The foundation of a good CrossFit diet
In recent years, we are constantly being asked about the best supplement and diet plan for CrossFit athletes. When asking this question, many people expect an extravagant answer, including the ultimate muscle-blasting powder or fat-burning potion.
If you’ve followed us, you know that’s not what this is about. We recommend the best and safest ways to make your body as strong as possible and your health as good as possible.
Whether you build a house or a body, the rules are the same. Strength and durability start with a proper foundation.
Of course, there is a place for protein powder and amino acids in your CrossFit regimen. But without the basic components in place, you’re cheating yourself and might even be wasting your money.
At CrossFit Diet Tips, all athletes, beginner or veteran, start with two supplements. These two supplements are not flashy or expensive like most products out there. That said, you definitely get what you pay for and there is a difference in quality and potency.
The two supplements we always start with are fish oil and a multivitamin. These supplements provide a strong foundation that will support further stacking of other ingredients, while aiding in your body’s recovery and wellness.
However, remember that a supplement is just that, a supplement. Their job is to aid a good diet or enhance a good exercise program. You can’t fix a poor diet with supplements.
Why do we recommend a Multivitamin? A multivitamin contains micronutrients that are deficient in almost all athletes. No matter how good a diet is, it’s almost impossible to get enough of the recommended micronutrients. Most people simply cannot consume the amount of whole foods needed to supply these nutrients.
A good encapsulated multivitamin is the foundation of a CrossFit supplement program.
multivitamin capsules
As stated above, you get what you pay for. A multivitamin should be high quality and encapsulated, rather than a heated and pressed tablet. Your body just doesn’t break down and absorb these types. Your multivitamin should also be gender specific. The micronutrient needs of a woman are different from those of a man.
Fish oil is the second supplement in our foundation. Fish oil is often referred to as omega-3 fatty acids. These are important because not only are most people deficient in them, but they are also important providers of a natural anti-inflammatory response in your body. As a CrossFit athlete or even a non-athlete, you can see how important this process can be. You would need to eat a diet of fresh fatty fish 3 to 5 times a week, every week to get the recommended dose of Omega-3.
High-quality fish oil is a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids and is the foundation for a CrossFit supplement program.
Omega 3
Just like a multivitamin, all Omega-3 supplements are definitely not created equal. You can find cheap fish oil supplements in big box stores, but quality and potency suffer drastically. A “fresh” fish oil is a must and the ratio of EPA and DHA is of paramount importance. The higher the potency of your Omega-3s, the better the anti-inflammatory response.
In closing, a good multivitamin and fish oil supplement is the perfect foundation for your diet and exercise program. They fill in the gaps by providing the micronutrients and Omega-3s that are necessary but hard to come by even in the best diets.
To your health,
The CrossFit Diet Team