Eating a banana in between sets?

You should have a decent meal before your match and it means you must have enough carbohydrates especially (for energy) to last you throughout. And you should take your meal at least 2 hours before your match to allow it to digest properly, longer if your meal is larger and have items that are harder to digest like vegetables.

The banana part comes in, not as a main meal, but as a small supplement during your match if you feel you need slightly more energy as when the rallies were too exhaustive. It should not make you feel full and heavy, otherwise it will affect your game adversely. In place of bananas are other sports tit bits like chocolate and other sweet bars, etc, which can supplement the energy that you have expended. But more importantly, you should drink enough water or sport liquids, before, during and after your match.

If your tournament lasts the whole day and you have to be involved at every stage, ie, if you win, bring more bananas and other sweet handy stuffs that you like to eat and take them in between, not forgetting to take in liquids. It is a good idea to have a transparent bottle so that it will remind you how much you have consumed. It will be bad if you consumed not enough.

And to help you pass the time, remember to bring along your favourite music and songs and listen to them through your earphones for entertainment, inspiration and company. Always enjoy yourself irrespective of the result!

 

I have seen players eating sweet half way during the match during a tournament. He just pop it into his mouth.If i am not mistaken, its mentos.

 

Its an instant energy boost, bananas contain sucrose, fructose and glucose therefore giving you a stable run of energy that can help your flagging energy levels out for 30 minutes or more.

As well theres some view that the vitamin B and potasium also can help reduce your nerves and heart rate!

 

No others fruit contain the level of potasium that Bananas do, if your just after the sugar rush a few dried apricots are very good.

 

can't u guys import banana from south america?
here it is 1.1 USD/kg, even when it's -25C outside

 

No... you don't eat a banana between sets, you eat a banana between matches. If you just check out my login name, you will know you are getting the advice from an expert here!!!

 

I'd vote: before matches
Tennis is different from badminton concerning nutrition....Badmintonplayers can stuff themselves full and make sure they've eaten enough fo everything..an hour later you're match is over...

tennisplayers, however less intense, have to be on their feet for 4 hours...and you can't eat enough in one time to keep going for 4 hours (even at their intensity) so eating during the match is necessery.

if you eat a banana during your 90sec set-change you waste 20secs of catching your breath or talking to your coach..and by the time the nutrition is kicking in you're already at matchpoint

 

Potassium in bananas also reduces the chance of leg cramps! ..though if you are having a serious match you ought to be well-stretched anyway... also bananas supposedly calm your stomach and nerves. I have heard of many music teachers advising their students to eat bananas before an audition or recital, mine included! So this might be an especially good thing if you've got a big match coming up..

 

Bananas contains about 30 grams of carbohydrates, so the player is giving replenishing the lost carbohydrates in his/her system...I think

 

Eating banana

Hi guys,
Heard that if one eats about 2 bananas, they last u for abt 90mins of work-out? Is this true? I saw few of my friend taking bananas when they played badminton
Lee

 

AFAIK the digestive system pretty much shuts down during exersise so anything that needs to be broken down will just sit there till you finish. Hence only eat foods during exersise that are pretty much just short chain carbos so you can absorb them directly (fruits, sugary bars etc)

Other options are carbo gels/bars, taken with water or if you are energy depleted high CHO solutions, if you are dehydrated then go for a lower CHO solution as the conc effects how much water you will absorb.

If you are going to have a larger meal, 4 hours before is best. For a small 600-700 calorie meal, 2 hours before the game should give you time to get it down.

This is all individual specific though, basically you just want to have plenty of energy available but not feel heavy or full whilst playing.

 

yup, that's the main reason why they eat bananas in between games. i use to get cramps no matter how mcuh i stretched when i use to swim. my coach told me to eat a lot of bananas and dried apricots before i swam and then stretch. they really do help

 

Yeah, for sugary bars i just meant anything with some sugar, glucose etc in, short chain carbs preferable.

Also they actually do import bananas all round the world, they pick them green while the banana is still mostly starch, transport them and then put them into rooms with ethylene in which is a chemical cue for them to ripen. That makes the starch go to sugar and a nice banana you then have !

Off topic but a quick science lesson for the day !

 

i've heard of people who drink Red Bull before matches, especially if they're tired......what u guys think of that?

 

I drank an energy drink once before a friendly singles match with my friend. And my timing went all funny. I'd swing too early and I'd try to rush eveything. I also made far more mistakes (hitting out or into the net). So I for one won't be doing that again. But I guess those sorts of things affect people differently.

 

RedBull gives me wind (never mind winggs) so any benefit would be offset by discomfort. But its high in sugar and contains cafine so its like taking a couple of proplus tablets 10 minutes before the game, gives you a rush after which your worse than when you started.

A Mars bar or similar is as good a choice if you ask me.

 

Great advice Loh, that's really awesome of you to put in all that effort.

I find granola bars also make a great boost.