SAI organises sensitisation program on managing diet and jet lag for youth boxers

With an eye on preparing young boxers in the best possible way -- both on and off the ring for the upcoming AIBA Youth Championships in Poland scheduled for April, the Sports Authority of India organised a sensitisation program on Thursday. Several experts spoke to the young boxers on managing their dietary habits and combating jet lag.

With an eye on preparing young boxers in the best possible way -- both on and off the ring for the upcoming AIBA Youth Championships in Poland scheduled for April, the Sports Authority of India orgsed a sensitisation program on Thursday. Several experts spoke to the young boxers on managing their dietary habits and combating jet lag.

This is the first of a series of workshops orgsed by the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) program of SAI to empower the junior and youth teams on various aspects of their life and career.

Over 70 participants, including boxers from the National Centre of Excellence Rohtak, coaches, officials from SAI and other representatives of the Boxing Federation of India, were present for the online sensitisation program. Boxers who joined the online meeting included Vinka, Alfiya Pathan and Sanamacha Chanu, who performed well at the Adriatic Pearl International Boxing Tournament in Montenegro earlier this year.

Physiotherapist Shrikant Iyengar spoke on the need of maintaining the circadian rhythm and gave a host of tips on combating jet lag while reaching a different country so that it doesn't affect the training of the kids.

"Make sure to get yourself hydrated before your travel and do some light intensity exercises like jogging and skipping once you reach the destination to adjust to the different time zone. It takes your body at least a day to adjust to the different circadian rhythm or the body's internal clock," said Shrikant.

SAI Nutritionist V Bhusanam and NCOE Rohtak Nutritionist Parul Tyagi gave a plethora of tips on managing the diet in Poland, especially, before training, during training and after training, and more. They spoke on the necessity of including macro and micronutrients in their diet, including carbs, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals.

"Three to four hours before the training, you should feed your body with the carbs to generate the correct amount of energy. If the training time is an hour and less, take a banana or an energy bar. If the training time is in 30 mins or less, take raisins. Hydration is very important and to maintain it, we should have one or two sips of water every 10-15 minutes. For a long duration of the training, we need to maintain the electrolyte balance by taking 'nimbu pa' (lemon water) in between the training," mentioned Parul, one of the nutritionists.

"After training, we have to recover water loss by taking equal water intake. The focus lies on an ideal mixture of protein and carbohydrates," she added.

( With inputs from ANI )