Sports Nutrition

[pilgrim]

Ok, so the not-so-off season is upon us, the boys are working hard, and sports nutrition has come a long way in recent years.

 

Which supplements should a High School athlete consider, and which ones should he avoid?

[TheRealTruth]

Eating a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner goes a long way. Post-workout basic whey protein or low-fat chocolate milk 16oz 20 minutes after is helpful for muscle resynthesis followed by healthy meal 2 hours post-workout with lean meat.

 

Start with good balanced diet before synthetic additions. Also, if your school drug test, many supplements are questionable as they are not regulated and constantly being pulled off the market and rebranded under another name.

[MountainTroll]

I am not a big fan of supplements.  Plain old protein bars and the like are fine, but I recommend avoiding all of the "supplements" on the market.  God put everything on this earth that our bodies need.  You don't need man-made supplements.

 

As mentioned above, start with a good balanced diet.  Don't skip breakfast, and eat five meals a day.  I know we are talking about teenage boys, but it can be done.  It starts with educating them (and their parents) about what to eat and what to avoid.  Here is a link to several nutrition guides I have compiled.  One of them even has suggestions of what to eat at the various fast food places.  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xopu350vvb1aedo/OWJZp_1a2C

 

I think you are asking specifically about off season nutrition to maximize strength training.  I am firm believer in the concept of muscle damage and regeneration.  That is to say that the actual weight lifting session does controlled damage to the muscle tissues.  It is important that the design of the workout session and the progression of the workout schedule must adequately stress and damage the muscle, but not be so overly intense that it does more damage than can be repaired before the next session.  During the interval between workouts, the muscle regenerates, heals, grows, and strengthens.  It is important that the body has time to do this before the next session.  I think the best way to do this is with a schedule that alternates upper and lower body on different days, with some days of speed training and some rest days mixed in.

 

Nutrition and the timing of intake are critical to the process of muscle healing, regeneration, and growth.  First, flood the body with liquids during and immediately at the conclusion of the session.  The body should then be given generous amounts of protein and carbohydrates immediately (within 30 minutes) of the workout.  My favorite post workout meal (that the guys will eat) is two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on whole wheat bread, a banana, and two cartons of low fat milk.  It's simple, easy to put in a brown bag, and they will eat it.  Follow this with a balanced meal of lean meat and complex carbohydrates within a couple of hours.

 

Take a look at the simple nutrition guides on the link.  Hopefully, we can get some people in here to continue this discussion and get some other thoughts.  I'm not a dietician, but I know a little bit about physiology. 

[AlcoasPaintedBridge]

Troll talks like he is some kinda Doctor or something....

[STARSNBARS]

Troll talks like he is some kinda Doctor or something....

Entristin.............

[IceCreamMan]

Eating a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner goes a long way. Post-workout basic whey protein or low-fat chocolate milk 16oz 20 minutes after is helpful for muscle resynthesis followed by healthy meal 2 hours post-workout with lean meat.

 

Start with good balanced diet before synthetic additions. Also, if your school drug test, many supplements are questionable as they are not regulated and constantly being pulled off the market and rebranded under another name.

^^^^^  THIS

[hereshowitreallyis]

Ok, so the not-so-off season is upon us, the boys are working hard, and sports nutrition has come a long way in recent years.

 

Which supplements should a High School athlete consider, and which ones should he avoid?

A supplement for the eyes is very important if he has a habit of completing more passes to the other team than his team.

[1new_wildcat_fan]

A supplement for the eyes is very important if he has a habit of completing more passes to the other team than his team.

Now that is funny, I don't care who you are!!!!!!!!!

[blueangel51]

Whey alone is good but casein protein with whey is much better. Have your athlete make their protein shake with milk. It is slower than whey and will keep working for longer.

[FactsOnly]

I'm no doctor, but I'd stick with meat and some potatoes.  Some of those supplements will cause lumps to grow where boys don't want lumps.

[eers]

A real over simplification is calories and protein. Most kids at this age have trouble putting weight on and maintaining it. You have to each more calories than you burn. Eat a lot an often.

 

That said, there are some supplements that's are good as well.

[tistheseason]

1.25-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily. Creatine mono hydrate. A surplus of calories. 10 hrs sleep a night. Hit the weights hit the weights hit the weights. Lastly drink water water water and then more water.