Nutrition for Rowing

• What can I eat before morning training? How do I plan the rest of my day when I’m at training or school/work from dawn til dusk?
• How can I manage my diet on a regatta day where I’m racing multiple times?
• Does it matter where I get my energy from? Should I be eating more protein, more fat or more carbohydrate?
• Are the nutrition requirements of growing athletes different from mature athletes?
• I am a female athlete, is there anything specific I need to consider to stay healthy?
• As a lightweight can I manage my weight better to go faster and stay healthy?
• Do I need supplements? What are the risks? What are the alternatives?

If you are training full time the questions you ask yourself step up a level.

• How much do I need to eat and when? You need to think about periodising your diet in the same way as you do your training load.
• What is my optimal body composition? Where is the sweet spot between being lean, eating enough to adapt to your training, avoiding illness or injury and having enough power to make the boat go fast?
• How do I travel well? What are some of the things I need to think about? Are there differences in my nutrition when I travel to cold or hot environments? What difference does altitude make?
• As a female athlete, is there anything specific I need to consider to stay healthy?
• As a lightweight or coxswain my weight management is important. What is the best way to do this to go faster and stay healthy?
• Do I need supplements? What are the risks? What are the alternatives? The Rowing Australia Sport Supplement Policy and factsheets can help you to understand if and how these might fit in your plan.
  • There is information on Rowing Australia’s supplement policy.
  • The AIS Supplement Framework.