The Infonian

As an athlete, you should always be looking for ways to increase energy, strength and performance. Do you know that through the proper nutrition you can increase all of the above?

But what foods should you eat in order to make sure you stay performing at the top of your game?

We’ll take a look at these top 5 tips to ensure your body is given the proper nutrition for athletic enhancement and performance.

1. Eat 5 to 6 Small Meals a Day

This is by far the #1 tip when it comes to proper nutrition for athletes. Imagine your body like a race car. In order for a race car to function properly you need to give it the best gasoline, oil and tires to run the way it is supposed to. Likewise, without proper nutrition, you will not reach your full athletic potential. By eating 5 to 6 small meals a day, you will be able to recover at a faster rate and increase your energy levels!

2. Consume The Right Ratio of Macronutrients

A topic not discussed very often with regards to proper nutrition for athletes is macronutrients. They consist of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Without them you will not be able to survive. If you consume the correct amount of macronutrients at the right time, you will be well on your way to achieving your set goals, regardless of the sport you are in.

Definitely make sure that you emphasize complex carbs throughout the day and also include some simple carbs before and after the workouts. Finally, lean protein sources in every meal and some fats that are high in Omega 3s should be the sort of foods that make up your diet.

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3. Drink Plenty of Clean Water

The ideal amount of water to consume is your body weight multiplied by .66. So, if you weigh 200 pounds, you will require 132 ounces (200 multiplied by .66) of water. If you are not properly hydrated, your athletic performance will be hindered.

Water also helps to cleanse your body and acts as a detox to any harmful substances that may linger around. It keeps you hydrated and cools you off when you are sweating. In addition, water is required for important processes such as fat burning and muscle production.

4. Consume a Post-Workout Recovery Meal

Post-workout meals are important as they help you replenish your glycogen levels. Glycogen (stored carbs) is needed for energy and gets burned up after a workout as they are your main source of energy. As a result, after working out you should consume a meal that is high in protein and carbohydrates (both simple and complex). By doing this, you will allow your body to recover faster and will allow you to be that much better the next time you exercise or perform any physical activity.

5. Take Your Multi Vitamin and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals allow your body to process chemical reactions at an accelerated rate. B-complex vitamins provide a great health benefit as they help to further break down carbohydrates which in terms will give you energy. While you do obtain vitamins and minerals from certain foods you eat, they usually are not enough for those who are involved in physical activities such as exercising and sports.

On Friday afternoon after you leave work, you probably think about going out and having a few drinks with friends to relax and wind down. Even though you may think you deserve to go out and have a few drinks, there are some things that you should certainly keep in mind.

Like any other day, tomorrow is going to be a day for exercise, and since you are exercising on a regular basis, a few drinks of alcohol won’t really hurt anything, right? Before you decide to rush out to the local bar, there are a few things below that you should think about before you make your choice about going out to drink some alcohol.

Research has proven that even small amounts of alcohol with increase muscular endurance and the output of strength, although these types of benefits are very short lived. After 20 minutes or so, the problems will begin to surface. All of the negative side effects associated with alcohol will easily outweigh any possible benefits that it can have. No matter how you look at it, alcohol is a poison that can really harm your body if you aren’t careful.

The negative side of alcohol can reduce your strength, endurance, aerobic capability, recovery time, ability to metabolize fat, and even your muscle growth as well. Alcohol will also have an effect on your nervous system and brain. If you use it long term, you can cause severe deterioration of your central nervous system. Even with short term use, nerve muscle interaction can be reduced which will result in a loss of strength.

Once alcohol reaches the blood cells, it can and probably will damage them. With alcohol users, inflammation of the muscle cells is a very common thing. Over periods of time, some of these cells that have been damaged can die which will result in less functional muscle contractions. Drinking alcohol will also leave you with more soreness of your muscles after you exercise, which means that it will take you a lot longer to recuperate.

Alcohol will also have many different effects on your heart and circulatory system as well. When you drink any type of alcohol, you may begin to see a reduction in your endurance capabilities. Anytime you drink, your heat loss will increase, due to the alcohol simulating your blood vessels to dilate. The loss in heat can cause your muscles to become quite cold, therefore become slower and weaker during your muscle contractions.

Drinking alcohol can also lead to digestive and nutrition problems as well. Alcohol cause a release of insulin that will increase the metabolism of glycogen, which spares fat and makes the loss of fat very hard. Due to alcohol interfering with the absorption of several key nutrients, you can also become anemic and deficient with B type vitamins.

Because your liver is the organ that detoxifies alcohol, the more you drink, the harder your liver has to work. The extra stress alcohol places on your liver can cause serious damage and even destroy some of your liver cells.

Since alcohol is diuretic, drinking large amounts can put a lot of stress on your kidneys as well. During diuretic action, the hormones are secreted. This can lead to heightened water retention and no one who exercises will want this to happen.

Author: Robert Bell