How to Eat During Intense Fight Camps

Fight camps are no joke. Whether you're preparing for a BJJ tournament, Muay Thai bout, or MMA debut, your training ramps up hard — and so should your nutrition. What you eat during fight camp can make or break your performance. Get it wrong and you’ll feel sluggish, overtrained and prone to injury. Get it right and you’ll recover faster, train harder, and show up on fight night ready to dominate.

Here’s how to fuel your body through those critical weeks of camp.

Prioritise Nutrient-Dense Foods

Your body is under extreme stress. To recover well and stay healthy, you need whole, nutrient-rich foods: lean proteins, complex carbs, healthy fats and tonnes of micronutrients.

• Protein: Go for clean sources like eggs, chicken, turkey, fish or plant-based options like tofu and legumes.
• Carbs: Brown rice, oats, sweet potatoes, quinoa — these will fuel your sessions.
• Fats: Avocados, olive oil, nuts and seeds. Essential for hormone balance and brain health.

Don’t forget greens. Supergreens like spirulina, chlorella and wheatgrass can help fill micronutrient gaps when you're training so hard your appetite drops.

Stay Hydrated (Electrolytes Matter)

Water alone isn’t enough. You lose key minerals like sodium, potassium and magnesium through sweat, especially during pad rounds, conditioning drills and sauna sessions.

Combat Nutrition’s electrolyte blend is designed to restore balance fast — without artificial sweeteners or chemical junk. Rehydrating properly can boost energy, prevent cramps and even improve cognitive function during long sessions.

Time Your Meals Around Training

• Pre-workout: Light carbs + a bit of protein 60–90 mins before training (e.g. banana + peanut butter).
• Post-workout: High-protein recovery shake or whole meal with protein and complex carbs.

Avoid greasy, heavy meals close to training. Digestive stress = poor performance.

Supplement Smart

When you're training twice a day and barely have time to cook, supplements can bridge the gap. But choose wisely:

• Supergreens: Support immunity and recovery.
• Electrolytes: Rehydrate after tough sessions.
• Magnesium & Zinc: Improve sleep and muscle recovery.
• Ashwagandha or Rhodiola: Help manage cortisol and stress levels.

Stick with clean, natural formulas. No artificial colours. No shady fillers.

Respect the Role of Sleep and Recovery

Nutrition isn’t just what you eat — it’s how you recover. Sleep is when muscle repair happens, hormones reset and your nervous system calms down. Aim for 7–9 hours and consider natural sleep support (e.g. magnesium glycinate, reishi etc).

Make Adjustments for Weight Cuts

If you're cutting weight, things get more complex. The key is to reduce calories gradually while keeping nutrients high. Don’t starve yourself. Focus on:

• High-volume, low-calorie foods (veggies, greens, soups)
• Supergreens for micronutrients
• Electrolyte support to avoid crashes
• Avoiding bloat-inducing foods (dairy, excessive salt)

Conclusion: Fuel the Fighter

A well-fuelled fighter is a dangerous fighter. Fight camp isn’t the time to wing it with your nutrition or skip meals because you're too tired to cook. It’s when every bite, sip and supplement counts.

Prioritise whole foods, hydrate with purpose and fuel around your training sessions. Use clean supplements to support recovery and resilience and don’t neglect the fundamentals — sleep, stress management and smart adjustments if you're cutting weight.