The Gymnast Nutritionist® Podcast Christina Anderson MS, RDN, CSSD, CSP

What are the most dangerous assumptions people can make about gymnasts and their nutrition needs? Unfortunately, there quite a few. And I'm going over 8 of them in today's podcast episode.Gymnasts and parents are SHOCKED…✨When they see how much better they feel and perform with optimized meals/snacks throughout the day. 🚀It’s not rocket science. 🥵It’s not “random” as to why you feel tired, slow, sluggish, hangry or you’re constantly injured. More than likely, your gymnast is just underf...

Many of you listening wonder what Nationals is like; so today I wanted to give you a glimpse of what it’s like for me as a sports dietitian but ALSO what it’s like for my clients. Some of which I traveled with and got the full experience of fueling gymnasts while on the road! Let me just say that nationals is like my Superbowl. It’s the one time of year I can come to a central location and see clients from all of the US. Many of which I’ve never met in person and others I have only seen ...

Does upgrade season ever just feel too busy? There's so much to get done but not enough time?Oftentimes, summer in the gymnastics world is busier and more chaotic than the school year/comp season. Lots of vacations, different training schedules, camps or clinics for the upper levels, etc. And plus, for a lot of parents, they’re more in survival mode navigating the chaos. Especially when child care is more difficult. But, as busy as upgrade season is with everything else going on, the reality ...

Is your gymnast unsafe to do gymnastics? When I first heard this concept years ago I was shocked. It had never dawned on me that nutrition was “that serious” re: safety concern in terms of your kid going to the gym. But the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. Especially if you’re a parent, coach, or gym owner. The reality is that gymnastics has a lot more inherent “risk” to it than other sports where you aren’t flipping on something 4 inches wide, 4 feet in the...

For most gymnasts, competition season has or is coming to a close and upgrade season is starting. But why didn’t your gymnast make it to insert…regionals, Nationals, etc?There’s a LOT you can’t control. What region your gymnast is in, what age group, session times etc. Gymnasts spend months preparing for these big meets but there is a lot that is just out of their control. In our new series, "Upgrade Season", I'm taking a look back to really help our gymnasts with the off-season training...

Does gymnastics stunt growth? It's quite the hot topic and many people weigh in with their own opinions. We've even heard conflicting opinions from medical providers. It's such a big question that it's actually been investigated and researched quite a bit in the past few decades by some heavy hitters such as the International Gymnastics Federation.Some providers will give you a flippant response like, "gymnastics stunts their growth but it's fine, they'll catch up when they quit". But not gro...