These days, it seems that almost every coach has some sort of a grading or ranking system for their athletes. Whether you’re calling them “A” players vs. “B” players, “Starters” vs. “Reserves” or “5 Tool Players” vs. “Prospects” it doesn’t really matter. The point is that grading a player enables you to more easily determine that players impact on your team and it’s chances of winning.
When it comes to evaluating my athletes nutrition…there’s one grade in particular that I find MOST CHALLENGING to make progress with when it comes time to improving their nutrition and that is my “CEE” Player. What is that? That’s my “Crappy Eater Exception“!
The “Crappy Eater Exception” or “CEE” player is that athlete that can pretty much eat anything they want and STILL excel on the field. In fact, I’ve seen plenty of these kinds of athletes in high school over the years. A lot of them are even racking up the All-Conference and All-State Team accolades.
BUT……
The interesting thing about these kids is that there are fewer of them at the next level in collegiate sports, and then even fewer in the pros. Is it just a numbers game? With less athletes actually participating in competitive sports as the level of play increases? Nope! On a percentage basis…the numbers reflect what is undeniably true and that is…LONG TERM, you cannot excel as an athlete if you’re not paying attention to your nutrition.
You will simply be outclassed and surpassed by the athletes that are getting it right. Athletically, the gap between where this athlete stood in high school vs his or her peers may have been enormous and large enough to overcome the crappy eating that was actually pulling them closer to the pack. Makes you think…can you imagine how good they could have been had they had their nutrition locked in in high school as well?!?!
Anyway, when the talent and physical gap is closed considerably (as it is once they start to compete at the D1 or even D2 and 3 level), it’s those athletes that are doing EVERYTHING right that stand out above the rest and not only maintain the edge on the field or court, but also are the ones that make the team in the first place!
So while “CEE” players may actually look like “A”s in high school….long term, they are not laying the foundation to be a successful athlete (or even just a healthy adult for that matter) if they continue their poor nutritional habits. The challenge that coaches face is that often times, this is the athlete that is most resistant to change because they probably are excelling on the field DESPITE their bad eating. But that’s ok, but that’s what coaching is all about. Knowing each of your players and knowing the opportune time suggest a change of habits. For instance, even your greatest players have a bad game every now and then. It is usually at that moment that most athletes are at least open to suggestion. As long as you’re not in their face ready to read them the riot act, and instead are there to just provide some useful information that allows THEM to decide that it’s time to do something about their nutrition…you will have made your mark and had a positive impact.
Remember…awareness is the first step to change. When your athlete becomes aware that perhaps his or her “A” Skills are being undermined by their “C” or “CEE” eating habits, and if you’re there ready to provide the answer at that moment that it’s needed the most…you will elevate that athlete to a much stronger, healthier, better player going forward than they were when they came to you. And after all, isn’t that the hallmark of a great coach?
Stay Strong,
Jeff
PS. Wouldn’t it be perfect if you could have a series of ready made nutrition “cheat sheets” that you could hand out to your players to help them overcome the most common challenges they’ll face with their nutrition? We talked about being ready to act at the moment that “CEE” player needs you the most. These cheat sheets keep you armed and ready like nothing else. And…they come as just one part of the Teen Sports Nutrition Blueprint System! To see more of what you get with this turn-key sports nutrition system head to http://sportsnutritionblueprint.com
Filed under Sports Nutrition by on Sep 22nd, 2010. Comment. 
There are many misconceptions when it comes to proper usage of supplements. To help clear up some of these misconceptions I am going to give you a timeline of when and what supplements you should be using in your diets, or implementing into your kids or athlete’s diets.
**Note that these ages are based on how the average child matures. There are obviously children who mature faster/slower than their peers. This is something you need to take into consideration when starting to add supplements to your diet. Also, as always…it’s wise to consult a physician before you take any new supplements. **
Ages 3-12
Multivitamin- Regardless of age, it has been shown that children who take an age appropriate multivitamin experience more normal growth patterns and suffer from less diet induced vitamin deficiencies. It’s sometimes hard to overcome family eating patterns when you’re a child. Maybe you’re parents don’t believe in eating meat and your diet lacks in iron? The multi helps to overcome this. Again, it’s important to point out though, in the search for the perfect multi…you need to look for one that is again, suited for their appropriate age. In other words…you don’t want to get them the same multi-vitamin that a 50+ male would be taking. Sometimes these “senior” vitamins (for lack of a better term…don’t worry, I’m creeping up there myself!) contain additive vitamins for prostate health and skin/hair health that a child obviously would not require.
MAJOR POINTS
- Make sure the multivitamin is designed for your child’s age group.
- Select a multivitamin that provides 100% of the daily value for all vitamins and minerals and is actually ABSORBABLE! (The biggest factor in determining a good vitamin from a substandard quality one!
- Store multivitamins out of your child’s reach and make it clear that they aren’t candy.
- Multivitamins should not be used a replacement for proper nutrition. Be sure you are still offering your child healthy meals and snacks.
Fish Oil- Fish oil is often overlooked when it comes to supplements, but as a young child you should be taking it. A lot of children will have a hard time swallowing this size of a pill, and will resent the after taste (fishiness) but the benefits are well worth it. Being young, taste buds obviously aren’t geared to like a lot of foods, fish being one of them. There are obviously a lot of children who eat fish, but for the most part kids would rather eat chicken or beef. Adding fish oil to your child’s diet at a young age gives them the Omega 3’s they are most likely lacking due to no fish in their diet, and can be the key factor in maintaining normal growth and development due to the critical role that fatty acids play in basically every cellular process! Yes…GO FISH has more than one meaning at this age!!
Ages 13-14 (Young Teens)
13/14 is usually the age that teens are introduced to working out with weights. Generally, before this time (and as a rule, before going through puberty where the tendon attachments and bones have had a chance to mature more) my recommendation is to stick with bodyweight exercises and tubing only. However, that said, by the time this process is complete and the teen has a chance to start lifting with weights, my general recommendation is to hold off on any supplements besides those we just spoke of. Really there’s no need at this point. With most kids growing like weeds at this time, supplements to accelerate this are sort of like overkill and can do more damage than good (particularly if the wrong ones are taken). Once you have a solid foundation and understanding of how weight training works, you can start supplementing with more than multivitamins.
These include:
1. Meal Replacement Powders / Protein Bars – There is a common misconception that protein is bad for you which is completely false. Protein is perfectly healthy. The only time excessive protein has been shown to be dangerous is in individuals with already compromised kidneys (since the kidneys will have to excrete whatever excess protein you don’t utilize). It’s my feeling that some of the justified criticism of protein bars and shakes comes from source of the protein used in the products and the additives/artificial ingredients that go along with the protein. Be careful to avoid things like added stimulants, prohormones, nitrous oxide, etc and stick instead to high quality pure sources of proteins and carbs and you’ll be perfectly fine and will gain the muscle repair and restoration benefits that this essential nutrient delivers.
2. Specific Vitamins – ie. B, C, E, Calcium, etc.
Ages 15-19 (Teenagers)
Now that you have spent a few years in the gym and understand how your body works you can start adding more supplements to your diet. My top recommendations here include:
1. Creatine Monohydrate- There has been a lot of talk about how creatine is bad for you and it promotes injury, and damages your system. This, in fact, can be true if you do not consume it properly. My first suggestion is to discredit the “loading phase” that a lot of these companies tell you to do. This means you take 4-5 servings of creatine for the first week or so when you first start. A lot of times the abundance of creatine is too much for your body to handle and problems may occur (namely stomach upset and muscle cramping). Stick to a steady 5 gram a day dose, drink plenty of water (can you say the pee chart?!?) for best results and eliminate those side effects. Remember guys, a lot of these supplement companies tell you the serving amounts to take, but they are the ones selling it. So be careful as to how much you are taking regardless of what the label calls for.
2. L-Glutamine – As the most abundant amino acid in muscle tissue (and also the most consumed during activity), L-Glutamine supplements are taken for the purpose of replenishing depleted stores. It’s not a wonder supplement by any stretch of the imagination, but then again…those don’t exist. Instead it’s a supplement that when taken consistently, can provide that extra boost in your recovery to leave you feeling refreshed, more energetic and a step ahead of your competition. And as we know…sometimes…that one step can mean the difference between winning and losing!
Stay Strong,
Jeff
Want to know more in depth about the exact amounts and brands of these supplements that I recommend? See it all laid out in detail in my Teen Sports Nutrition Blueprint that you can grab over at http://sportsnutritionblueprint.com Take the confusion and technical out of nutrition and simplify it to the stuff that really works!
Filed under Sports Nutrition, Supplements by on Sep 9th, 2010. 2 Comments.
It’s almost that time of the year again! The buzz is growing, anticipation is brimming and opportunity awaits those who have prepared themselves the best for the upcoming Fall Sports Season! School’s back in session in just a few weeks! That said, while the brain may have been given a vacation for a couple months, if your athletes bodies and nutritional habits have as well…you could be in big trouble this season (especially if you’re hoping to compete for championships!).
You see, there really is no offseason anymore in the field of competitive sports. Yes, even at the high school level, there needs to be an initiation of good healthy habits that start to become ingrained in your athletes NOW so that they can carry over into their lives for years and years to come (long after competition has ended for some of them).
The Summer represents a time of opportunity. Opportunity for your players to make themselves better, and opportunity for you to make yourself a better coach. If both of these things happen…when you reconvene at the start of the Fall Sports season, you’ve got a much improved team. Better performance from the players and better leadership at the top.
That said…if in your preparation to become a better coach, you’ve eluded the topic of your athlete’s nutrition (really due mostly to an intimidation over the technical aspects of this kind of information) then I wanted to help you overcome that so that you could be armed with the right questions to ask and the key information that you’ll need to know to get a head start on a successful season and a unified team awareness of how important nutrition will be to ultimately the success of the team this year!
So without further delay….here is Part 1 of my “6 Questions Coaches Need To Know About Their Athlete’s Nutrition” to properly bring yourself up to speed on your athlete’s Summer habits….and more importantly….how to correct them in time for preparing for your greatest season ever!
1. Did you eat breakfast this morning?
If every hand doesn’t go up for this one (trust me, you’ll be lucky if half of them do!) then you need to do something about this before ANYTHING else! Breakfast not only sets the stage for all energy levels throughout the rest of the day, but it also delivers much needed nutrients to the brain to allow for better mental focus, attention, reaction time, and muscle contraction. Most of your athletes have gone over 8-10 hours without eating and the need to “Break” the “Fast” has never been greater than in the morning. For those who claim to “hate” breakfast, make them aware of what this is doing to their body and brain and find some way to convince them that even a little is enough to turn the tables on the energy roller coaster they’re about to embark on if they eat nothing at all!
2. What is the color of your pee?
Don’t laugh…and don’t be ashamed to ask? Whether we admit it or not, it’s normal to check out the color of your pee! After all, how else are we going to know when we’re entering into a severe state of dehydration. Sure, the headaches, dizziness, and nausea that comes with dehydration may give it away, but wouldn’t you like to know BEFORE that happens? After all….by the time it fully sets in it could be too late. So, rely on the old reliable and get your athletes into the habit of checking out the color of their urine throughout the day. The more clear it is, in general, the more hydrated that athlete is. The more dark or yellow…the more likely that they’re entering into dehydration (some vitamins may interfere with this rule, but for the most part it stands the test of time!). ”Keep it Clear” is the phrase you might want to use…especially with the extremely hot initial days of camp! To do this, suggest that your players take in half their weight in ounces of water a day! In other words….your 200lb athlete would need to take in 100 ounces of water each day. On days where there is a lot of sweating going on….recommend an additional 16 oz of water for every pound of weight lost during the hot practice just to replenish and get back to even again!
3. Are you taking creatine?
Most coaches intentionally shy away from supplement questions for lack of a good understanding of them….or worse, turn a blind eye to them as part of a “don’t ask don’t tell” policy! Either one is wrong and actually doing a disservice to your players and their health. If you’re a coach you NEED to know what your players are doing as it may change the recommendations you make to them. Case in point….creatine. Creatine monohydrate is one of the most used supplements in the world right now (particularly in young teens). Why? Because for the most part, long term studies have shown it to be safe AND effective at assisting a gain in weight (through increased intramuscular water and eventual new muscle growth) and increasing short term power output. That said, if your athletes are using this supplement and NOT getting adequate water replacement in to overcome the shuttling of the water INTO the muscles and OUT of the tissues surrounding the muscles…then you could be looking at a team decimated by faster dehydration and ultimately a rash of pulled muscles and injuries. Surely no coach wants to go to battle without his or her best players right? Take the time to find out who is using creatine and recommend that that athlete take in an additional 20% more water than what we figured out in the last question.
So that’s it! 3 to get you started….feel free to comment below or ask me any questions that you might want to know the answer to so you could be ready for the time the first day of camp arrives. In the meantime, stay tuned for next week when we hit the next 3 questions (including one on the most popular supplement being used right now that I absolutely hate that young athletes are using!) Til then…
Stay strong,
Jeff
To learn more about the ins and outs of sports nutrition so you can be a complete coach this season (yep…nutrition plays a huge part in how your players perform on the field!) then head to http://sportsnutritionblueprint.com and check out my step by step “TEEN SPORTS NUTRITION BLUEPRINT”! It takes the “technical” out of nutrition and makes it “practical’!
Filed under Sports Nutrition, Supplements by on Aug 11th, 2010. 15 Comments.
As many of you know Taylor Lautner of the Twilight vampire cult flicks has one of the most envied bodies in Hollywood these days…particularly by teens. You can’t walk past a magazine stand without seeing him on SOME cover. So how did he do it? How did he allegedly add close to 30 pounds of pure muscle in just 6 months? Some say it was his perfect diet, others say it was his grueling workouts, and then there are those that resort to the good old steroid rumors. So, can a perfect diet and hard work equal a body like Taylor’s? The answer is absolutely! In fact, it’s a prerequisite. The real question is…can it be done so quickly and if so how? This is the kind of question I get asked almost daily by teens who are looking to quickly “bulk up” for the upcoming season to impress their coach and win a spot on the varsity squad. Let’s see if we can learn a bit from Taylor as we break down the components I just mentioned to see how to apply them the right way, to pack on the muscle while keeping fat gains to a minimum.
There are many misconceptions when it comes to burning fat and getting those abs showing. Many young athletes think cutting out calories is the quickest and easiest way to get your muscles showing? However, this is not the case when you are looking to have a body like your most envied celebrities, or even the biggest guy on your football team! Top athletes and famous actors/actresses do not cut meals when they’re trying to look good, they ADD meals. When Taylor is interviewed he constantly discusses how he was constantly eating to help speed along the transformation into the bigger version of himself. When you eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours, you’re supplying your body with the constant stream of muscle building nutrients and calories that it needs, ensuring that at that very moment they might be needing it…your muscles will have the goods to get the job done. As you add lean muscle your metabolism will speed up and your body will burn fat. There’s this self propelling system that gets developed and the end result is that your body becomes a muscle building machine. Starve it of the food it needs, and it’s like forgetting to grease this machine. The gears will bog down, the machine will sputter and eventually stop working alltogether. I have always had the mentality that you can eat as much as you want as long as you are eating the right thing. Filling your diet with complex carbs, sufficient amount of protein, and essential fats, your body will be well on its way to where you want it.
After he got the diet part down Taylor knew he had to work extremely hard to burn off all these extra calories he was eating. Taylor’s philosophy to growing large muscles was to train with heavy loads at high intensity. By getting your muscles training close to exhaustion you will hit a growth stimulus that your muscles need in order to gain in mass. Many athletes train with weights they can handle and do not push themselves to the limit which will negatively affect muscle growth in the long run. Remember, you’re body loves to stay right where it is. If it doesn’t need to change….it won’t! This is called homeostasis. I know…big word, sounds scientific and sophisticated but it’s really quite simple. Provide your body with a reason to get bigger (by lifting weights that are a challenge to your present strength levels) and you will be rewarded with gains that seemed impossible to achieve by staying in your comfort zone.
I was recently asked through email if it’s possible to gain weight by football season (fall). The answer is YES, but how much weight is healthy and what are your expectations? Think about it…even if you gain 1-2 lbs per week until September 1st you’re looking at up to a 12 lb gain in pure mass. These types of gains will definetly carry over to the field and help you with your game. Just be aware of setting your sights too high and either putting on fat because you are trying to gain too much weight too quick (which will slow you down) or worse…resorting to dangerous or unhealthy methods when you see the weight isn’t coming fast enough to meet your 30lbs in 30 days expectations!
Like I have preached time and time again, the combination of a solid diet, and a dedicated workout regimen are the main factors in getting that celebrity body or even just the body that you’re confident will make you a better player. So what are you waiting for? It is never too late to start adding muscle and burning fat. My best advice to your whether you are trying to burn fat or add muscle, or both, is to simply pace yourself and avoid RUSHING to get your results. Taylor Lautner’s body is attainable, you just need to know how to attain it. Ignore the freakish rates at which he put on the mass and instead focus on what he did correctly so you can apply it to yourself. As always the formula for success seems to boil back down to three standbys. Work hard, eat right, and stay motivated!
Stay Strong,
Jeff
If you realize you need to be eating better (like Taylor) but haven’t quite found the way to “dial it all in” to a simple plug and play system then what are you waiting for to get a hold of your literal nutrition blueprint? Get a copy of the Teen Sports Nutrition Blueprint today and see how easy it can become to add lean muscle when you actually have a step by step plan for getting there. Nutrition just got a whole lot easier!
Filed under Sports Nutrition by on Jul 21st, 2010. 4 Comments.
As you all are aware teen drinking is something that is frowned upon in many different ways. There’s the obvious “don’t drink and drive”, “you’re killing your liver”, and “you will most likely end up in trouble”, but then there’s the often overlooked muscle deterioration component. If you guys are serious about building muscle and performing at your highest level, you should not even be thinking about touching alcohol. One drink can do as much as kill a whole week’s worth of gains. Is that worth it to you? This article is going to go into some of the overlooked effects that alcohol has on your body.
No matter what your fitness goal is: fat burning, to increase muscle mass, force production, dropping your 40 etc…you are literally putting a halt to reaching your desired goals. When you alcohol goes through the liver, the by-product is called Acetate. Acetate slows down the fat burning process and affects your metabolism in a negative manner. When consuming large quantities of alcohol, your liver will start converting the alcohol to acetate and any vitamins and minerals that it might process are taken up by the detoxification process. Alcohol is contained completely of empty carbs meaning they offer zero nutritional value to your body and will just store as fat. In order to make the strongest gains, your hormones need to be intact and functioning together in a system of carefully balanced checks and balances. Alcohol will actually decrease your testosterone levels and increase estrogen…not the sort of balance you’re looking for if you’re a growing teen male!
We all know how important water is in the muscle building process. That being said, when drinking alcohol you are actually sucking the water out of your body and dehydrating your muscles. Considering how important water is to building muscle and your general health, it’s clear that dehydration can put a damper on your progress.
Along with keeping yourself adequately hydrated you need to get the right amount of sleep in order to get stronger. Sleep plays a very important role in the recovery process and when alcohol is in your system it can induce sleep disorders by disrupting the progression and duration of the sleep states. This means you are actually altering total sleep time as well as the time required to fall asleep. As discussed above hormones play a major role in muscle development. Growth hormones are predominately secreted during the early stages of sleep and because alcohol tends to disrupt natural sleep rhythms, it will decrease the amount of GH released to your body. This decrease can be up to as much as 70%, so to state the obvious, it can really slow you down in reaching your training goals.
As you guys all know, there are many well publicized negative affects to drinking alcohol, but when you put all of the above together, it should give you an even better idea as to how your body is internally affected, and what kind of damage this it doing to your progress in the weight room and with your training. Obviously, it’s not too much of a stretch to see that continuing to choose to drink will most likely cost you that chance at an elusive full scholarship or the opportunity to play at the next level. When you consider how precious and limited the opportunities are to get athletic scholarships these days (particularly to the schools that you’d actually want to go to and play for) it should become readily apparent that doing anything that might push the odds out of your favor and into someone else’s is not the best plan of action. Drinking alcohol as a teenager (while it may seem cool or the accepted norm) is the #1 way in my opinion to sabotage your scholarship! I’ve seen it happen far too many times. I don’t want it to happen to you. Weigh in your mind what is MOST important to you. Fitting in….or standing out? In this case, by standing up for what you’re trying to accomplish and by resisting the urges of peer pressure…you will be the one standing out both in your performance on the field and your achievements that lie ahead. And for those, you will be looked upon as the one that got it right!
Enjoy your 4th!
Stay Strong,
Jeff
Filed under Uncategorized by on Jun 30th, 2010. 10 Comments.
