Sports Nutrition

I have no doubt that parents will have noticed that their kids are coming home sore and exhausted from winter training, it is incredibly intense. The winter program is principally about strength and conditioning, and your athlete will become the most spectacular version of themselves, that they have been. Of course for each person the goals and motivation - and as such the outcome will be different.

Some athletes have been signed up by their parents and are just attending to keep busy during the winter. Some signed up because they row and its the thing to do, and they might as well put in some effort whilst they are there. Some athletes are determined to become serious, ripped athletes - giving themselves every chance to get into a higher ranked boat in the spring, and for a select few their efforts will put them in National Team contention.

Please keep all of this in mind as you follow these posts. Parents are the best judge of their athlete's desire / potential and health - and ALWAYS have the last say. No rower is allowed to use the phrase... "But coach said...", what a parent says, goes!

The information in this and following posts is more of a "go to" for ideas and suggestions. A lot of research has gone into compiling the information, and former athletes have used it with spectacular results. I am sure that many parents will incorporate much of the information for the entire family.

Today - Lets talk PROTEIN.
Protein intake is absolutely essential during this strength and conditioning phase. Proteins help to heal damaged tissue and to build muscle mass. No we are not talking about bulking up, but we are talking about getting stronger.

Generally speaking when we think of protein we think of meats, these are the most obvious source of protein, but protein is also found in yoghurt (especially greek yoghurt), all dairy products, soy products (tofu), nuts and whole grains.

I encourage athletes to look at the calorie to protein (in grams) ratio in their food serving. Any food group that has a ratio greater than 30:1 is not a valuable source of protein.

foods in the 25/30 : 1 ratio are satisfactory
20/25:1 are decent
15/20 : 1 are good
10/15 : 1 are really healthy
<10 :1 is athlete fuel!!!

Foods that have a great calorie:protein ratio include -
shrimp
scallops
fish
greek yoghurt
turkey and chicken (without the skin)
pork (lean)
beef (lean)
tofu / hummus
nuts / peanut butter - especially almond butter
eggs
whole grains - like oats

Of course you have to remember that how you prepare these foods can drastically change that. Shrimp sauteed in light olive oil is far better than shrimp drenched in garlic butter! Here is another interesting food factoid. Generally speaking, foods that HAVE to be cooked to eat, are generally less healthy than foods that can be eaten raw. That doesn't mean you have to eat them raw, its just a question of could you eat it raw. Example - peas / potatoes. You can eat peas raw but you cant eat potatoes raw... and generally speaking peas are far better for you than potatoes.

You would be really shocked to learn how unhealthy much of our breakfast cereals are, most are just sugar bombs.

Athletes should eat 5 times per day. 3 main meals and two snacks. Breakfast should be the largest meal of the day and dinner the smallest. Follow this saying:
Breakfast like a King (Queen), Lunch like a Prince (Princess) and Dinner like a Pauper.
The snacks should be had mid morning and mid afternoon.

Here is a sample daily meal-
Breakfast:
Bowl of Oatmeal
One slice of toast with one boiled egg
Protein smoothie with fruit

Snack:
Peanut butter / honey and banana sandwich

Lunch:
1 can Tuna fish with lettuce, light mayo
Chobani (greek yoghurt)
Banana / Kiwi / Apple / Orange (only one)
Handful roasted sunflower seeds

Snack:
Nutri - grain bar

Dinner:
Fillet of Tilapia (broiled or pan seared), over rice or couscous
Asparagus
Small bowl fruit salad or try green grapes mixed into low fat vanilla yoghurt!

For the serious athletes I highly recommend adding a protein smoothy to your breakfast regimen. Stores like GNC sell a whole host of protein supplements. I recommend asking which ones can be mixed with milk rather than water, and have had great success with the AMP brand of Whey protein supplements. You may want to consider a daily multivitamin too!

My next entry will be about target protein and calorie consumption and I'll try and throw in a couple of recipes too!