Physiological Characteristics, Dietary Intake, and Supplement Use in Sport Climbing

Purpose of ReviewAs sport climbing has become an Olympic sport and keeps gaining in popularity, there is growing interest in the role of diet and the effect of dietary supplements on climbing performance. The aim of this review is to provide an insight into the dietary intake of climbers and discuss ergogenic aids that could improve their performance.Recent FindingsLimited information is available regarding the dietary intake and eating habits of climbers, and the studies conducted are few and far between. The diet of climbers is apparently suboptimal, with inadequate energy intakes often owning to insufficient carbohydrate consumption. Likewise, supplement use and ergogenic aids for climbing performance are largely unexplored. Several ergogenic aids have been suggested to improve climbing performance; however, only two have been examined directly on climbing-specific outcomes.SummaryThe dietary intake, eating behaviors, and supplement use in sport climbers are not well studied, and available information is most likely outdated. Considerably, more work is needed to determine which ergogenic aids can be beneficial for climbing performance.