Energy

  • Energy, Performance, Wellness

    Game Day Nutrition – Rule #1 No New Foods

    All of your training is so that you can compete at your best and your game day nutrition needs to be on point to allow for it. Very few things can make or break a game for you like what you eat before a game. Don’t take that lightly.

    Consistent Game Day Nutrition

    On game day you want to avoid as many surprises as you can. Consistency is key as it makes preparation easier. You know what you need to feel good mentally and physically for the task at hand. This is even more true when it comes to what you eat.

    Peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a staple snack many feel comfortable with.

    Think about what foods sit well for you and which ones don’t. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the G.O.A.T. and we all know how we feel after we eat one. The vast majority of us respond great to a classic PB&J and this would be great to have on a game day. Deep fried pickles and fast food burgers on the other hand is a different story! While that may be ok to treat yourself to on an off day, this won’t sit well for many of us on a game day.

    This idea applies to snacks as well! At every level from grade school to the pros, snacks are always there. You may not always get to pick what the snacks are though. Even though there may be some new things you haven’t had before that look good, don’t eat them before your game!

    Try New Foods At Practice

    If you can’t have anything new on game day, how do you test anything out? That’s what practice is for! In case you don’t feel great, it’s better to have a bad practice than a bad game.

    The more that you can replicate a game day scenario, the better. If testing something new, you want to give it a true test! Pick which training day is going to be the toughest and that is the test day. In a game you will be pushing yourself so naturally we want to push ourselves to see how our stomach and body responds to the new item. You want to time up when you have the new item as well. If this is a snack you want to have before a game, have it right before training. If it’s something to drink during, then have it on the sideline to try during training.

    Snack table showing snacks potentially worth trying at practice to keep game day nutrition consistent with no new foods.

    When trying new things, make sure to do so one at a time. You won’t be able to know what caused the problem if you have two new products and aren’t feeling well. Keep it simple, plan ahead and have patience. The trial and error process may not be the quickest but it will help make it clear what you respond well to. All the effort is worth it come game day!

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  • Energy, Hydration, Macronutrients, Recovery, Weight, Wellness

    Did you order a coffee or was it dessert?

    Ordering a coffee is no longer as easy as simply saying “one coffee please”. Prepare for a flood of questions to follow if you do say that. Do you want a pump of vanilla or caramel? Do you want light, medium or dark roast? Drip or French press? Brazil or Costa Rica beans? Leave room? With whip? ….. Just a plain black cup of coffee please.

    Sneaky calories in your coffee

    Most coffee additions don’t come free. They bring extra calories along for the ride, most of which are in the form of sugar to boot. Extra calories and some sugar may have their time and place, but typically not if it’s your off day and are spending most of the day lounging and recovering.

    Seasonal specialty drinks in particular tend to contain a lot of extra sugar. I’m looking at you pumpkin spiced lattes! While the flavor can certainly be delicious and tempting, they need to be consumed sparingly. Due to the added ingredients, it’s best to view these types of items as dessert. Like desserts, they can certainly be enjoyed but just done so sparingly.

    Cup of pumpkin spice latte with whipped cream showing the additions coffee now has.

    Substitutions for your order

    There are several swaps that you can make with your order to ensure you can enjoy your beverage while also meeting your nutrition needs. The first step though is to be ok with asking! You need to be ok with asking what options are available and then asking for them. It’s all too common for the mindset to be “I don’t want to be a bother and will simply take it the way it is, good or bad.” You’re not being a bother or an inconvenience! Those substitutions are available for a reason and are intended to be used so don’t be afraid to ask for them.

    Cream or milk being poured into a cup of iced coffee.

    One of the most popular additions to coffee is milk/cream. The world of dairy alternatives has exploded in the past few years and there are now more options than ever. Some things to be mindful of is that heavy cream and half-&-half are going to be your highest calorie options consisting of mainly fat. Those looking for a bit of extra protein though would benefit from actual milk. Skim will be the lowest in calories and whole being the highest. For those who are lactose intolerant or wanting some low calorie alternatives, unsweetened almond milk can be great as well.

    Syrups are another popular addition with so many flavors and options. The good news about the variety and options is that many have now sugar free options as well. This is a great way to be able to enjoy the flavors you’re desiring while also avoiding any additional sugar that we may not want. Now if this coffee is part of a pre-training or pre-game beverage to have some extra caffeine with things, the regular syrup could be ok with the extra carbs. Your body will use that extra energy to help with high intensity activities. As mentioned previously though, if we’re not doing too much that day the sugar free option may be the better call!

    Type of roast impacts caffeine content

    Light, medium and dark roasts have more differences than just the flavor. The type of roast chosen actually has a big impact on the caffeine content of the coffee. Contrary to what may assume, dark roast does NOT have the highest caffeine content. While it does have a more bitter taste, it actually has the least amount of caffeine. If needing a bigger pick-me-up or in preparation for a game, light roast is your roast of choice.

    Coffee beans surrounding a Starbucks cup representing different roasts.

    Some people though do respond negatively to caffeine. Like everything it’s important to make sure and try having any coffee you’re considering before a practice. If your body feels good with it, then feel free to incorporate it before a game.

    Enjoy your coffee everyone! Just make sure you order it in a manner that matches your performance and health goals. Now it’s time for me to go pour myself a cup after all of this coffee talk. Cheers!

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  • Energy, Performance, Recovery, Uncategorized

    Tournament Success Is About What You Do Between Events

    When competing in a tournament, there’s no rest for the weary. Games are typically packed much closer together than normally during the season. With such limited time, it’s vital to make the most of it. Tournament success is dependent upon it.

    The name of the game is recovery. Training adaptations are not the focus right now. That work has already been done and now it’s time to show off that hard work. Being able to perform optimally and show off that hard work every game is the trick. Proper recovery and feeling fresh is what will allow this.

    Maximizing your recovery takes proper planning. How much time between each event and the resources available will dictate what recovery strategy is best. But regardless, you need to make sure to have a plan.

    “If you fail to plan, you should plan to fail”

    How much time between events is the first piece of the puzzle. Most of the time there is likely to be at least 24 hours between events. While not perfect, this does allow a good amount of time to get back to close to 100% if things are done properly. For those situations with multiple events the same day, a different plan needs to be in place.

    Tournament bracket representing the schedule to plan around.

    Knowing the schedule and how much time between events is crucial. This dictates what recovery strategies we can implement for maximum effectiveness and efficiency. The more time that we have, the more opportunity we have to eat and also to recover. On the other hand with less time, we naturally have to focus on what can provide more immediate benefits.

    Optimized recovery is key to tournament success

    After the first event ends, recovery should start immediately. Nutrition wise we want to make sure we have protein and fluid readily available. The protein can help us build muscle but right now we are more interested in how it helps repair the muscles we just beat up. Immediately after competition our muscle’s are like sponges and rapidly take up the protein provided. Simple protein shakes can be great due to their convenience to pack and ease of drinking.

    All of the sweat that was lost needs to be replaced too! Drinking plenty of fluid starting immediately after helps to rehydrate us. Even just a slight dehydration can negatively impact our performance as well as increase our risk of soft tissue injuries. To help rehydrate quicker, drinking something with some extra electrolytes (sodium in particular) is important. The extra sodium helps the body to absorb the fluid better as well as reduces urine production to help hold onto that water as well. Two birds, one stone!

    Basketball tournament providing example of when quick recovery needs to occur.

    Carbohydrates help with quick energy replacement as well. With multiple events in one day where there are just hours between, carbs can play an even more important role. That quick energy carbs provide help to refill our gas tank to be filled up and ready to perform again. Carbs are typically very easy on the stomach as well and can help to provide that much needed energy without feeling as though there’s a brick in your stomach afterwards. When grabbing some carbs though make sure to do your best at limiting fiber due to the increased time it takes to digest fiber. That could create the uncomfortable brick feeling just mentioned.

    Listen to your body

    Overall, if it’s a full day between events we can enjoy whole meals to replenish our needs. There will be optimal time to digest and absorb everything. Fruits and vegetables will be of increased importance as well to help reduce inflammation. Those typically take a bit longer to digest but with this amount of time it won’t be a problem.

    Pretzels to provide quick digesting carbohydrates and salt to speed up recovery.

    Same day quick turnarounds don’t allow us to have full meals necessarily. We have to focus more on ‘snack’ type items for quick access and digestion. Things such as sports drinks, protein shakes, granola bars, bananas and fruit snacks can be great in this moment. The closer that you can get to eating enough to fully replace the calories burned in the previous event, the better.

    You know your body better than any body though. With that knowledge making sure to eat something that you know sits well for you and that you enjoy takes a big priority. At the end of the day, tournament success is based on feeling good and performing great. And one thing that is undefeated research wise is that eating something is better than nothing! So make sure you have snacks, drinks and are prepared to make the most of the time available to you.

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  • Energy, Performance, Supplements

    “Do I Need A Pre-Workout Supplement?”

    Pre-workout supplements likely aren’t the answer and could even be dangerous!

    If you’re feeling tired and sluggish with no energy for your workouts, grabbing a supplement should NOT be your first response. Supplements in general are very poorly regulated and pre-workout supplements in particular tend to be even more risky. The risk with pre-workouts tend to come in the form of contamination of banned substances for athletes and/or additional ingredients added to them that aren’t listed. These unlisted ingredients can have some dangerous side-effects as well. There’s a reason the supplement company didn’t want to list it in the first place

    What can add to this risk is the fact that the mindset of “if one serving is good, two must be great” which can be very dangerous to one’s health due to the excessive caffeine and other stimulant consumption likely included in the supplement. And please, I beg you not to fall into the trend of dumping a scoop or pre-workout directly into your mouth which seems to be a popular trend right now unfortunately.

    If feeling like you need pick-me-up though, first ask yourself a few questions:

    • Did I eat anything beforehand?
    • Am I hydrated?
    • Have I had adequate electrolytes (ie sodium)?
    • Am I getting enough sleep?
    • Is it good quality sleep that I’m getting?

    Until you are unable to answer yes to all of these questions, a pre-workout shouldn’t even be crossing your mind. These questions may seem simple and basic but like in sports, the basics are the foundation to longterm success.

    After mastering the basics, only then would discussing supplements be considered. Safety is the top priority first and foremost. Next we want to make sure it’s worth our money! If unsure if a supplement is safe and worthwhile, feel free to message me.

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