Advice on Sports Nutrition

 

 

 

 

 

Good nutrition is essential to sporting success; poor nutrition can lead to decreased effects of training and fatigue. So there is no point in us putting effort into a run or walk if it's not backed up with good nutrition. There is a common misconception that sports nutrition products are only for the elite and those 'serious' runners that run for miles, this is simply not the case. If you want to get the most from yourself and optimise the time you spend training sports nutrition can help.

For example, going out for a walk dehydrated and with low energy stores can make it a lot harder and less enjoyable, putting you off future walks. If you were to take with you a energy drink full of sodium and carbohydrate your body would put up less of a fight and enable the walk to feel easier, getting the same fitness gains.

Advice to Sports Parents: Stress Fun, Building Skills

As an applied sports psychologist, I am constantly asked by parents for the best sports advice they can give to their child.

With the increasing focus in youth sports on success, I tell parents that to help their child be the best they can be in their sport, there are three main points they should stress, all of which emphasize positive reinforcement as their overriding theme:

1. Train-to-trust

It is important for kids to understand the importance of staying focused during practice to learn the skills they will need to perform at their best in competition. Even if the drills sometimes seem boring, kids need to know that they serve a purpose; that repetitive drills during practice enables them to execute those skills under game pressure.

Tip: Two excellent catch-phrases you can use to reinforce this message are "practice-to-play" and "train-to-trust,"  so on game day, you can say to your child, "You have done the hard work in practice, now trust your feelings, reactions and body today. Believe in yourself."

2. Have fun, not expectations

Your child will perform at their best in competition if they don't fear failure or success, and instead just play for the sake of playing. Remind them that you won't be there to judge their performance, and that they shouldn't be judging themselves either. Taking this approach will free up their energy, so instead of experiencing stress in the heat of competition, they will be having fun.

Tip: A great way to drive home this message in a concrete way is to ask your child to write down their goals on an index card before you leave for the game, then put the card in a box, close the lid, and leave the box at home, not to be opened again until after you return home.

3. Internalize motivation

Ask your child to play for the pure joy of playing, not for external rewards like a trophy or blue-ribbon. Athletes who have a passion for their sport (e.g. are intrinsically motivated), who play sports because of the way it makes them feel, are the ones who achieve success in the long-run.

Tip: Be on the lookout for signs that your child isn't having fun. Make sure your child knows that they should only continue playing a sport if they are having fun. If it isn't fun, tell them you will be happy to sit down with them after the season to determine if another sport might be a better fit for them, emotionally, mentally and/or physically. 

Read more: http://www.momsteam.com/5-7/advice-sports-parents-stress-fun-building-skills#ixzz3YGCht1Ed

Food and drinks for sport

A good diet can help you get the best fitness and sport results. Sports nutritionist and registered dietitian Wendy Martinson shares her tips on food and drink for athletes.

Wendy advises Olympic athletes on how to improve their diet. She is a lead performance nutritionist for the English Institute of Sport and nutritionist for the Great Britain rowing team.

Everyone should aim to eat a healthy balanced diet, whatever their activity level, as this will provide you with all the nutrients you need.

The following additional advice is for people who are training once per day or more.

How to Run a Faster 10K With Race-Specific Workouts

The 10K is a fantastic race distance that challenges your endurance and speed. At double the distance of the more introductory 5K, it's the common "next step" for beginning runners who are looking for their next challenge.

As races get longer, your training needs to change. What worked for the 5K won't work as well for the 10K distance. Many runners know this, but aren't sure how to train differently to run their best 10K.

There will be some constants of course, like the need for a long run and strength exercises to stay healthy (try this medicine ball workout if you're ready for a challenge). But once you cover the basics, you'll need to run 10K-specific workouts that mimic the demands of the race itself. These workouts can help you run faster the next time you toe the starting line.

How to Discover Your Best Distance

Ask two runners if they think a 5K or a half marathon is harder and you'll get two different answers.

Some runners can cruise at a moderate pace for miles, while others are better putting the pedal to the metal for a short period of time. When it comes to selecting your most successful race distance, you must consider physiological, psychological and environmental factors.

Genetics endow some runners with a host of fast-twitch muscle fibers and others with a greater percentage of slow-twitch fibers.

10 Tips for Beginning Runners

Spring is in the air and so is the pitter pat of beginning runners hitting the roads and trails across the country. Similar to the hoards of new gym goers in January excited by New Year's resolutions to become fitter, beginning runners often hit the road at the first sign of warmer weather with similar aspirations.

According to Running USA's State of the Sport 2010 report, an estimated 43 million total runners nationwide enjoyed the sport in 2009. That's up 6.7 percent from 2008. Actually in the last nine years, total running/jogging participation is up 40 percent, running/walking on the treadmill is up 38 percent, walking for fitness is up 21 percent, and trail running is up 16 percent.

The Secret of Marathon Pacing

Have you ever started a marathon too fast, running the second half slower than the first? You're not alone. Nearly every runner has let pre-race adrenaline and fresh legs get in the way of perfect pacing.

Pacing is part art and part science. Recent research published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise highlights that most marathoners aren't very good at pacing the 26.2-mile distance. The study analyzed 91,929 race performances in 14 U.S. marathons in 2011, comparing runners' times at the half-marathon point with their finishing times to get an idea of pacing execution. They found that men ran the second half of the marathon an average of 15.6 percent slower than the first and that women averaged 11.7 percent slower. While women fared better when it came to pacing, both results were far from ideal.