In the previous post I established some clear goals and gave myself a time scale in which to achieve them. I told you that I would start with nutrition and weight management, so here we are.

Nutrition

For optimum athletic performance, and in our case rock climbing performance, it is imperative to get the right nutrients from our food. In this post I’ll tell you how to calculate the number of calories you need to consume and how much protein, carbohydrate and fat you need.

Energy

The energy from food is measured in calories. A single calorie is a tiny amount of energy so we usually measure in kilo calories (kcal), which is 1000 calories. Another unit of measurement for food energy is joules or kilo joules (kJ). One Kcal is equivalent to 4.2 kJ. You will probably have seen both units of measurement on your food packaging.

To find out how many calories you need, you need to first calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR). This is the number of calories you burn at rest over 24 hours (basically just by being alive).

To get an accurate estimation of your BMR, you need to use one of these equations:

Men
10 – 18 years old: (Weight in kg x 17.5) + 651
19 – 30 years old: (Weight in kg x 15.3) + 679
31 – 60 years old: : (Weight in kg x 11.6) + 879
60+ years old: : (Weight in kg x 13.5) + 487

Women
10 – 18 years old: (Weight in kg x 12.2) + 746
19 – 30 years old: (Weight in kg x 14.7) + 479
31 – 60 years old: : (Weight in kg x 8.7) + 829
60+ years old: : (Weight in kg x 10.5) + 596

I’m 37 years old and weigh 75 kg, so my BMR is:
(75 kg x 11.6) + 879 = 1,749 kcal

So, that’s how to calculate the number of calories required to stay alive without doing anything. We’re going to be performing a fair amount of activity so we need to factor in our physical activity level (PAL).

Regardless of your current level of activity, I’m going to recommend that you do at least 3 good workouts per week (more if you can):

Hard exercise more than 3 x weekly = 1.5
Hard exercise daily = 1.7

Next multiply your BMR by your PAL (BMR x PAL). I do 3 days at the gym, 2 climbing sessions and 1 other sport session (usually mountain biking or kite surfing). That’s not quite every day so I’ll multiply by 1.5: 1,749 x 1.5 = 2,623.5 kcal

At this level of calorific intake, and my current levels of activity, my weight will pretty much stay as it is now.

To lose weight: reduce calorie intake by 15%
So for me that’s – 2,230 kcal

To gain weight: increase calorie intake by 20%
So for me that’s 3,148

I would like to lose a little bit of weight (about 6kg). I’m not fat but I want to see how well I perform at rock climbing with a little less weight to carry.

The next thing we need to do is to calculate the levels of protein, fat and carbohydrate we need. To keep things simple, I’m going to base the figures on 5 – 7 hours of hard activity per week.

Protein: 1.2 – 1.8 g per kg of body weight (for me that’s 75 x 1.2 to 75 x 1.8: 90g – 135g)
Carbohydrate: 5 – 6 g per kg of body weight (for me that’s 75 x 5 to 75 x 6:  350g – 400g)
Fat: 30% of calories (for me that’s 666 kcal (30% of 2,230 kcal). 1g of fat = 9 kcal. 666 / 9 = 74g

In the next post I’ll go into a little bit more detail about what and when to eat for best athletic performance. I’m aware that we’re on a deadline, so I’ll aim to post that in the next couple of days.

I found the information for this post in the excellent “Food for Fitness” by Anita Bean. I have read it cover to cover several times.

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As always I would love to hear from you, just drop me a comment below.

Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game: Week 1 – nutrition and weight management is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

1. Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game (and mine)
2. Gareth Hanson – Editor