Start practicing these habits Today to boost your athletic performance
Eat Breakfast every day-no excuses!
Athletic performance requires fuel. Fuel up with a whole food breakfast. Whole eggs and fruit with oatmeal are a perfect way to start the day. If you work out hard in the morning before breakfast, your body must pull from its energy stores in the muscle and liver. These supplies are limited and may not be released fast enough to meet the demands of your training. Having a solid breakfast will help give the pop you need during a difficult training session.
Sleep 8 hours per day
Be intentional when it comes to sleep. Get in the habit of planning a time to go to bed. Sleeping is when the brain and body repair from the previous days work. Sleep is essential for happy and healthy brain function that affects the performance of our daily lives. Chronic lack of sleep has wide-ranging, cascading effects on human function and performance. Go to sleep!! What are you waiting for?
Drink a Gallon of water per day
The cells in our bodies (this includes muscles) must have adequate water content to function optimally and perform at their best. Dehydration can have a major impact on athletic performance. It can increase poor decision-making, decreased concentration, slow reaction times, and increase fatigue. Endurance and strength will also take a hit due to increased body temperature and an inability to provide adequate fuel to meet the demand. A gallon is about 7-8 16 oz water bottles a day. Think about drinking a bottle every 90 minutes
Eat your Veggies
Eating a whole-food, nutrient-dense diet filled with essential vitamins and minerals will lead to an overall healthier version of you. Having a healthy body and mind will improve athletic performance. Eat 5-8 servings of vegetables and fruits per day. Veggies are 1st for a reason! Eat them! A salad = 3-4 servings. Find a way to fit them into your day.
Protein at Every Meal
Consume a lean protein source at each meal. Eat .7 to 1 gram of protein for each lb of lean body weight. For example, a person weighing 150 lbs and training like a mad man/woman needs 105 – 150 g of protein a day to repair the previous day’s beatdown. If you want Lean Muscle, you need to feed it. Eat more Protein! Protein is essential to repair and grow muscle. Muscles break down every time you train or compete. Feed those Muscles!!
Eat every 3-4 hours
Eat 5 – 6 small Meals/Snacks/Servings per day. It doesn’t matter what you call them; start grazing! It can be difficult for a physically/metabolically active person to maintain adequate nutrition and calorie intake every day. This becomes more manageable when you start eating more often. Prepare ahead of time for the day and take healthy whole food snacks on the road to fuel up.
Post-Workout Meal
It does not matter if it’s a shake or meal. Consume some healthy protein/fat/carb within 60 minutes of the end of a workout. This can help with replenishing lost sugar(fuel) and kickstarting the repair process that muscles need.
Caffeine is not Energy
Yes, you can have coffee. Caffeine should not be confused as a substitute for energy, however. Energy during a workout or athletic performance comes from all the food and work done ahead of time. Do not over-rely on Caffeine to dig you out of the hole of poor lifestyle choices. Getting adequate sleep, nutrition and hydration give you all the energy you need. Do what is necessary and energy will not be a problem.
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