Non-Negotiables.
Many aspects of sports are out of your control. Nutrition and Sleep are not.
If you are serious about advancing in your sport, Nutrition and Sleep are non-negotiables. I would even go as far as to say that they are your Super Powers.
Nutrition What you eat and drink provides the fuel for your body to create energy, build muscle, recover, make decisions, learn, balance your mental state, along with 10’s of thousands of other reactions throughout the body. When we provide the body with poor quality fuel, we are depriving ourselves of much needed nutrients. This may be felts as fatigue, poor focus, slowed recovery or decreased performance.
We can think of food through many lenses - calories (energy), macro nutrients (protein, fats and carbohydrates), micronutrients and antioxidants (energy production, recovery, fluid balance and bone health). These all come from the food that you eat (and drink). So, if you aren’t eating enough of the right foods, or you are burdening your body with foods that are working against you, you may experience negative consequences.
Understanding what nutritional gaps you may have and removing foods that may be negatively impacting your progress will result in a positive change in your overall health, recovery, injury risk and improved performance.
Sleep Sleep is the most powerful, legal, sports enhancing drug available. A solid night of sleep may have the greatest and most immediate impact of any course of action. This is not to say that you can outsleep a bad diet, but poor sleep will have an immediate impact on your ability to recover and perform the next day.
Recovery Happens When You Rest. During sleep, your body frees up energy for the immune system to perform critical tasks. Contrary to common belief, the body and brain are extremely active during sleep. The immune system is busy working on muscle repair and regeneration. It is also responsible for fighintg off viruses that could derail your training.
Recharging your energy stores is another process taking place. Insufficient sleep limits this storage and increases the rate of fatigue, possibly resulting in reduced performance and increased injury risk.
Athletes are constantly learning new skills, both physical and mental. Sleep helps to cement these skills. Think of it like a flash drive that needs to be downloaded each night to make a permanent record.
If you would like to discuss how you can improve your Nutrition or Sleep to optimize your performance, Contact me for a Free No-Obligation Assessment. Controll the Controllables.