NUTRITION AND RECOVERY
FOOD IS THE FUEL FOR YOUR BODY YOU NEED IT TO FUNCTION CORRECTLY, RECOVER & TO COMPETE WELL!
Recovery and Sports Performance
What did you eat for breakfast?
How many hours of sleep did you get last night?
Recoverability will dictate improved sports performance.
Training sessions are simply the stimulus for improvement. Stimulus without recovery will lead to overtraining.
Recoverability is regulated by the food you eat and the amount of rest you get.
Basic Rules for Eating Right
It isn’t always realistic for student/athletes to eat 4-6 meals each day. A student/athlete must learn the art of eating on the run. Avoid fast food alternatives. Pack your bag with nutritious foods that require no preparation. For example: granola bars, yogurt, applesauce, fruit, nuts, water, skim milk, juice, sandwiches, and tuna fish. These will come in handy between classes or on your way to practice.
Are you eating enough fruits and vegetables? Simple experiment; buy 7 apples, 7 oranges, and 7 bananas at the grocery store. Attempt to eat all 21 pieces of fruit in 7 days. If you can consume all of them you are doing pretty well.
Proper Rest
Everyone is different when it comes to rest. Some people get by on 6 hours each night. Some people need 10 hours. Know your body, be disciplined and get to bed when you need your rest. Sometimes your social life will have to take a backseat to your school and your athletics. Take advantage of naps whenever possible. Even if it’s only a ½ hour, set your alarm and shut your eyes. You’ll be amazed at how beneficial it is to get a couple naps each week.
Recovery requires planning. Your coaches plan all of your practices and training sessions, you need to develop a plan for recovery. Be sure to organize your daily schedule to insure that you are eating and sleeping right. Don’t leave it to chance or it will show up in decreased performance. Self discipline is the key ingredient for success, you must make recovery important!
STRENGTH GAIN AND BODY FAT LOSS SUGGESTIONS
- 10-15 minutes before activity: 16 oz. of liquid.
- Check the color of your urine to see if fluid intake in adequate. Clear, light colored urine indicates you are well hydrated.
Recovery and Sports Performance
What did you eat for breakfast?
How many hours of sleep did you get last night?
Recoverability will dictate improved sports performance.
Training sessions are simply the stimulus for improvement. Stimulus without recovery will lead to overtraining.
Recoverability is regulated by the food you eat and the amount of rest you get.
Basic Rules for Eating Right
- Eat breakfast everyday.
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day (1 gallon per day).
- Eat a minimum of 5-7 servings of fruits/vegetables each day.
- Intake 0.8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.
- Intake a post workout meal within 30 minutes that is high in carbohydrates.
- Eat 4-6 smaller meals each day.
It isn’t always realistic for student/athletes to eat 4-6 meals each day. A student/athlete must learn the art of eating on the run. Avoid fast food alternatives. Pack your bag with nutritious foods that require no preparation. For example: granola bars, yogurt, applesauce, fruit, nuts, water, skim milk, juice, sandwiches, and tuna fish. These will come in handy between classes or on your way to practice.
Are you eating enough fruits and vegetables? Simple experiment; buy 7 apples, 7 oranges, and 7 bananas at the grocery store. Attempt to eat all 21 pieces of fruit in 7 days. If you can consume all of them you are doing pretty well.
Proper Rest
Everyone is different when it comes to rest. Some people get by on 6 hours each night. Some people need 10 hours. Know your body, be disciplined and get to bed when you need your rest. Sometimes your social life will have to take a backseat to your school and your athletics. Take advantage of naps whenever possible. Even if it’s only a ½ hour, set your alarm and shut your eyes. You’ll be amazed at how beneficial it is to get a couple naps each week.
Recovery requires planning. Your coaches plan all of your practices and training sessions, you need to develop a plan for recovery. Be sure to organize your daily schedule to insure that you are eating and sleeping right. Don’t leave it to chance or it will show up in decreased performance. Self discipline is the key ingredient for success, you must make recovery important!
STRENGTH GAIN AND BODY FAT LOSS SUGGESTIONS
- Eat a minimum of three meals a day. Never skip a meal (This means breakfast!!). Try to eat every 3 hours. Snack on skim milk and fruit (great protein and carbohydrate combination).
- Eat 4-6 smaller meals rather than 2-3 large meals a day.
- Drink a Gallon of water per day. Water is filling and essential. If you are even 5% dehydrated your risk for injury increases and your strength levels decrease.
- Eat equal amounts of lowfat protein (turkey, chicken, and fish) and fibrous carbs (fruits and vegetables) at each meal. It is important to maintain an adequate protein intake to help prevent loss of muscle tissue while trying to reduce body fat. Protein requirements should be increased when caloric consumption is reduced or activity levels are increased.
- Drastically increase the intake of fruits and vegetables. Eat five to seven servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
- Eat a salad at each meal. The darker the better. Get all of the dressing and sauces on the side.
- Avoid all high fat dairy products. Use skim milk, egg whites and cottage cheese as protein sources.
- Avoid fatty red meat when possible, eat white meat instead (chicken or turkey).
- Avoid all fried food. This includes fried chicken, fried fish, as well as potato chips and French fries.
- Avoid eating a big meal after 7:00 p.m.
- Weight loss of more than one pound per week is not recommended and will negatively affect performance.
- Drink fluids before, during, and after exercise.
HYDRATION TIPS
Research has shown that you can get a performance benefit by staying well hydrated during exercise. An athlete in a dehydrated state increases his/her risk of experiencing muscle cramps, strains and injury. The following are tips to help you stay hydrated for optimal performance.
- Before activity hydration methods:
- 10-15 minutes before activity: 16 oz. of liquid.
- During activity:
- After activity:
- Check the color of your urine to see if fluid intake in adequate. Clear, light colored urine indicates you are well hydrated.
- For workouts lasting more than an hour, fluid replacement drinks such as Gatorade, PowerAde, and energy mix can help replace carbohydrates.
- Alcohol is the third leading cause of cancer
- Alcohol contributes to insomnia and lack of REM sleep
- Alcohol decreases the body’s ability to fight off infection.
ALCOHOL - THE MOST ABUSED DRUG
“Alcohol damages every organ in the body and contributes to every major health problem in the books from heart disease to digestive trouble, live function, malnutrition and cancer…Alcohol is the number one factor in 70% of all drowning, 70% of all choking, 65% of all assaults and burns, and 50% of all fatal falls.”
Source – “16 Ways to Lift Your Spirits Without Spirits” Frances Sheridan Goulart
Effects of Alcohol:
- Lack of strength (as much as 5%) due to inflammation of muscle tissue (myositis)
- Reduction in endurance
- Alcohol can enter and damage the muscle cells resulting in increased post-exercise muscle soreness
- Use of alcohol is associated with slower recovery from training and slower rated of healing from injury
- Alcohol molecules stay in the blood up to 2 weeks (significant effects for 3-5 days).
- Alcohol disrupts glycogen metabolism making reduction in body fat more difficult.
- Alcohol decreases protein synthesis (the ability to use protein to repair broken down muscle tissue)
