Often times when athletes and parents of athletes come to us with questions, they are related more to nutrition and what food to eat rather than something about their training program. This is ideal as we have complete control over an athlete's program and the types of modalities and stimuli we place upon them, but have very little control over their main recovery strategy, what they are eating. This is due to the fact that the vast majority of their nutrition happens outside of our facility... at least at this point, more on that later.
The key is to create a solid mindset when it comes to performance nutrition. Our goal as coaches is to create a "WHY" when we are asked "what" they should eat. Athletes need to realize that performance nutrition is not about focusing on carrots and celery sticks. The way the body is fueled makes or breaks your performance. PERIOD. This needs to be presented to all athletes so they can shift their nutritional mindset and take ownership of how they are fueling their bodies.
What clouds our nutritional mindset is our views are typically shaped by the latest fad diets, popular ingredients, some new "fact" presented by the media, or just simply, how our family has always eaten. So we have been left to figure out proper fueling for ourselves, navigating through countless books, scientific studies and web pages. This avalanche of information has left us in a state of paralysis, unable to make sense of all the conflicting advice.
So we make it our responsibility to guide athletes down the right nutritional path to prepare them for optimal success. When looking at nutrition as fuel it is pretty simple, its proteins, carbs and fats. Within the avalanche of nutritional information there is a lot of debate as to what is best and the proper percentage of each and the best sources of each macronutrient. We believe the key is to replace that discussion by focusing on how we Fuel, Build, Protect, Prevent and Hydrate. This concept is borrowed/stolen from EXOS, one of the leading sports performance companies in the world.
So we make it our responsibility to guide athletes down the right nutritional path to prepare them for optimal success. When looking at nutrition as fuel it is pretty simple, its proteins, carbs and fats. Within the avalanche of nutritional information there is a lot of debate as to what is best and the proper percentage of each and the best sources of each macronutrient. We believe the key is to replace that discussion by focusing on how we Fuel, Build, Protect, Prevent and Hydrate. This concept is borrowed/stolen from EXOS, one of the leading sports performance companies in the world.
The key is to build your meal with this as a compass guiding your choices.
FUEL = minimally processed, high-fiber carbohydrates that provide sustainable energy
BUILD = lean proteins that provide the body the building blocks for repair and recovery
PROTECT = healthy fats that decrease inflammation and nourish the brain
PREVENT = colorful fruits and vegetables that provide the fiber, vitamins, minerals,and antioxidants needed for repair and immune function.
HYDRATE = 1/2 to 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight per day
So we utilize these 5 points to teach athletes the proper STRATEGY to make nutritional choices when we are asked the "What Should I Eat" question. That way the athletes take ownership of their nutrition and they also learn to pick foods that they LIKE to eat. Otherwise it is like playing darts in a blacked out room, I don't know what you like and dislike therefore if I recommend something you won't eat the chance of compliance is almost zero.
So let's take this strategy and apply it to an important window of time that we commonly get questions about, pre/post workout/practice/game nutrition. This is a really important time because if we are looking at nutrition as fuel, we want to make sure there is plenty of gas in the tank before activity and that we adequately replenish the tank afterward.
Before Workout/Practice/Game
Ideally 60-90mins before
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich (Ezekiel Bread, natural PB)
-Fuel, Build, Protect
Hard Boiled Egg (1)
-Build
Almonds (12)
-Protect
Apple (1)
-Prevent
Water (20-40oz)
-Hydrate
After Workout/Practice/Game
Ideally 10 mins after. Not longer than 30 mins.
Post workout Smoothie (whey protein, 1% milk, natural peanut butter, frozen Banana blended until smooth)
-Fuel, Build, Protect, Prevent, Hydrate
The key to the post shake is the right ratio of protein to carbs based upon body weight. See the chart below.
FUEL = minimally processed, high-fiber carbohydrates that provide sustainable energy
BUILD = lean proteins that provide the body the building blocks for repair and recovery
PROTECT = healthy fats that decrease inflammation and nourish the brain
PREVENT = colorful fruits and vegetables that provide the fiber, vitamins, minerals,and antioxidants needed for repair and immune function.
HYDRATE = 1/2 to 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight per day
So we utilize these 5 points to teach athletes the proper STRATEGY to make nutritional choices when we are asked the "What Should I Eat" question. That way the athletes take ownership of their nutrition and they also learn to pick foods that they LIKE to eat. Otherwise it is like playing darts in a blacked out room, I don't know what you like and dislike therefore if I recommend something you won't eat the chance of compliance is almost zero.
So let's take this strategy and apply it to an important window of time that we commonly get questions about, pre/post workout/practice/game nutrition. This is a really important time because if we are looking at nutrition as fuel, we want to make sure there is plenty of gas in the tank before activity and that we adequately replenish the tank afterward.
Before Workout/Practice/Game
Ideally 60-90mins before
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich (Ezekiel Bread, natural PB)
-Fuel, Build, Protect
Hard Boiled Egg (1)
-Build
Almonds (12)
-Protect
Apple (1)
-Prevent
Water (20-40oz)
-Hydrate
After Workout/Practice/Game
Ideally 10 mins after. Not longer than 30 mins.
Post workout Smoothie (whey protein, 1% milk, natural peanut butter, frozen Banana blended until smooth)
-Fuel, Build, Protect, Prevent, Hydrate
The key to the post shake is the right ratio of protein to carbs based upon body weight. See the chart below.
So as I mentioned earlier about nutrition, the most important recovery strategy, being hard to control because it all happens outside of our facility. Well this is about to change as we are in the process of forming our "Performance Nutritional Cafe" where we will take the guesswork out of pre/post workout nutrition by providing high quality choices for our athletes and clients. The pairing of high quality nutrition with the top notch strength & conditioning program in the area, we will continue to enhance the results we are already creating. Stay tuned.
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