Athletic Performance Toolbox

What’s in a Healthy Snack?

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Consuming healthy snacks between meals can provided athletes with tremendous benefits. But what makes a snack healthy?

This post is provided by My Sports Dietitian

By Tavis Piattoly MS, RD, LDN

Can snacking really boost performance? 
How do I put together a healthy snack to curb my hunger levels throughout the day? I don’t have time to eat a snack between meals because I don’t have time and there are not any healthy options on campus. These are questions I get and statements I hear all the time from athletes. I’ll answer the questions and provide practical guidelines to help you fix your snacking woes if you fall into the same boat.

Perception of Snacks
Athletes typically perceive the word “Snack” as some sort of junk food option (i.e. Chips, Candy, Cookies, etc). They typically don’t view it as an opportunity to get quality calories to fuel their body between their major meals. A snack can be comprised of anything you want it to be but what you choose, may determine how hungry you are in the next hour as well as how good you feel going on the field for practice at 3:00 pm, especially if you’re a high school or college athlete. This also depends on the sport as some collegiate sports practice and lift in the morning depending on the student athlete’s class schedule. Regardless, I’ll discuss what your snack should consist of to provide your body with a great source of fuel for the next 2-4 hours.

Benefits of Snacking between Meals
Dr. Dan Benardot, Professor of Sports Nutrition at Georgia State University, and Nutrition Consultant for USA Gymnastics, conducted a study on comparing the effects of consuming a healthy snack between meals in athletes vs. those who do not eat a healthy snack between meals. His findings were those who consumed a healthy snack demonstrated the following:

  • Improvement in Anaerobic Power (Strength)
    • Significant Increase in lean muscle mass
    • Significant reduction in body fat
    • Improvement in energy levels
    • Weight remained the same while muscle mass increased and body fat decreased

Additional benefits include blood sugar control, lower levels of hunger throughout the day which will reduce how much you eat later at night.

What Makes a Snack Healthy and Balanced?
There are 3 components of a healthy snack: Protein, Fiber, and Fat. When consuming these 3 nutrients synergistically, they help keep you full longer. Below is a chart that provides you with examples from each category.

PROTEIN
Lean Turkey, Ham, or Roast Beef Deli Meat
Chicken Breast
*Extra Lean Beef
*Lean Beef Jerky
*Low Fat Cheese
Low Fat or Fat Free Greek Yogurt
Protein Powder
Protein Bar

FIBER
Fresh Fruit
100% Whole Wheat Bread
Wheat Bagel
Whole Grain Cereal
Whole Grain Waffle
Whole Grain Crackers (i.e. Triscuits, Beanitos)
Vegetables
Light Popcorn

FAT
*Peanut Butter
*Nuts
*Sunflower Seeds
Olive Oil
*Trail Mix
Avocado
*Nut or Almond Butter
Ground Flax Seed

The above chart will give you a few examples of foods in each category. Those listed with an * next them indicate they are a source of Fat and Protein. Below are some examples of healthy snacks you can use between meals. These are just examples and may not apply to caloric needs.
• Peanut Butter Sandwich with Fresh Fruit
• 1 oz or Handful of Almonds with an Apple or piece of fresh fruit
• 1 scoop of Protein Powder with low fat milk or almond milk and a tbsp of Peanut Butter
• 6 Triscuit Crackers with 1 oz of low fat shredded cheese

Challenges for Athletes
High School and College athletes may face challenges in their schedule to where they may not have the ability to eat a snack. Some of these challenges are:

  • Only 5 minutes between classes to eat
    • I don’t have time to make snacks in the morning
    • Teacher may not allow athlete to eat in class
    • Healthy snack options are not available on campus
    • I don’t know what’s safe to pack in my bag

Putting together a Plan for Success
To be successful, you must develop a plan. All of the above are realistic challenges for athletes but they can be accomplished by doing the following:

  • It only takes 2-3 minutes to a PB and J sandwich, Protien Bar, or a handfulof nuts and blueberries.
    • Use a day off (i.e. Sunday) to make 10 Peanut Butter sandwiches or portion out your snacks for the week
    • Pack snacks from home and bring to school so you don’t miss your chance to eat
    • The following foods do not require refrigeration so you don’t have to be concerned about food spoilage.
     o Nuts or Trail mix
     o Nutrition Bars
     o Peanut Butter Sandwiches or Bagels
     o Whole Grain Crackers
     o Fresh Fruit
     o Dried Fruit (Raisins, Dates, Prunes, etc)
     o Beef Jerky
     o Whole Grain Chips (i.e. Sun Chips, Beanitos, Multigrain Tostidos)
     o Whole Grain Cereal (i.e. Special K Protein Plus, Kashi, Cheerios)
     o Whole Grain Waffles

Click the link below to get a free eBook that gives you tips for finding healthy snacks at the grocery store.

3 Guidelines for Choosing a Healthy Snack

 

 

Speed Training Program: Get FASTER

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Here are six simple tips/drills to help you get your athletes FASTER.

In the video below Michael Cano from ONEighty Athletics, shows you drills from each of the six key components of his get FASTER program.

The six key areas to focus on in order to increase speed are as follows:

F – Foward Lean
A – Arm Action
S – Shin Angle
T – Thigh Pop
E – Elevate
R – Recovery

In addition to the drills in this video you can get a free download complete with coaching cues and drills by click here. Speed Cheat Sheet

The YouTube video below has sound so please make sure that your volume is turned up and that you have access to the site.

Note that some schools block access to YouTube

Thoracic Rotation

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This post was provided by Training-Conditioning

Thoracic rotation is essential in baseball. Players need to develop strength in the core and thoracic spine to perform the two key movements of the sport—swinging and throwing. Players that can generate more rotational power from these areas will be in a better position to succeed on the diamond.

Gerry DeFilippo of EliteFTS breaks down the role of the thoracic spine in relation to the core when baseball players are swinging a bat or throwing a ball.

“After force is transferred from the lower half to the upper half and shoulders via the core, the thoracic spine (mid-back), must be able to rotate and the hips able to clear in order to square the body to the target when throwing the ball or when swinging,” he writes. “Lack of rotational power can severely limit velocity potential and swinging power. That is, an extremely strong base at the legs or shoulder may not see full potential utilized if a player cannot rotate at a similar rate.”

When training rotational power, DeFillipo believes it’s important to break down and understand each step of the movement. First, he points out that movements such as throwing and swinging are done in the frontal plane, which divides the body into the front and back. More specifically, the frontal plane components occur when the batter strides towards the mound and when a pitcher strides towards home plate. Then there is a transition to the transverse plane, which is where the rotation really takes place, such as when a batter brings their hands towards the ball as they swing or a pitcher brings their arm around to deliver a pitch.

Now that the different parts of these movements have been identified, it’s time to start training. DeFilippo recommends three exercises that fit into a basic progression. Together they will target the muscles and work within the planes of motion essential for building rotational power.

Sledgehammer Swings:

This exercise requires a sledgehammer and a large tire, or other equipment that serve an equivalent purpose. In order to experience full thoracic rotation, be sure to keep your feet perfectly squared. Start by holding the sledgehammer at your waist with your arms extended. Then rotate fully around towards one side, brings your arms back around, and rotate back to a squared position while simultaneously slamming the hammer on the tire. This movement helps to mimic that of a swing.

Figure Eight Medicine Ball Slams:

Start out in your lateral pitching stance, holding a medicine ball with both hands. The exercise is performed in a lateral position as you transfer weight from your front leg to your back leg before rotating and slamming the ball into the ground. This targets both planes of movement and mimics the type of rotation done when throwing. Use a soft or carpeted surface to lessen the bounce of the medicine ball.

Counter-Movement Figure Eight Medicine Ball Slams:

This is the final exercise in the progression. Start in the same position as the figure eight medicine ball slam then hop laterally forward, laterally backward, rotate and slam the ball into the ground. Building up this kinetic energy with the forward and backward hop helps to build even more power in the legs, waist, and core.

Teaching the Hang Clean

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When done properly the hang clean is a great exercise to add to any high school strength and conditioning program.

Here are some tips for teaching it properly.

In the video below Michael Cano of ONEighty Athletics demonstrates how he teaches the hang clean.

He not only shows you a 4 step sequence that he takes athletes through but also breaks down teaching tips and cues that he uses to get athletes in the correct positions.

In addition, he shares several stretches and corrective exercises that he uses between sets.

Also if you are interested Coach Cano is giving away a free copy of his Ultimate Speed Training Blueprint just click this link for more information.

The YouTube video below has sound, so please make sure that your volume is turned up and that you have access to the site. Note that some schools block access to YouTube.

Get Better at Following Through

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This post provided by Busy.Coach

Coaches often have a handful of great ideas about how to improve their program. For many coaches it is difficult to put those ideas into action. Here are some thoughts getting better at following through.

By Mandy Green

I just finished up speaking at the United Soccer Coaches Association National Soccer Convention.

A big thing that coaches were talking to me about this weekend is that they always have a lot of new ideas for how they can work better, but after the initial excitement wears off, they struggle to follow through and take action.

Although you start the day with the best of intentions, of course, you know what happens right? Life throws you a curveball. Maybe an administrator, another coach or somebody on your team stops by for an unexpected conversation.

Or maybe even for you, an addiction to distraction kicks in. Sorry if this sounds a little harsh, but coach, when you allow yourself to get distracted for long enough, you’ve essentially trained your brain to underperform. As a result, you likely struggle from a lack of focus, perhaps an inability to concentrate for long periods of time, and this near constant feeling of being totally overworked and overstretched and overcommitted.

But here’s the deal: if you want to create and contribute and experience extraordinary things in this life — and I believe you do because you are reading this newsletter — then you have to buck the status quo. You have to break cycle of these addictions and really push back against all these other distractions. You need to develop an unshakable ability to follow through on what is most important to YOU.

I mean, just think about it. When was the last time that you really completed a goal that truly mattered to you? When was the last time you set an important goal and you made it happen? I mean, doesn’t it just feel GREAT to check something off your list or complete an important project or say that something is finally DONE?

You see … no matter how enthusiastic we are at the beginning of any new day or with each new project, there’s one crucial habit that makes all the difference in the world: follow-through. And the ability to finish what we start.

As I continue to try to help you decide what’s most important, then to eliminate what’s not important, and to make doing the work that you need to do as effortless as possible, I can tell you without hesitation that THIS ability — the ability to focus on what matters, to finish what you start — has been invaluable to me as a coach, as a business owner … and quite frankly, as a human.

From my own experience, I have found that there are two big problems that get in our way of following through:

First, most of us are working on way too many things at once. We allow ourselves to be pulled in too many directions. Instead of making meaningful progress on a single project that really, really matters, we wind up feeling constantly overloaded and overstretched and get stuck doing maintenance tasks all day.

Now the second problem? Oftentimes we are fuzzy about our outcome. Meaning, most of the time, we’re just working hard and trying to keep our heads above water without a clearly defined, achievable result that we’re working towards.

The good news here is we have the power to fix both of these problems. And when we do, we gain some serious momentum and we train ourselves to become masters of follow-through.

So the very first step is this: we must decide.

Meaning, DECIDE what’s truly most important. And, to be clear — I’m not talking about several things here, I’m talking about choosing just ONE thing. One TOP priority. One single goal.

For you to develop the habit of finishing what you start – you’ve got to be willing to choose ONE important goal or ONE project that you want to get done.

Did you know that the word “decide” comes from the Latin word, “decidere,” which means “to cut off”? So when you decide on one thing, you cut yourself off from everything else except from that which you’ve said is most important.

As it is Sunday and you are hopefully preparing for kicking ass in the office this week, I want you to think about this question: What’s one thing you could focus on (a single project or goal) that, if you finished it, would make a tremendous positive impact on your program and life?

If you’re having trouble committing to JUST one thing, if you’re unwilling to commit to one thing, I want you to remember this: you’re most likely going to be distracted by EVERYTHING.

Shut off your phone, close email and eliminate all distractions. Have a great week!

If you want to challenge yourself to a Busy Coach 30 Day Productivity Challenge this month, go here to get the details.

Email me at mandy@busy.coach.com to let me know how it goes for you. I love hearing all of your success stories of how this is working for you!!!!!

If you are interested in having me help you get your program and staff organized and firing on all cylinders this year, email me at mandy@busy.coach.

Win the day!