Climbing nutrition: weight, energy and recovery

How much energy and protein does a climber need?

More than they often eat. Finger strength sessions, bouldering and full days on the rock all add up. The muscles in your forearms and back can only be built if you eat enough to build them. The general framework for energy, carbohydrates and recovery in any sport is in the sports nutrition guide. Here is what is specific to climbing.

Carbohydrates are the foundation, and the amount depends on how much you train. This is summarised in the joint position statement by the dietetic associations of the United States and Canada and the American College of Sports Medicine [1]. For low-intensity or technique-based activities, 3 to 5 g per kilo per day [1]. For around an hour of moderate exercise a day, 5 to 7 g [1]. For a climber weighing 55 kilos who trains for an hour a day, that is between 275 and 385 g of carbohydrates. Include rice, pasta, bread, potatoes or pulses at each main meal, and fruit between meals.

For protein, the same position statement gives 1.2 to 2.0 g per kilo per day [1]. How it is spread throughout the day matters too. A review on bouldering nutrition suggests servings of 0.25 to 0.3 g per kilo every three or four hours [2]. Other recommendations for people who exercise put the daily total at 1.4 to 2.0 g per kilo [3]. In practice, include eggs, dairy, fish, meat, tofu or pulses in each meal.

Iron deserves attention, especially for women, who are at greater risk of deficiency [1]. This also applies to adolescents who train every day. Meat, fish, eggs and pulses with a fruit or vegetable rich in vitamin C provide iron and help your body absorb it. If you have unusual tiredness, your doctor can investigate with a blood test. If anaemia is confirmed, your doctor will prescribe iron treatment; diet alone does not correct it.

What should you eat before indoor climbing or bouldering?

An indoor bouldering or route-climbing session combines short efforts with long rests. There are attempts lasting seconds or a few minutes, long breaks, and an hour and a half or two hours in the gym. The key is to arrive with full energy stores and a light stomach.

Before exercise lasting more than an hour, the joint position statement recommends 1 to 4 g of carbohydrates per kilo, one to four hours beforehand [1]. That meal is low in fat, protein and fibre. For a climber weighing 50 kilos who has breakfast at eight and gets to the climbing gym at ten, that is between 50 and 100 g of carbohydrates [1]. For example, two slices of toast with jam, a banana and a glass of milk, or whipped fresh cheese with muesli and honey.

If you climb in the afternoon, lunch serves this purpose. A plate of pasta or rice with chicken or turkey and a piece of fruit is enough.

If you spend the day on the rock or on a long route

The problem here is usually not eating too much beforehand, but not eating all day. At a crag, you approach, climb, belay, wait and go again. It is easy to reach five in the afternoon having eaten only a couple of handfuls of nuts. On a long route it is even harder, with hours on the wall, your hands occupied and little chance to stop.

Prepare for the day the evening before. Have dinner with a generous serving of carbohydrates, such as pasta, rice or potatoes with sautéed vegetables and fish, chicken, turkey, rabbit or tofu, followed by fruit. In the morning, have a light, energy-rich breakfast, such as milk with cocoa and cereal, yoghurt with muesli, honey and banana, or toast with jam and dates.

During the day, eat something every hour or hour and a half, without waiting until you feel hungry. For efforts lasting one to two and a half hours, the guideline is 30 to 60 g of carbohydrates per hour [1]. On a day at the crag, with more waiting than effort, the rate is usually lower, but avoid long gaps. You can pack small sandwiches, whole or dried fruit, nuts and cereal bars. If it is hot, add a drink with sugars and salts, which is also useful when solid food is hard to manage.

The approach to eating on the go for several hours is the same as in the cycling diet, but with less intensity and more waiting.

How much water should you take climbing?

Drinking too little makes you tired and also reduces concentration, which matters on a delicate move. The 2007 hydration position stand from the American College of Sports Medicine advises starting out well hydrated. The consensus statement recommends around 5 to 10 ml per kilo of body weight in the two to four hours beforehand [1]. During exercise, drink enough to avoid losing more than 2% of your body weight [1].

When climbing outdoors, especially in summer, take one bottle for the approach and another for the day. Sip between attempts, and drink more if the crag is in the sun. Water is heavy on a long route, so people tend to take too little. Start well hydrated, spread out what you carry and do not save it all for the final belay.

If you feel confused or very dizzy in the heat, or stop sweating, stop climbing. This is a reason to seek urgent care; it is listed with the other warning signs at the end of this guide.

What should you eat after climbing?

The post-climb meal is often forgotten, and it determines how you feel the next day. It matters even more on a climbing trip lasting several days in a row. You need to replace fluids, carbohydrates and protein. For protein, each serving, including after exercise, should be around 0.25 g per kilo of body weight, or between 20 and 40 g [3]. For carbohydrates, one complete meal is enough; do not wait until dinner if it has been a long day.

At the van or refuge, yoghurt with cereal or a plate of rice with pulses will do. If you are climbing at the same crag again tomorrow, have a generous serving of pasta, rice or potatoes for dinner. If you combine climbing with mixed strength and endurance sessions, the Hyrox nutrition guide covers recovery from that kind of training load.

What mistakes do we see in consultations?

There are three mistakes that keep coming up among climbers, and all three can be corrected without counting calories.

• The snack that never happens. Eating at two and heading into the climbing gym at seven without anything in between. A yoghurt with fruit or a small sandwich in the middle of the afternoon fills that gap.
• Eating too little the evening before a project for fear of weighing more the next day. That is exactly the dinner that fills your energy stores for the wall.
• Eating less on a rest day. That is when your muscles recover from the effort, and they need the same food as on a normal day.

Do you need to lose weight to climb better?

Not necessarily, and this question can do the most harm if it is answered badly. High-level climbers tend to be light and have low body fat [2]. But what helps you climb a harder grade is the relationship between strength and weight. If you lose weight by eating too little, you also lose muscle and strength, and that relationship does not improve.

Continuously restricting carbohydrates is common among climbers and puts their health at risk [2]. There is a name for consistently eating less energy than your training and the rest of your body need: relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs).

The 2023 International Olympic Committee consensus describes its effects on hormones and menstruation, bones, immunity and mood [4]. Ultimately, it also affects the performance you were aiming to improve [4]. It can occur without an eating disorder (ED), simply because food intake has not been adjusted to training [4].

The pressure around weight in climbing also shows up in the data. A survey of 498 sport climbers from several countries found signs of disordered eating in 8.6% [5]. The figure rose to 16.5% among women and was more common at higher climbing levels [5]. A survey cannot diagnose anyone, but it shows that this sport is not immune to the problem.

These behaviours may suggest that weight has started to control your eating:

• Skipping meals on project days to weigh less
• Compensating for what you have eaten with more hours at the climbing gym
• Being afraid of whole groups of foods, such as bread or pasta
• Weighing yourself every day and letting the number determine your mood or what you eat
• Avoiding meals with friends or climbing trips because you cannot control what is on the table

If any of this sounds familiar, it is not a lack of discipline and another diet will not fix it. Talk to your doctor and a specialist psychologist; your dietitian-nutritionist will work in coordination with them.

If you want to adjust your body composition, do so with a moderate energy deficit and an individual plan. If you use scales, weigh yourself no more than once a week. Waist and hip measurements, or a belt you wear regularly, are more useful for assessing changes. Fat should not fall below 20% of energy intake, because reducing it further does not improve performance [1].

Do you need supplements for climbing?

Most people do not. Some supplements might offer a benefit during very intense, short efforts, but research in climbing has major gaps [2]. You will not find a list or a dose here, and that is deliberate. First, eat what you need. We do not recommend sports supplements for minors. If there is a reason to go further, ask your doctor or dietitian-nutritionist to prescribe a plan.