Team Crunch
Performance enhancement via nutrition is an extremely complex topic but it can be broken down into two relatively simple areas of discussion; hydration proper management of the glycemic index as it relates to food intake and game times.
Hydration
Dehydration diminishes athletic performance through a number of channels.
- Adversely affects muscle physiology.
- Slows the liver's metabolism of fat.
- Impedes recovery after physical exertion.
- Diminishes concentration.
Rule: Water In Abundance until about 45 minutes before a game ( to prevent the need to urinate while playing the game) and than of course, as required during the game. All kids should be given water bottles on the bus at the time of the road trip and they should be re-filled via a portable water cooler/ camping type jug...often. With all other factors equal, a well hydrated hockey team will out perform any team not equally hydrated.
Can your body require water when you are not thirsty? Absolutely. It is well recognized that your body's "thirst mechanism" is easily "extinguished", which is a fancy way to simply say, it's easy to forget about being thirsty. Don't rely on your body to tell you that it needs water, professional athletes don't. They drink when they are not thirsty and so should your kids. You must also remember that the climate in Calgary as well as through most of the prairies is very, very dry. The human body loses water rapidly from a number of areas when it's placed into a dry environment.
Rule: Water is just as important at home as it is on the road. Make it easily available to the kids at all times throughout the day, at school, at home, out and about. If it's easily accessible, they will drink, if it's not, they won't.
Glycemic Index and Sports
If you have an athlete at home that you want performing at his or her best, you must understand the hormone insulin. Insulin acts to store nutrients inside of a person's cells. Think of insulin as a doorman at your favorite bar who loves to let nutrients in if they wonder along. You name it, glucose (sugar), fatty acids (fat), and amino acids (protein), they all get shoved into cells when insulin levels are high. A warm, happy, sluggish feeling ensues. Hockey players should be warm, they should be happy, BUT they cannot compete at high levels if they are sluggish. High insulin levels at any time will decrease athletic performance, there are no exceptions. The question you should be asking, is of course, what causes high insulin levels?
Let's start with what does not.
- Protein, it actually lowers insulin levels. If high insulin levels are bad for performance, what may low insulin levels do for performance?
- Fat, has no actual direct affect on insulin per say. What it does do is slow the release of sugar entering into the blood stream, so indirectly, you can say it prevents blood sugar spikes.
The prevention of sugar spikes within an athletes blood is a good thing, because, high blood sugar spikes increase insulin levels, and high insulin levels impede athletic performance.
There is only one time an athlete should desire higher insulin levels. That time is post game. Why? Simply because high insulin levels allow nutrients into the cell and those nutrients repair and strengthen the cell which had previously been under considerable stress during intense competition.
That brings us to the last major nutrient, sugar. Sugar spikes insulin. The higher a food's glycemic index, the higher the insulin response by the body. Some common foods with a high glycemic index include; pasta, rice, bread, rice cakes, rolls, corn, carrots, potatoes, bananas, cola, gatorade, powerade, etc. Feed any of the above to an athlete prior to game time and you will place them at a huge disadvantage. It's easy to pick up a book on the glycemic index of various foods at most of the bigger book stores if you're not familiar with this topic.
To summarize then, the goals are simple....
Pre-game .....Low Insulin, Increased Performance
Post game .... High Insulin, Increased Cellular Repair (Unless of course another game is just hours away, and you don't want to be sluggish for it. )
Rule: Select high insulin, cellular healing environments, only when the competition is done for the day, or you have 5-6 hours before the next game.)
Next, the plan of attack.
Pre Game Meal
You have no time available, the game is at hand within an hour or two. ie first thing in the morning or just after getting off the bus.
Select a protein bar, my favorites, Zone Bar or Balance Bar with water.
Ideally, you want a player to have a mildly hungry feeling just before stepping onto the ice.
You have 3-4 hours before game time, Gordie Howe had steak and eggs before games. He may have not realized what he was doing at the time, but quite simply, he was keeping his insulin levels low, thereby increasing his performance.
Other options, chicken and mixed greens with Paul Newman's oil and vinegar salad dressing, or substitute steak for the chicken, but keep the portion small, about the same size and volume as the athlete's palm, minus the fingers. Fish is also great.
A nice whey protein shake. Add Udo's oil, 1 tablespoon / 50 pounds of body weight and mix with water, ice, a half of a banana, or a handful of blueberries. "Champion Whey" protein is my favorite, and I've tasted most.
Post Game Meal
No other games left that day....spike the insulin and start the repair process. Just add protein to high glycemic foods, and the body will do the rest.
A game upcoming within a few hours, follow the pre game plan.
Bedtime
A small intake of protein increases growth hormone release, which, among other things, repairs and builds muscle. Not a bad option for a hockey player.
For those interested, glutamine, an individual amino acid ( protein ) enhances muscle recovery very nicely.
The Staff at My Spine Docs wish your young athletes all the very best in the upcoming weeks. We would love a picture of the team for our office at year's end. If you have any questions, please forward them on and I'd be happy to respond.
Best of Luck,
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