Let's talk about what a "pill" is. A pill is something you eat which helps you play better tennis. Obviously, you don't want to take a pill that has horrible or life threatening side effects; but would you take a pill to play better if it tasted bad? I bet you would. Would you take a play-better pill if you had to take it at a specific time before your match? Yeah, that's not too difficult. Would you take a pill if you had to experiment with which type and dosage worked best for you? That requires a little work; but if it means you'd win more, you'd do it.
Magic Pill #1: Proper 24-hour Pre-Competition Meals
You can improve your athletic performance if you come into the event with your body in the following state:
- Fully hydrated
- Mostly empty stomach
- Muscles loaded with glycogen (fuel)
The Day Before Competition
- Force yourself to drink nothing but water. If you are a caffeine user, you are allowed one caffeinated beverage (12 ounces); caffeine withdrawl starts 12-36 hours after stopping usage and you don't want to enter withdrawl. Other than that, you should drink only water, and in the amount of 48 to 64 ounces (based on your size) throughout the day. Start with a big cup when you first wake up. Drink water with lunch. Drink water with dinner, and not after. You don't want to have your bladder disturb your sleep.
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Eat meals high in complex carbohydrates and low in fat. Complex carbohydrates get converted to glycogen which is the fuel for your muscles. The more complex carbs you eat, the more glycogen gets packed into your system. Fats leave the stomach slowly and slow down the digestion of other foods. Examples of complex carbohydrate foods are: rice (brown is best), pasta (spinach, whole grain, rice are maybe best), oatmeal and other whole grains products (e.g. whole grain bread), beans, potatoes, peas, vegetables, and fresh fruits. Here are some sample food ideas:
- Breakfast Ideas: whole grain cereal with skim milk, instant unrefined oatmeal, whole wheat toast with apple butter, whole wheat apple bread or raisin bread, bran muffin, buckwheat pancakes (no syrup!), banana, prunes, raisins.
- Lunch & Dinner Ideas: baked potato (no butter! can use plain yogurt to top), sweet potato, raw or steamed vegetables, brown rice, pasta (with low fat sauce like marinara), soup (split-pea, bean, or lentil).
- Six hours prior to competition, eat a high carbohydrate meal. Use the guidelines from the "Day Before" rules. Drink 8 ounces of water with this meal.
- Two hours prior to competition, eat a small meal that consists of half your weight in carbohydrates. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, eat 75 grams of complex carbohydrates. You can find the amount of grams of carbohydrates on the nutritional info label on your food. For instance, whole wheat pasta has around 20 grams of carbs per ounce. Whole wheat bread has around 15 grams of carbs per ounce. A large baked potato has around 60 grams. Don't eat ANY Fat with this meal. Everything should be plain. Eat one piece of fresh fruit (apples are great). Drink 8 ounces of water with this meal. You should still be hungry.
- 45 minutes prior to competition, if you are a caffeine user, drink your caffeinated beverage.
- 15 minutes prior to competition, drink 16 ounces of water.
- During competition drink 8 ounces of water every 30 minutes - not all at once - but gradually.
- During competition eat 2-3 ounces of fresh fruit every 30 minutes. Banana, apple, and raisins are great.
Magic Pill #2: Caffeine
Caffeine is a commonly used drug that has physiological and psychological affects. Generally it has positive affects when it is administered and withdrawl symptoms for regular users who stop taking it. Excessive use (see below) is banned by collegiate associations (NCAA, NJCAA, NAIA).
- Caffeine in excess of 15 micrograms/ml in urine is illegal in NCAA & NJCAA (perhaps NAIA) competition. You have to drink around 8 6oz cups of coffee to reach that level (800 milligrams of caffeine). But be careful, some coffee is stronger (up to 200 milligrams/6 ounces), so, never drink more than 4 cups in a 6 hour period of time.
- Caffeine reaches peak blood levels at 45-60 minutes and takes up to 6 hours to completely leave the system.
- Caffeine withdrawl symptoms begin 12-36 hours after the last dose and peak at 20-40 hours. Withdrawl symptoms will generally end after a week. Your mental and physical performance will suffer if you are experiencing caffeine withdrawl.
Caffeine can have quite different effects on different people. For instance, for me, it greatly improves my mood and mental clarity if I get about 200 mg (1-2 cups of coffee), but makes me overly nervous if I drink 4 cups of coffee. I've also noticed that I don't get the same effects from other sources of caffeine as I do from coffee.
Caffeine can be a magic pill in two ways.
- Always avoid caffeine withdrawl if you are a regular (3 or more times a week) caffeine user. Give yourself at least a small dose 45 minutes prior to competition.
- Even if you aren't a regular caffeine user, you may find that a dose from a particular product at a particular amount improves your tennis game. Start with something like a 5-hour energy drink (200 mg) or a cup (6 ounces - approx 120 mg) of coffee 45 minutes before a match. Note how you felt and how well you hit the ball. If you felt a big difference in your balance, you may want to try a smaller dose. If you felt little at all, try increasing the dose, but be VERY careful once you get past 400 mg, and if you are a college player, never go over 700 mg. Keep a notebook of what you took and in what amount and then how you played and felt.
- Since caffeine causes you to process more water out of your system, make sure you are drinking plenty of water - perhaps an extra 8 ounces for every 200 mg of caffeine.
Dr. Roland R. Griffiths, John's Hopkins, 2011 Publication
Dr. Roland R. Griffiths, John's Hopkins, 2003 Publication
Magic Pill #3: Pineapple
Almost everyone who plays a sport competitively will have to deal with some sort of "itis" like tennis elbow, jumper's knee, and thrower's shoulder. "itis" means inflammation which is usually accompanied by pain which is almost always accompanied by a loss of performance. Usually what is inflamed is a tendon where it attaches to the joint or in its sheath or one of the bursa (sacs of fluid) that cushions a joint. These types of injuries often occur because of overuse of a particular joint or sudden use after months of inactivity. Whenever you feel any pain, the first thing you should do is see a trainer or a doctor. However, among all of the advice you are going to get on how to fix the problem - rest, ice, heat, massage, specific strengthening, bands, anti-inflammatory drugs like naproxen sodium - eating pineapple may never be mentioned and is perhaps your most effective option.
Eating pineapple reduces swelling and promotes healing. It's that simple. Google it and you'll find articles talking about how it has enzyme Bromelain which plays a major role in the body's healing process. I have personally found that it is more effective than taking over the counter anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Nuprin) and Naproxen (Aleve). In one accidental experiment, I found that eating pineapple the night before made it less painful for me to count out numbers with my fingers to my 6-month-old son. It was easy for me to see the difference because I did the same thing every morning and experienced the same discomfort except on the days where I ate pineapple the night before. In another case, I injured my right knee playing basketball. It didn't hurt right away - only two days later, but the pain and swelling got progressively worse and lasted for two weeks. Taking Naproxen Sodium for four days helped but I was still barely able to walk into the third week. The fourth week I was at the NJCAA National Championship and had a hotel breakfast every morning. Each morning I ate about 8 ounces of pineapple chunks. After 3 days, I was walking without major pain and by the end of the week my knee swelling was much better. This was particularly amazing because I was not able rest much that week - a lot of walking at the tournament. When I got home, I got cocky and ran a 5k race with no training. The next day I could barely walk again when I first got up because I had strained my knee and calf muscle. Each morning I experienced the same pain and stiffness until the 6th morning after I ate pineapple the night before.
I would recommend eating 8 to 12 ounces of pineapple the night before any major contest. And heck, why not have some in the morning too. Being pain free and having less swelling and therefore more range of motion is going to help your performance greatly. And, if you are dealing with any sort of "itis", eat pineapple every day. It will help you heal faster.
Appendix A: Reading Labels to Determine Complex Carbohydrates
To determine how many grams of complex carbohydrates you are eating, you can look at the Nutrition Facts of any packaged food. The formula is as follows:
- Complex Carbs = Total Carbohydrate - Sugars
Appendix B: Foods High in Complex Carbohydrates
Whole Grains
Whole grains are high in fiber, have moderate protein levels, are low in fat and are also a good source of complex carbs. Specific examples include millet, oats, wheat germ, barley, wild rice, brown rice, buckwheat, oat bran, cornmeal and amaranth. Any product that is made from these grains is also complex as well. Whole grain bread, bagels, buns and rolls are examples of these. Also pasta, macaroni and breakfast cereals that are made from whole grains are complex carbohydrates.
Fruits
Fruits are high in water content, fiber, vitamins and they have virtually no fat at all. Fruits packed with complex carbohydrates include apricots, oranges, plums, pears, grapefruits and prunes.
Vegetables
Vegetables are high in water, low in fat, have multiple vitamins and minerals, and most varieties are complex carbs. Broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, turnip greens, eggplant, potatoes, yams, corn, carrots, onions, all types of lettuce, celery, cucumbers, cabbage, artichokes and asparagus are all examples of these.
Legumes
Legumes are oftentimes called pulses. These are characterized by seeds that have an exterior pod surrounding them. Beans are a type of legume that is a complex carbohydrate. Specific examples include lentils, kidney beans, black beans, peas, garbanzo beans, soy beans and pinto beans.
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