This is how Spanish Paralympians prepare to achieve their peak performance

In high-performance sports or in any family sport, following an adequate diet is very important. Today, the competition of the next Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which will take place from August 28 to September 8, becomes an opportunity to reflect on the main role of nutrition in achieving success.

“Nutrition is an important part of sports training and must be adapted to the individual needs of each athlete. Collaboration with sports nutritionists is essential to develop effective nutritional plans that maximize performance, improve recovery, prevent injuries and promote overall health,” explains Lorena Aira, nutritionist of the Spanish Paralympic Committee (CPE).

Therefore, when it comes to high-performance sports, nutrition is essential, as it provides the energy required for training and competition. “The sports season is a long and dynamic journey in which each stage presents specific goals that require careful nutritional adjustment. Throughout this journey, the daily routine of athletes changes , habits and personal preferences, which significantly influence their food choices. Therefore, it is important to constantly adapt the nutritional approach to optimize performance and maintain well-being throughout the year,” said the nutritionist, who has goals at ALDI The supermarket chain is well aware of its commitment to society to provide a balanced, quality diet at an affordable price for any family.

ALDI also supports Olympic athletes on the path to the podium. As? Providing nutritional advice to Spanish Paralympic athletes. In other words, helping them achieve their goals with a personalized and balanced diet. It debuted in this field at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, when, within the framework of the Paralympic Sports Support Plan (ADOP), the brand and the Spanish Paralympic Committee (CPE) came together through a sponsorship agreement.

In Tokyo and also in Paris

For the first time, the Spanish team had a nutritionist who is an expert in high-performance sports to help the athletes in their preparation. More than 118 Paralympic athletes benefited from this partnership at the Tokyo competition. In May 2022, ALDI and CPE renewed their sponsorship agreement until the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris: more than 109 lucky Spanish Paralympic athletes.

On this new occasion, an expert nutritionist in high-performance sports working at CPE guided and advised the athletes in their preparation for sports competitions, working on aspects such as the development of personalized diets and specific nutritional program, combined with individual monitoring of each athlete. Because proper nutrition is essential to achieve maximum performance.

“Designing a personalized diet for each athlete depends on several factors, including the type of sport, the intensity and duration of training, personal goals and individual characteristics, such as age, gender, weight and In addition, knowing specific nutritional needs, competition characteristics, and personal preferences, such as food allergies, should also be considered when planning an athlete’s diet. .All this combined with other types of information such as blood tests or medical tests will allow us to design a diet tailored to each athlete,” the nutritionist details.

This alliance fosters values ​​such as hard work, teamwork, perseverance, self-improvement and pride, for the benefit of Paralympic athletes. In the same sense, it highlights the importance of nutrition and sport for proper physical and mental well-being. ALDI and CPE are confident that this agreement will continue to support more and more athletes to continue to achieve their goals with the support of healthy food.

Recommended by local athletes

ALDI has other actions that strengthen its partnership with CPE, such as the power of “Local Heroes”. At its openings, the supermarket chain has partnered with local Paralympic athletes and offers a selection of products recommended by key figures. Diptychs are prepared with information about the agreement and food recommendations that cannot be lost in the diet of an original athlete from the region where each opening is held. A selection with the approval of CPE experts. In this way, ALDI’s collaboration with the Spanish Paralympic Committee not only aims to improve the performance of Paralympic athletes, but also to promote healthy lifestyle habits in society. The goal is one: keep a healthy diet and an active lifestyle accessible to everyone.

More than sports

The food chain also maintains other agreements with various entities. This is the case of its collaboration in 2020 with the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to create quality content on nutrition and food for Spanish society, and promote healthy eating habits in the population. That same year, the brand prepared the Food and Sports study, on the relationship between sports activity and the importance of nutrition. In 2022, it presented Nutriiendo, a content dissemination portal that aims to improve, facilitate and advise citizens in the field of healthy food and nutrition.

ALDI also wanted to participate in World Nutrition Day and launched the Decalogue for healthy and conscious lifestyle habits, which promotes a healthy and balanced lifestyle through nutrition and sport. Previously, in August 2023, it conducted a Survey on Nutrition Habits in Spain with a sample of more than 1,600 Spaniards.

Within the We are ALDI – Commitment and well-being section of the corporate website, the supermarket chain offers three sections related to its nutrition project and collaboration with CPE: Nutrition (advice and practical information for consumers to improve their eating habits), Perfect training (to improve physical fitness through advice and recommendations of Paralympic athletes) and Stories of improvement (which reveals the stories of Paralympic athletes through written interview). These are small steps that can become giants when it comes to our well-being.