Supporting immune health is always a priority for athletes, as busy training schedules, travel, and competition can place extra demands on the body. The way we exercise, eat, and interact with others continues to evolve, but one thing remains constant—taking care of your immune function is key to staying healthy and performing at your best.
At Compeat Performance, we’re focused on helping you build long-lasting habits. While immunity isn’t our primary area of expertise, nutrition plays a crucial role in supporting immune function. So, we’d be remiss not to share practical ways to keep your immune system in top shape—especially when seasonal changes or intense training periods put extra stress on the body.
Practical Tips to Maintain Immune Function
Here are some actionable strategies to help athletes maintain strong immune health throughout training and competition:
1. Optimise Energy Balance
- Ensure energy intake matches energy expenditure, especially during demanding periods.
- Avoid restrictive diets, particularly around times of high risk, such as travel or competition.
- Under-fuelling doesn’t always happen intentionally—work with a dietitian to stay on track.
2. Include Adequate Protein and Carbohydrates
- Protein supports muscle repair and immune cell production.
- Carbohydrates help fuel your body and reduce the stress hormone response during intense sessions.
3. Modify Training and Recovery Appropriately
- Alternate intense sessions with easy or moderate ones to allow recovery.
- Consider shorter, higher-intensity workouts when necessary to reduce overall fatigue.
- Factor in rest days to allow your body to regenerate and rebuild.
4. Support Psychological Well-being
- Reduce psychological stress through good sleep hygiene—aim for at least 7 hours per night.
- Limit screen time before bed to improve sleep quality.
- Encourage athletes to engage in relaxation practices like meditation or journaling.
- When needed, link athletes with sports psychologists or mental health professionals for additional support.
Final Thoughts
Taking care of immune health is a year-round commitment for athletes. While nutrition alone won’t guarantee immunity, smart eating habits, balanced training, and stress management play a major role in supporting it. By staying mindful of high-risk periods and adopting these strategies, athletes can minimise illness, recover better, and keep performing at their best—no matter the season or circumstance.
Additional Resources
David Pyne Podcast
We recently spoke to an absolute expert in this field, and that is the only way to put it.
David “Piney” Pyne is an Exercise Physiologist who has had extensive experience working at the AIS for 29 years with many many sports. He is just an incredible powerhouse of knowledge! David has a particular interest in the impact of exercise on immune function, which is something that has quite recently become a very relevant aspect of life to all of you out there. David is practical and pragmatic in his approach and boils down the wealth of literature into 3 main principles to focus on. A few areas we touched on in this podcast include:
- What immune function even means?
- The impact of exercise on immune function
- What should my load be like?
- Is it okay to be doing High-intensity Interval Training?
- The influence of inflammation on health
- How to protect and strengthen your immune function
References: Walsh, N. P. (2018). Recommendations to maintain immune health in athletes. European journal of sport science, 18(6), 820-831.
