium carry a positive or negative charge, these are essential to control cell membrane permeability, which is important for the function of nerves, to allow all muscle types to contract and to monitor hydration levels and blood pH, although it will take a large imbalance in electrolytes to alter blood pH levels, because of this it is important to replenish electrolytes throughout the day, especially during and after physical activity when electrolytes can be lost through sweat, you can use electrolyte drinks to do so. On rest days your body should usually obtain it’s needed electrolytes fairly easily through a varied diet, especially of the electrolytes sodium and chloride as these are found in table salt which is found in many foods. The most common mineral deficiency, particularly for vegans, vegetarians and premenopausal women, is an iron deficiency, this is particularly problematic for athletes because iron is an important part of red blood cells which is important for transporting oxygen around the body, iron deficiencies due to its lack of intake or absorption can lead to anaemia which is a decrease in the amount of healthy red blood cells in the body which are capable of carrying oxygen. Non-heme iron is in an oxidised form and it needs to be reduced before it can be absorbed into the bloodstream and so less of it is absorbed, heme iron does not need to be reduced and so more of it is absorbed, heme iron is found in meat, whilst non-heme iron is found in plants, so choose your source of iron carefully, and vegans, vegetarians or those prone to iron deficiencies should consider an iron supplement.                                             

Fibre is not needed for survival it is not an essential nutrient but it does have many health and fitness related benefits. Fibre can not be digested by the body, but some types can be fermented by the gut microbiome which increases gut microbiome health, it has also been linked to improved heart health and bowel movement regularity, fibre’s slow digesting properties also helps to keep you full which is useful on a hypocaloric diet, this also slows the absorption of blood glucose which may be desirable to maintain a fuel source in the body over a period of time. 

Phytochemicals are another micronutrient that has limited research surrounding it, but evidence does suggest that it may contribute to a decreased risk of cancer, heart disease and they may improve bodily function, eating multiple servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables each day should ensure that you consume a good amount of different phytochemicals.

Nutrient timing and food composition

Depending on the individual I generally would recommend consuming between 4-6 meals per day, with about a 3-6 hour gap between meals except between the pre-sleep and post-sleep meal, and it has been shown that this period without food may be beneficial for gut health. Leucine is an EAA which has been hypothesised to have a threshold which needs to be reached for it to maximally trigger muscle protein synthesis. Research suggests that this threshold is reached in young, healthy people after consuming 2g of leucine, or about 20g of high-quality protein, and for older people, it is likely double this, otherwise the protein will likely only have an anti-catabolic effect, eating any less protein than this may mean that it only has anti-catabolic effects rather than anabolic ones. So every meal which you are consuming likely needs above 20-40g of protein and likely below 0.25g of protein per pound of body weight per day depending on your body fat percentage as any extra protein consumption after this will likely be used for energy, to suppress muscle breakdown or for alternate bodily compounds, rather than for muscles. Each meal should contain roughly the same amounts of protein and it may be worthwhile eating more protein during times when cravings are at their highest (such as before sleep) due to its satiating effects, although there are certainly fast-digesting protein sources which are not particularly satiating so please choose a protein source which is slow-digesting and which you can eat a large volume off to fill your stomach, this will also delay the rate of protein entering the bloodstream which will prolong protein availability to tissues, otherwise during your fasting window there will be a period of time where all the nutrients of the previous meal have been absorbed and utilised so your body will result to breaking down muscle for amino acids, this is also the reason why I don’t recommend eating fewer than 3 meals per day as this will prolong the length of fasting windows. The slow-digesting nature of foods becomes more important the fewer meals you consume, consuming fats along with protein will help to slow down digestion further, which is important to keep you satiated between meals which are far apart. 
 

Protein synthesis rates are most significantly elevated following the 2.5-3 hours post-exercise so it may be beneficial to consume a fast-digesting protein source post-exercise for maximal anabolic effects, however, because protein synthesis is elevated for so long post-exercise and your body can always utilise protein currently in your bloodstream, as long as you consume protein within 2.5-3 hours before or after workout then the anabolic effects are likely maximised. If you do decide to consume a protein source shortly after a workout, mixing this meal with some healthy carbohydrate sources will likely maximise the anabolic effects of this meal if there are any, also I would recommend minimising fat in your post-exercise meal as it would delay digestion, it would be ideal to slowly introduce fat back into each meal you have following training, also, meals with multiple different foods are typically slower digesting than if any of the foods were eaten on their own, so keeping your food rather basic around exercise is likely best.
 

Carbohydrate absorption rates in the intestines is about 0.3g per pound of body weight per hour on average, this of course completely depends on your carbohydrate source, this means that consuming more than this will likely be ineffective for enhancing sporting performance. You should consume carbohydrates with every meal, as this means that when combined with protein the carbs can be used as more of an energy source whilst the protein can be utilised for muscle growth rather than as an energy source, this may be particularly important on a hypocaloric diet when more of those amino acids from proteins may be used for energy, this is not to say you need a load of carbohydrates with every meal, but just spreading your carbohydrate intake across every meal with maybe some emphasis after fasting periods or after other periods which create an energy deficit such as after exercise will be optimal, fats can also be added to foods for the same purpose although the body would prefer to use carbohydrates as a fuel source so they likely shouldn’t be added to meals at the expense of carbohydrates if you are eating them purely for the purpose of supplying the body with energy so you can use amino acids for muscle growth. What’s interesting about carbs is that under-eating them in one meal makes muscles more sensitive to absorbing carbs in the next meal and so your body can eat more carbohydrates then.

Post-exercise glycogen is often depleted in muscles by about 30% and post-exercise the rate of glycogen resynthesis in muscles is significantly elevated by up to 140% of its usual rate, 24 hours after training glycogen stores are usually completely regenerated anyway but for those who are training more than once a day it may be essential to consume carbohydrates shortly after training as not to impair your performance in subsequent training in the same day, also by the muscles taking in more glucose it means that they are more primed to an anabolic response following resistance training. An additional benefit to this response is that more carbs are used for glycogen stores and less will be put towards fat storage, especially when considering that fat cells have shown to be less sensitive to nutrients post-exercise. Your post-exercise meal should likely be fast digesting, such as cereal or a sandwich made with white bread, this will make the most of the post-workout period where glycogen resynthesis is elevated, and decrease the risk of gastrointestinal distress which is common following exercise. Slow-digesting carbohydrates help you to stay full for longer and they are very important in the diet especially when considering that fruits and vegetables typically fall into this category, however, this is not always the case, white potatoes for instance are fast-digesting but despite this, they still seem to be very filling.
 

Pre-exercise a meal high in carbohydrates should be consumed to top glycogen stores which is needed to support high-energy training demands and to signal the muscles to become more anabolic which will enhance muscle retention and growth. Your pre-exercise meal can be consumed 30 minutes to 4 hours away from training but closer to training you should ideally opt for a more fast-digesting pre-workout meal, with fewer amounts of fibre and fat, and a lower quantity of food, so the nutrients can be absorbed in time for exercise, otherwise, if you begin exercise while you still have a lot of food to digest it may cause discomfort, nausea or even vomiting, this is because the intestines need blood flow to absorb nutrients but during exercise blood flow is diverted to working muscles, the heart and the lungs, this can seriously impair performance, especially when considering that the nutrients in the meal you have just consumed haven’t even entered your bloodstream and began carrying out their effects. A sugary sports drink is a good fast-digesting meal to consume pre-exercise, as it is high in sugar, has no fat or fibre and is liquid which makes it quicker to digest. If you do have your pre-workout meal close to training it may be made necessary to have an intra-workout very fast digesting carbohydrate-based meal to avoid sudden fluctuations in blood glucose, caused by the pre-workout meals rapid ingestion followed by the usage of its nutrients, this will be optimal for peak performance. 

An intra-workout meal is only really for exercise lasting for longer than one hour but even then it is still not usually a necessity. Exercise lasting less than an hour means that your body will likely just be using stored fuel as long as you have consumed a pre-workout meal and are staying hydrated. An intra-workout meal should contain a mix of fast-digesting carbohydrates and protein for anticatabolic purposes and to supply the body with more energy for peak performance. Your intra-workout meal should contain just about enough protein to reach the leucine threshold and up to the maximum carbohydrate consumption which you body can absorb per hour until you reach your next meal. For very long training sessions I would recommend taking a break and eating a fast digesting meal with regular amounts of carbohydrates and protein and taking at least a 30-minute break before easing back into training.
 

Intra-workout meals are often ideally consumed in the form of a shake which can be sipped throughout the duration of training. The shake could comprise of whey protein, very fast digesting carbohydrate sources such as Gatorade or dextrose powder, as well as a pinch of salt which increases the absorption rate of the shake in the intestines and serves the purpose of maintaining proper nerve function. There should be roughly 10-15% of your total daily protein intake in the shake, and for every 1g of protein in the shake there should be 2-4g of carbohydrates depending on the length and intensity of your training. Per every 8 grams of macronutrient which is in the shake you should have 100ml of water, this is because an 8% solution appears to be the concentration which appears to be the quickest for intestinal absorption and for optimal hydration.
 

Before sleep, it is ideal to eat a slow-digesting meal which will supply the body with nutrients gradually throughout the night, which decreases the risk of or at least the severity of the body entering a catabolic state and more likely induces an anabolic state. Make sure however that eating a meal too close to sleep doesn’t interfere with sleep, in future eat it earlier in the day. A pre-sleep meal also has the additional benefit of keeping you full throughout the night which may improve sleep quality, although if you eat too much fat before sleep it has been shown to interfere with sleep, so don’t allocate too much fat to the post-exercise meal.
 

An example of macronutrient distribution throughout the day of a 180lbs (81.5kg) young male competitive Brazilian jiu-jitsu athlete who is partaking in a BJJ class in the afternoon and a gym workout in the evening. They are currently on an isocaloric diet of 3,000 calories per day. I didn’t add any supplements (apart from whey protein) or water consumption to this example.
 

Their protein intake is set at 1.2g of protein per pound of body weight (equivalent to 220g and worth 880kcal)
 

Their carbohydrate intake is set at 2.05g of carbohydrates per pound of body weight (equivalent to 370g and worth 1480kcal)
 

Their fat intake is set at 0.4g of fat per pound of body weight (equivalent to 70g and worth 630kcal)

7 am: Meal 1 (Breakfast)

Protein- 40g

Carbohydrates- 45g

Fat- 20g

Calories- 520kcal

Example meal- Oatmeal made with semi-skimmed milk with a scoop of whey protein
 

10:30 am: Meal 2 (Pre-BJJ)

Protein- 40g

Carbohydrates- 55g

Fat- 10g

Calories- 470kcal

Example meal- Two chicken sandwiches made with white bread
 

11:30 am - BJJ class starts
 

12:30 pm: Meal 3 (Intra-training shake)

Protein- 20g

Carbohydrates- 50g

Fat- 0g

Calories- 280kcal

Example meal- Shake made with dextrose powder and whey protein powder

1:30 pm - BJJ class ends
 

2 pm: Meal 4 (post-BJJ)

Protein- 40g

Carbohydrates- 100g

Fat- 5g

Calories- 605kcal

Example meal- Protein pancakes with some fruits
 

4 to 5:30 pm - gym workout
 

6 pm: Meal 5 (post-exercise)

Protein- 40g

Carbohydrates- 70g

Fat- 10g

Calories- 530kcal

Example meal- beef, white rice and veggies
 

9:30 pm: Meal 6 (Pre-sleep)

Protein- 40g

Carbohydrates- 50g

Fat- 25g

Calories- 585kcal

Example meal- Scrambled egg on whole grain bread with a pint of semi-skimmed milk

Hydration

Usually, hydration levels can be controlled by listening to your body and drinking when thirsty, but during exercise monitoring hydration becomes more difficult, although, hydration does not usually affect performance except for cases of extreme or consistent dehydration or hyperhydration. Typically during intense exercise, you sweat twice as much fluid as your body absorbs making at least a small amount of dehydration inevitable during intense exercise, so if you feel thirsty during exercise you will not be able to catch up on your hydration levels no matter how much fluid you consume unless you stop exercise or at least temporarily reduce the intensity of the exercise, counter-intuitively acute dehydration slows the absorption rates of nutrients making it even harder to hydrate yourself once dehydration has began to set in. As a general rule of thumb 150ml of fluid is required per 20 minutes of intense exercise, consuming electrolytes along with this fluid is recommended. 
 

To stay at a good level of hydration for performance in martial arts I would typically recommend consuming 2.5-4.5 litres of water per day, this heavily depends on the individual and their training intensity and the environment in which they are training in, for example, performing 8 rounds of sparing in a hot boxing gym will likely mean that significantly more water needs to be consumed around training. Monitoring urine colour can be used to stay on top of your hydration levels, ideally, it should be a light yellow colour, however, things such as sudden fluid or alcohol consumption can alter urine colour to a rather large degree, it is therefore best to monitor your urine colour over the day to see whether you need to drink more or less fluid. Early signs of dehydration include thirst, mild fatigue, difficulty focusing and a reduction in strength and performance, it is important to rehydrate if you are experiencing any of these symptoms before they get worse, which can come in the form of overheating, cramping, chills, increased heart rate, increased respiratory rate, dizziness, muscle spasms and poor balance.
 

To rehydrate yourself post-exercise you can weigh yourself beforehand and then after to see how much fluid you have lost, you can then multiply the amount of weight you lost by 1.5 and consume that amount of water because about one-third of the fluid which you consume will be lost in urine, for example, if you weight 175 lbs pre-exercise and 174 after then I would recommend consuming 1.5 lbs of fluid post-exercise, consuming 250ml of fluid per 15 minutes post-workout is recommended, if you consume fluid with electrolytes in the form of supplementation or with a meal, then you can consume more water per 15 minutes as water absorption rates will be increased. I would recommend consuming your fluid post-exercise along with electrolytes as to avoid the risk of hyponatremia, which is caused when a large amount of fluid is consumed on its own which drains the body of electrolytes which are lost in urination, I would recommend consuming fluids with no more than a 6% carbohydrate and electrolyte concentration, any more than this and gastric emptying will be slowed, this is more likely to cause gastrointestinal stress when competing.

Supplements 

Most available supplements seem to have no effect on performance at all, and the ones which do seem to only have a small effect. Supplements which are confirmed to have an effect on the body include caffeine, whey and casein protein, creatine, carbohydrate formulas, multivitamins, mineral supplements and omega-3 supplements. 
 

Caffeine activates the sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for increasing alertness, focus, pain tolerance, motivation and increase strength and endurance as well as decreasing hunger. 

Whey protein is a naturally occurring protein found in milk, which can be separated once milk has been curdled and strained, it can then be turned into a powder which can be added often to milk, water, or as an ingredient to certain foods, it then serves as a great source of fast digesting, very high-quality protein. Whey hydrolysate contains the most amount of protein (although not by much), followed by whey isolate and then whey concentrate. Whey concentrate is often the best option because it is almost always the cheapest, and so it is the go-to unless you have gastrointestinal issues with it, in which case I would recommend switching to whey isolate because it contains less lactose, and if this still causes issues due to a very large lactose intolerance than you may consider making the switch to whey hydrolysate although the price of this can be too much for many individuals.
 

Casein protein along with whey protein is found naturally in milk and can be precipitated from skimmed milk by acidifying it or treated with rennet to produce rennet casein. Casein can then be turned into a powder and added often to milk, water, or as an ingredient to certain foods, it then serves as a great source of slow-digesting protein, as it can take up to seven hours to fully absorb, this makes it a great source of protein in between meals to deliver a gradual amount of amino acids to the bloodstream which may decrease the likelihood of muscle being broken down for energy and it helps to reduce hunger, this means it is a great option between large gaps in meals, such as at night, and for individuals who struggle to manage their hunger, especially when a large meal can not be consumed, such as when on a hypocaloric diet.
 

Carbohydrate formulas include liquid carb sources, such as Gatorade and Powerade these offer a very quick delivery of carbohydrates to the body. Carbohydrate formulas can also come in the form of powders. Dextrose is a form of fast-digesting carbohydrates, whilst waximase is a form of slow-digesting carbohydrates. Fast-digesting carbohydrate formulas are useful to supply the body with the necessary glucose for performance during exercise, and perhaps replenish glycogen stores and maximise anabolism post-exercise. Slow-digesting carbohydrate sources are most useful to form a very easy and fulfilling meal, which can be consumed on the go, such as combining waximase powder with casein powder in a shake.
 

Creatine is found naturally in the human body. In muscle tissue, ATP is used for muscular contractions and once it is used it forms ADP and a phosphate, creatine holds onto a phosphate in muscle tissue, forming phosphocreatine, it can donate this phosphate to ADP to form ATP so that it can be used for energy and therefore muscular contractions again, creatine can then go and donate more phosphate to ADP. The more creatine that is in the muscle tissue, due to creatine supplementation, then the more creatine can be used to replenish ATP (this is not to say that there is no limit to the amount of creatine which can be contained in the muscle), this means that longer near maximal efforts can be made, this may mean for example that during a set of skull crushers which you can normally perform 14 reps with you can now perform 17 reps with after creatine supplementation for three weeks, creatine supplementation has also been shown to improve sporting performance. Creatine allows for more reps of a set to be performed and it may lead to greater cell swelling which means that muscle growth may be easier to achieve with creatine supplementation. Red meat in particular is the greatest natural source of creatine and so vegans and vegetarians in particular should consider supplementing creatine. Weight gain by as much as 3% body weight in the first week or two of creatine supplementation is common, so those who are cautious of their weight class for their respective martial art should take note of this, and creatine’s effect on strength and performance will likely not be maximised until 2-4 weeks after beginning daily supplementation. The reason why creatine causes weight gain is because it causes water retention in muscle cells, although water retention and its associated weight gain will soon go once creatine supplementation is stopped, so those cautious of making weight for competition can simply stop supplementing creatine about 2 weeks before they need to make weight. Creatine monohydrate is the go-to creatine source and it is a rather cheap supplement.
 

Eating a healthy balanced diet will usually make multivitamin supplementation unnecessary, although it still can be used just to make sure you achieve adequate amounts of certain vitamins and minerals. During a hypocaloric diet a multivitamin usually becomes more necessary as eating less foods often means fewer vitamins and minerals are consumed.
 

Omega-3 is important for health and cognitive function, and omega-3 supplementation is very often needed to achieve adequate amounts of this essential fatty acid, unless you regularly consume fatty fish. 

Weight cuts 

Weight cuts are very common practice across many martial arts, the idea is to cut weight in order to enter a weight class to compete with smaller opponents in order to gain an advantage, but little to no evidence has shown there to be an advantage when doing so, I personally believe it depends on the fighter, their ability to replenish nutrients in their body and their martial art. A weight cut of 0-2% body weight is generally safe to do if you have time to replenish nutrients in your body, if you don’t compete too regularly and if you feel as if you may benefit from it as this weight cut will likely not cause any negative effects on performance or health, a 2-5% weight cut is riskier for health and performance although its effects on health and performance will likely be limited if you have enough time before competing to replenish nutrients in the body, however, I still wouldn’t recommend performing a 2-5% weight cut unless you are competing in an important competition or match, a weight cut of 5-10% is the point at which impairments in performance is a real possibility and your health will be at risk, I wouldn’t recommend weight cuts in this range for any competition or match unless it is very important, the athlete is sure it will increase their chances of winning and the athlete has medical experts around them with the tools needed if any negative side effects of the weight cut sets in, a weight cut of over 10% is the point at which death due to severe dehydration becomes a very serious risk, which I am not willing to take with any athlete. Water loading hasn’t been shown to cause any impairments in performance for grappling athletes whilst it may for striking and particularly mixed-style martial artists, so grappling athletes can likely get away with a larger weight cut.  
 

Many weight-cutting methods are commonly used, many of which can even be combined, these include energy deficits, fluid loss through sweat or spitting, laxatives, diet pills, diuretics, enemas and vomiting. Body weight is made up of 45-75% water and weight cutting through fluid loss is the quickest, behold water cutting, this technique requires you to trick the body into holding less water in the bloodstream and in cells by drinking more water than you regularly would so that certain hormones are manipulated so when you stop drinking more water you lose alot of fluid in the body through urination. The method you use for water loading will heavily depend on how much weight you wish to lose and how long it is between weigh-in and competition so that you have enough time to rehydrate. Usually, you are required to drink 2.5-3x of what your recommended water intake should be for about 3-4 days, making sure not to drink more than one litre in a single sitting as to minimise the risk of hyponatremia, and you should up your salt intake accordingly as to not drain the body of electrolytes, after this for 1-2 days water intake should be stopped completely up until the weight in. Salt in the body will be responsible for a significant amount of water retention, so if salt intake is lowered 1-2 days before weigh-in then it can help you to lose weight, although doing this too early in a weight cut can be perceived as a serious threat by the body which leads to a response where water retention is increased. Hyponatremia is when salt concentrations are low in the bloodstream which puts your health and performance at a severe risk, so I would in fact recommend increasing your salt intake when water loading and being very cautious of hyponatremia when cutting out water and salt shortly before the weight in, especially being that the additional water intake causing you to urinate more will cause the lost of salt in the body quicker then what it usually would. Hyponatremia results in cell swelling which can cause brain cells to get compressed up against the skull which can result in a severe headache, trouble breathing and even coma or death. Carbohydrates are also responsible for significant water retention so lowering carb intake about 1-4 days before weight in can help you make weight, however, you should give yourself enough time to replenish glycogen stores, otherwise, performance will be significantly impaired, and glycogen stores will still likely not be fully replenished even with a 24 hour window in between weigh-in and competition. Fibre holds water and slows digesting which means that food may still be travelling through the gastrointestinal tract by the time you step on the scale for weigh-in, fibre should therefore be minimised 24 hours leading up to weigh-in.
 

Weight cutting through caloric or carbohydrate restrictions has been shown to reduce muscle glycogen stores, which causes an early development of fatigue when competing. Also, long periods without carbohydrates may make the body adapt to become more reliant on ketones and less reliant on glycogen stores for energy, it is unsure as to whether this impairs performance but it may. Water cutting causes a decrease in blood plasma and blood volume, which will likely impair cardiovascular function, muscle blood flow and thermoregulatory capacity, replenishing blood plasma to baseline levels depends largely on the severity of dehydration and the time between the weigh-in and competing, a 24-hour window to replenish blood plasma levels has been shown to be sufficient, however, other evidence contradicts this. Haemoglobin mass has also been shown to decrease due to weight cutting which would likely hinder aerobic performance, although, there is limited evidence to suggest this. Even slight dehydration through water cutting can alter electrolyte concentrations in the body which can influence cells' fluid balance, and their metabolic processes which will therefore impair neuromuscular function causing decreased endurance and force output. Electrolytes are essential for membrane electrochemical potential, however, dehydration effects on this are yet to be fully studied. What almost appears certain is dehydration's psychological effects, as it likely will negatively impact mood and cause mental fatigue which will decrease performance.
 

Fluid loss in the body in order to make weight for competition has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular issues, the decrease in blood plasma causing an increase in blood thickness will increase the risk of stroke and ischaemic heart disease (heart weakening caused by reduced blood flow to your heart). Dehydration has also been associated with changes in brain morphology, decreasing cushioning forces which will increase the risk of brain trauma, such as concussion, in striking martial arts. Dehydration causes a decrease in the body's thermoregulatory function which increases the risk of heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke. In addition, weight cutting has also been associated with suppressed immune function, changes to insulin sensitivity, bone loss and hormonal imbalances, this likely leads to decreased mineral density, impaired adolescent development and blood glucose regulation.

A common misconception is that loss in water weight should come right at the end of an energy deficit diet, when you should in fact cut calories to lose weight through bodily tissue long in advance before competition so that you are at the desired weight 4 plus weeks before you begin to lose weight through fluid loss, the advantage of this is that so prior to your water cut your body can obtain a good amount of nutrients for the high-level intense training which usually occurs before competing, your body's glycogen stores will be full and ready for performance and your body is still well adapted to use glycogen stores as a fuel source. It is only required that you lose weight through calorie restriction if you have gained weight in between competitions. If you do decide to go up a weight class for your next competition I would recommend taking your time to enter a slight calorie surplus and slowly bulk up to a weight a considerate amount above the weight class which you want to enter, and then slowly entering a calorie deficit and slowly cut to lose any excess fat which was put on from the bulk, whilst making sure to perform hypertrophy training throughout the bulk and cut, those who are not used to hypertrophy training can easily increase muscle mass with little to no fat gain if done carefully and so there will not always be a need to enter a calorie deficit with them, your finishing weight should leave room for a water cut if you wish to do so if you believe that it will maximise your chances of winning. For example, a boxer may compete in February at 71kg, and they usually walk around at 75kg and 16% body fat, however, their current weight class is not working for them so they look to compete in the weight class one above, at 75kg, they spend the next 4 months (to June) bulking and performing hypertrophy training, they reach 81kg and 18% body fat, so they cut over a 2 month period (to August) down to 79kg and 16% body fat, they leave it a month to perform some high-quality training on an isocaloric diet (to September) and they then perform a water cut down to 75kg so they can now compete in the weight class above in September (7 months after their last fight) whilst bringing with them the physical attributes which give them a benefit when competing with those in the higher weight class.
 

When bulking and cutting there are certain pieces of information regarding calorie intake which you need to know for everything to run smoothly, first to gain or lose one pound of any tissue you must consume a calorie surplus or deficit of 3,500 calories. Weight gain phases should consist of 0.25-0.5% weight gain each week, and this phase should not last for more than 6-16 weeks without maintaining for a while. Weight loss phases should consist of 0.5-1% weight loss each week, and this phase should not last for more than 6-12 weeks without maintaining for a while. The maintenance phase following a hypocaloric diet should last ⅔ to 1 time as long as the actual diet so the body can establish a new settling point to allow for continuous fat loss. Maintenance phases following a hypercaloric diet are less important and the maintenance phases should usually come naturally when a maintenance phase is needed anyway for training because it has become less stimulative and your body needs to be resensitised to it, during this phase you should almost always be performing an isocaloric diet.
 

After your weight cut it is essential to replenish carbohydrates, electrolytes and body fluid. It is recommended to consume 5-10g of carbs per kg of body weight per day after making weight in order to replenish glycogen stores and gain weight, if you only have a short period of time before you need to compete it is important not to cut carbs too much when weight cutting as there is evidence that short recovery periods are insufficient to replenish glycogen stores, longer recovery periods on the other hand likely gives the individual enough time to replenish glycogen stores. When given shorter recovery periods you must also be cautious to minimise gastrointestinal distress which will hinder performance, to do this it is recommended that you consume fast-digesting foods which can be digested before competing, such as sandwiches, pasta and rice, in competitions where the recovery period is very short it may be useful for more of your nutrients to come from liquid sources, when given longer recovery periods more high caloric solid foods can be ingested with more protein which may replenish glycogen stores to a greater extent. As well as carbohydrate intake the athlete must also pay extra attention to water and electrolyte intake following a weight cut. It is hard to say how much water or electrolytes to consume and their ratio to water because the electrolyte concentration in the body will influence how much fluid is obtained in the body, consuming too many hypotonic fluids following a water cut will result in excessive water being excreted decreasing the rate of rehydration in the body. If you exclusively use water loading to cut water weight electrolytes will not be as necessary to replenish, whilst, when you lose water weight through sweating it is vital to pay extra attention to replenish electrolytes in the body, this method is particularly mentally fatiguing and you shouldn’t aim to lose more than 1% body weight from this method. You should consume about 150% of fluid compared to how much you lost, which can be found by weighing yourself before your water cut and then after and multiplying this number by 1.5, make sure to consume no more than 250ml of fluid every 15 minutes.