Secret sauce to faster recovery
If you’re looking to achieve maximum recovery between training sessions then there are specific steps you must follow. For starters, you have to treat your body the same way a race car driver treats his race car – with a lot of care. Race cars don’t take regular fuel and therefore you as a player can’t ingest the normal foods and liquids that the everyday person does. It’s also important to stay clear from certain foods. So why do this? If your goal is to get the best results from your training sessions you must take care of your body in the down time away from the pitch in order to get maximum recovery between training sessions. Read more
Code Red – Manchester United behind the scenes
I recently came across the video series “Code Red” on Manchester United. The series discusses the various exercises and training routines that Manchester United uses. In truth, there is much more preparation involved behind the scenes that most fans never see or learn about. Fortunately though, these brief videos provide an inside glimpse as to how they break down the various aspects of their training routine. Read more
What to Eat Post-Game
Many players spend a lot of time preparing themselves for a training session and games by improving their diet and changing their lifestyle. This helps them perform at their best. However, many players also forget about how to treat their body post-games. What you eat and drink after a game is just as important if not more important that what you have before a game… Read more
How to avoid muscle cramping
A reader sent in a question asking “what are some suggestions to avoid cramping in soccer tournaments?” This is a great question as many of us have a lengthy season and often one or more soccer tournament (s) which include multiple games in a short amount of time. The good news is that if you learn to effectively prepare your body, you will avoid muscle cramping. Read more
Heat-Related Illnesses
During hot, humid soccer tournaments, heat stroke or heat exhaustion is always a possibility.
Heat-related illnesses occur when the body can’t stay cool. The human body normally cools itself by the evaporation of sweat. But on hot, humid days, sweat evaporates more slowly due to the moisture in the air. When the body can’t stay cool, its temperature rises, and heat-related illness can occur.
One way to determine the risk of heat-related illnesses is… Read more
Muscle Cramps: What Causes Them, How to Avoid Them
Muscle cramps, an involuntary and painful contraction of a skeletal muscle, are a common problem for athletes. Muscle cramps can affect s player’s productivity during a game.
It’s not known what causes muscle cramps, although they’re often associated with excessive heat and the loss of fluids and minerals, such as calcium, sodium, and potassium, through sweat. In addition, a tight muscle tends to cramp more easily. They occur without warning, typically in a working muscle. Muscle cramps usually occur near the end of the activity, after the body has been stressed for a period of time. Read more
Need-to-Know on Dehydration
Dehydration can seriously affect a player’s health and performance. After all, the body is made up of about sixty percent water, and players can lose as much as three quarts of water in a single game. Read more
Seven Tips for Healthy Eating at Soccer Tournaments
If your child is participating in a soccer tournament, spend a little time beforehand planning what he’ll eat and drink. The foods he ingests before and during the event will impact affect his performance. Read more
Improve Your Fitness Training
Here are three truths that are worth remembering when trying to maintain fitness or trying to recover from injury.
It takes two good nights of sleep to repair your muscles more effectively
Most muscle repair occurs while you are asleep. This happens through something called deep orthodox sleep. Deep orthodox sleep last for 20 minutes on average and happens at most 4 or 5 times a night, but on average 3 times. You need 5 cycles to give the maximum muscle repair. A good night’s sleep is when you reach that 5 cycles, but for most that means two good night’s of sleep for fully repaired muscles. Read more
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!
The human body is made up of about sixty percent water, and players can lose as much as three quarts of fluid during a single game.
The body needs water for every function, including digestion, the proper absorption of nutrients, turning food into an energy source, muscle building, as a way to transport nutrients, eliminating waste products and toxins, and regulating body temperature. The better the body is hydrated, the higher the level of performance that can be maintained. Read more
Simple Injury Prevention Tips
Injuries are a common occurrence in soccer but many players do not prepare their bodies properly for the long season ahead. Despite their efforts, players are making common mistakes and injuries are still occurring to them. There are, however, some tips to follow that can help reduce your chances of injury and keep you in better shape. Read more
The Good Proteins…there are bad ones?
In a game of soccer your muscles are being worked hard with all of the running and exercise involved. Protein is an extremely important nutrient that must be consumed for muscle gain to take place. Most athletes are not aware of the different types of proteins and how they affect your body. When you finish this blog you will have a better understand what proteins to eat, how often and what it does to your body. Read more