There isn’t any explosive athlete on this earth that could benefit from excess body fat over a strong, powerful, lean muscle structure. For many physically demanding sports such as football, basketball, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, and hockey, it is necessary to maintain energy levels for intense activity. Lack of proper nutrition can bring forth negative symptoms such as fatigue, lack of recovery, cramping, and even increased risk of injury. In supplementation to strength and performance training, a proper diet is needed to support the energy requirements of practice, competition and training.

In addition to the explosive sports listed above there are sports in the same category that are weight regulated such as wrestling, gymnastics and boxing. In these sports it is just as if not even more important that an athlete gain lean muscle and minimize fat gain to keep their weight down while maximizing strength and power levels.

If you need to gain weight, it is much more efficient to gain 10 pounds of productive muscle than 10 pounds of nonproductive fat. The main goal is to get a balanced amount of nutritionally dense calories into our bodies as possible. This means that we aren’t going out and shoving our face with McDonalds or other fast foods to get in a 600 calorie meal filled with saturated fats, high sodium and starchy carbohydrates. It would benefit us more as athletes and healthy humans to get those 600 calories from nutrient rich foods that help maintain our bodily function and support our physically demanding and hectic schedules; whether it may be an all day mental workout at school followed by practice and strength training, or a weekend long multi-game sports tournament.

Like a well tuned car with a full tank of gas, our bodies run at ideal levels when it has food in it. We want to keep those foods (fuel) coming throughout the day so that (like a car) our body stays running at peak levels. A GOOD GUIDELINE IS TO GET 5-6 MEALS IN A DAY to help keep our metabolism (engine) running.

Many experts suggest that a carbohydrate/protein/fat ratio of 40/30/30 is ideal for keeping up with the intense physical demands of explosive sports. This means that of total calorie intake per day, 40% are from carbohydrate, 30% are from protein, and 30% are from fat. LEARN HOW TO READ NUTRTIONAL LABELS!

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for exercise, and are needed for every aspect of activity. Without enough available carbohydrates stored in the body, muscle and organ are broken down for energy. THIS IS NOT GOOD IF WE ARE TRYING TO BUILD LEAN MUSCLE, RIGHT??!! Generally, athletes need to consume 3-5g/lb of body weight per day for proper energy production. A good rule of thumb is to have 2/3 of you plate filled with carbohydrate. GET MOST OF THOSE CARBS FROM FRUITS AND VEGETABLES because they are high in fiber and contain important vitamins and minerals (with the exception of breakfast and post-workout).

Protein is what our bodily tissues are made of, including muscle. Athletes need plenty of this to help repair our muscles and other tissues after a hard played game or a grueling day in the gym. There is some question to exactly what is the best prescription of protein per pound of body weight, due to sports different muscular requirements. However, generally athletes need to consume between 50-80% of their body weight in pounds depending on the level of training intensity. So for someone who is 100lbs, they would need 50-80 grams of protein. A good sized serving of protein is a piece of meat, chicken or fish about the size of a deck of cards.

Finally, fat is very important and has an extremely bad rap. Many think that to lose fat they must stop eating fat. This is not true. Fat is used for energy for the entire time of exercise; Hence the term “burning fat”. Try to get your fats from natural sources such as lean meats, poultry and fish.

POSTWORKOUT nutrition is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to us as athletes. There is a 45-minute window to replenish the energy lost during an intense training session or game. If this energy is not replenished within this time, our ability for our muscles to recover is negatively affected and the availability of high-energy for our next workout will be minimal. The body needs sources for recovery and recuperation after intense training so give it around a ¼ of your body weight in grams of carbohydrates and a little less protein.

• So if you weigh 150 pounds, a good number would be 40g carbs/ 30g of protein.
• If you weight 200 pounds, a good number would be 50g carbs/ 40g of protein.

The theory behind these nutritional guidelines is to give an active body enough “fuel” to support maximum lean muscle gain, and balancing carbohydrate, protein and fat intake in order to enhance physical performance.

Below are some suggestions for food types as well as some sample meals:

Protein

• Chicken
• Lean Beef
• Fish
• Turkey
• Milk (or other Dairy Products)
• Nuts
• Protein Supplement

Carbohydrate

• Apples
• Oranges
• Bananas
• Grapes
• Broccoli
• Peppers
• Green Beans
• Peas
• Wholegrain Anything!

Fats

• Fish
• Olive Oil
• Natural Peanut Butter

Sample Meal Plan

Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Post-workout	Dinner
2-3 Eggs	1 Apple	Sandwich		!VEGGIES!
(1-2 packets) Oatmeal	(2 Tbsp) Natural PeanutButter	Grain Bread, Turkey(good size portion), Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese	Protein Shake	Lean Meat: Chicken, Steak
1 Banana and 1 glass of Milk	(1 glass)Milk	Grain Bread, Turkey(good size portion), Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese	Large Glass of chocolate or flavored Milk	1 glass of Skim Milk

All-In-All

• Eat Healthy
• Eat Often
• PERFORM AT YOUR BEST!!