Free Soccer Nutritional Guide, TedxTalks on Excessive Running: A Health Problem?

Soccer Training: Nutrition

Things are starting to pick up at Endeavor so I wanted to share quick quality information.

 

1. Nutritional Guide for Soccer Players

• My colleague and Dutch friend Guido has released a free nutritional guide for soccer athletes that everyone should take a look at.  He breaks down pre and post match meal ideas and how much you should consume.  He has interned under a few Dutch clubs (Roda & Ajax) and just recently finished interning with Tranmere Rovers in England.  Click on the link below to be directed to his nutritional guides

Soccer Science: Nutrition Guides

2. TedxTalks on Running

• Thought provoking video on how excessive running can cause more harm than good in the heart.  It sure caught my attention and it’s only 18 minutes long.

Pre-Workouts Causing Athletes to Test Positive

     Most who have trained at some point have probably taken these popular drinks (myself included) as a way to increase their focus or to drive better performance during training.  In reality, these supplements don’t lend themselves to real results.  They are filled with unknown amounts of “proprietary blends” and the only people who defend them are the typical meatheads in the commercial gym. Who wouldathunk it?  When an athlete asks what I think about pre-workout “X” or protein “X,” my first question is “what is your typical breakfast, lunch, and dinner?”  99% of the time the answer is cereal (breakfast), fries and pizza (lunch), and whatever mom makes for dinner, most likely, the only meal with quality nutrients.  No pre-workout or protein powder is going to drive better results when their nutrition is garbage.   Yes, NONE of them.  What’s an even more reasonable reason to stop taking them…?  The fact that young athlete’s have tested positive because of  banned substances that often times is not on the “proprietary blend” list.  Brands sometimes do not even list all the ingredients they put in their products.  An excerpt from this article…

Methylhexaneamine, the banned substance O’Connor tested positive for soon thereafter, did not appear on the Jack3d ingredient list. That’s because methylhexaneamine can also be identified as any one of its eight derivatives — creating a confusing situation for players and medical professionals alike. The Jack3d label listed the substance as dimethylamylamine, a word that does not appear on the league’s banned substance list.

University studied my A**

An honest coaching approach is to educate them on these products and to hammer home the idea of proper nutrition, sleep, and recovery.  These are basic, but basic works and works extremely well.  It may not prevent them from consuming the product but we are at least doing our part to educate.  Here is an even better article on NO Explode from my colleague Kevin Neeld.

Cheers,
Matt

 

Taking Baby Steps in the Athlete’s Nutrition

A few articles were written over the past few days regarding whether organic food contains more nutritional value than regularly grown food.  By regular I mean the farmers use chemicals, pesticides, or synthetic fertilizers (among others).  Making change in athletes whether physically or mentally, comes down to taking baby steps.  I truly believe in the “minimal effective dose” approach.  Quite simply, we provide enough of a stimulus to make change in order to get a result.  It is the complete opposite of the “all of nothing” mindset.  The all or nothing approach will work in the short-term but not in the long-term.  In my opinion, nutrition needs the same approach.  We could suggest organic foods in order to maximize their results but that may be too big of a step.  Instead, focus on switching from processed foods to whole food choices.  It can even be as simple as making one change at a time. It is a bit easier to switch from cereal to eggs and spinach in the morning.  Regardless if they are organic eggs, we just made a big change that’s simple and easy to implement.

 

Cereals, bagels, white bread, fast foods, frozen dinners, this is only the short list of processed garbage that is surrounding the household. Simple ways to implement whole food meals can go a long way.  Preventing injury, lessening inflammation, recovering from training will be enhanced if we can provide simple whole food choices (meals) to athletes and people who are willing to set out after their goals.  Later this week will be simple choices I have made or recommended to athletes (although I am never perfect) that can make a big difference.

Cheers,

Matt

“Not Having Enough Time To Make Breakfast”

Part of the results process in strength and conditioning is nutrition (big part of recovery!).  Alwyn Cosgrove, well respected fat loss expert, has stated (too many times) that diet is #1 and #2 in importance in order to see body fat decrease and to stay off (along with training and recovering properly).  In the case of athletes, most of who we train are looking to increase muscle while staying lean.  Increasing muscle is a common goal amongst males in the lifting world.  The first question I ask athletes whose goal is to increase their weight is always “what did you eat for breakfast?”  The typical response is either “I don’t have enough time to make breakfast” or (insert cereal brand name here).  Neither choice will help to bring one closer to their goals.

We need better choices than this

If a lack of time is the reason for not eating healthy then the athlete’s priorities should be reexamined.  If you can play hours of video games then you can make a 5-10 minute meal. Healthy meals do not take hours to make. By the way eating breakfast has been known to cause…

• Less body fat
  
• Less chronic, non-communicable disease
• Improved learning/retention
• Improved mood
• Better food choices later in the day
• Improved energy
• Muscle preservation
• Increased strength
• Lower cholesterol
• Improved bowel movements (who wouldn’t enjoy this?)
  
• Balanced blood sugars
  

(Taken from Precision Nutrition’s website)

Considering most of our athletes are middle/high school aged, it can be a hard-sell on breakfast.  Again it comes down to goals and priorities of the athlete.  Those that see great results and are successful are the ones that set goals and are determined to achieve them.  Athletes that want to play well, improve, prevent injury, and crush their opponents can start with establishing priorities (nutrition wise) and implementing them slowly.

Cheers,

Matt

 

Soccer Fitness: Science Based Approach

I came across this PowerPoint presentation by Mike Young of the Vancouver Whitecaps (a team in the MLS).  It provides a ton of great ideas.  It’s like a soccer bible with ESD ideas, strength & power training, and injury prevention (Thanks Mike). If you have any interest in taking time to look over these concepts, check it out here.

 

Best,

Matt

Whey Protein of Choice

Whey protein supplementation is a popular topic that many athletes question us about.  For over a year, I have stuck with two basic proteins of choice.  These are Biotest GROW Whey Protein and Generation UCAN (what we sell at our facility).  Typically, I recommend Biotest because I have learned from Brian St. Pierre that it’s a quality protein with a good amino acid profile that is relatively cheap.  The other important factors that I consider with protein is taste and mix-ability (my own word like Bud Light’s stupid drinkability).

A quality tasting protein can persuade athletes to buy it which will in turn, possibly encourage smarter supplementation and convince them that not all that actually tastes good is certainly garbage.  Our society is hung up on the idea that nutritious food has to taste terrible.  Well, that’s wrong.  Anyway, Biotest meets this standard easily.  I have had many of our athletes try it (w/ water) and they love it.

Mix-ability

Honestly, I have never tried to mix any other protein in greek yogurt or oatmeal but GROW mixes super easily in these quality food choices.  Certain protein brands also have this hatred to mix well in water.  GROW never seems to do this.

If there is one snack idea that athletes are looking for to boost the quality of their diet or for anyone that likes new nutritious food choices, my favorite is Stonyfield Greek Yogurt (plain Whole Milk), mixed with 1-2 scoops of GROW.  Literally, it tastes like chocolate pudding.

 

Have a great weekend,

Matt

Dan John, Lesson 13: We Tend To “Glib” About Our Weaknesses: It Applies to Everything

If there is one PDF quick read that you must save to your computer it is Dan John’s  40 Years of Insight.  I love lesson 13 (ok, all of them) as I try to apply it to my coaching and learning. Consequently, it serves as a reminder to those having a goal in sports performance or fitness. Nonetheless, read it and let me know what you think and maybe you can apply it to something in your life.

“I love the word “glib.” Usually, it  means nonchalant (that has to be a French word; we need to find a way to say this glibly), but it also means “lacking depth and substance.” Now, most of my ex-girlfriends say that about me, but I digress.

I’ve always taken about six weeks a year to assess, reassess, and deal with my weaknesses.  It’s always around the same few issues.

I’m too fat.

My hamstrings are too tight.

I need to work on X, Y, or Z.

So, how does one usually address these issues? Most people usually address weaknesses while also doing literally everything else. So, what happens in a typical 6-week assessment program is we continue doing everything we did before and hope the weaknesses vanish magically.  Without Harry Potter, that isn’t going to happen.

In the last decade I’ve discovered that weaknesses demand full concentration.  As I’ve argued before, if you want to really address fat loss, do the Velocity Diet. Oh sure, there are other fine options but do the V-Diet once and then decide how “grueling” Atkins or Ornish or the Zone are in terms of sacrifice.

Weaknesses need to be given full attention.  If you have flexibility issues holding you back, then you need some kind of challenge.  In the past I’ve recommended the Bikram Yoga 30-day challenge (you promise to go to the 90 minute sessions every day for 30 days) and I still can’t think of a better way to address the issue.

Weaknesses need to be attacked with depth.  I charge you to examine every possibility in your search to ridding yourself of this issue.  I’ve had people squat 5 days a week to address poor squatting technique and do 1,000 full turns a month to deal with discus throwing issues.  If you have a clear weakness, total focus with every tool and weapon you can muster has to be the plan.

Don’t be glib.”

When I first read lesson 13, I compared it solely to my training.  Deadlift better, squat better, ok just train better.  After reading it 5x through, we can apply lesson 13 to anything.  Diet, family life, beliefs, training technique, sleep patterns, recovery, enjoying life, being nicer to people, caring more, loving more, going out on a limb for somebody.  Does this seem like a bit more than training?  Improve your weaknesses.  For me, every time I know I am not up to par with coaching something, I try to read a quality article or cue from other coaches and ask questions. Seek advice.

Cheers,

Matt

Under Prepared, Over Injured

Last Saturday it was gorgeous out and considering that I used to love running, wait take that back, I mean sprinting, I thought  it would be a great time to go for a run.  My routine (a  mistake)….

• Put running shoes on
• Wear my old school belly cut Charles Woodson #2 jersey on with some classy running shorts
• Step outside, shake my legs and off I went :  60s run followed by 60s walk until I got back to my house (approx 2- 2 1/2 miles)

Now,  not that you would go to hell for this (at least my calves did for 3 days after), but doesn’t the quick “get it and go” mentality put us in a pretty bad disposition to get hurt?  I know so, and so do those who begin some fitness endeavor with no movement quality, without a quality warm-up, and at an intensity that is usually too high to begin with.  I also know that this is typically the situation at the middle or high school levels in warm-ups.  My experiences were these…

• Soccer: Run around the field once or twice and then do some leg swings in various planes along with some skipping groin thingies that I still see to this day
• Football: Jog 75 yards at a pace closely resembling a walking herd of cows followed by some static stretching
• Track: Run 2 laps around the track followed by some A & B skips, butt kickers, striders, backward runs

As you can see, there is not much except some jogging, and faster based movement skills like skips, form runs, etc…all which are good.  The preparation could have been much better and should be (currently) knowing what we know now.  Hopefully this is not the same but I do fear it is.  If it is,  make sure you get that someone’s attention by giving them a….”Hey Yo” 10x’s or until they almost want to punch you in the face. 

Quick side note: I used to love Scott Hall, aka Razor Ramon when I was a kid and after re-watching the E:60 show on his life now, I felt pretty darn sad.  I guess in many wrestlers cases, they are overworked, overinjured, and under recovered.  The spotlight or their demons can sometimes get the best of them.

Under prepared, Over Injured:  The title is exactly what it means, and the examples I provided are only examples of poor preparation but preparation goes beyond the warm-up.  Mainly, the off-season preparation needed in sports or the continual striving of a goal for a personal training client.  Take for example someone who loves to run.

It could be knee, ankle, low back, shoulder..you name it

They start to experience knee pain.  In time, the pain will get worse, prevent them from enjoying running, or soon stop them completely.  Why?  Running (along with almost ALL activitiy) requires degrees of strength, endurance, coordination, flexibility, balance, mobility, and stability.  What is the running singularly working on?  Their endurance.  To stay healthy or to improve, they need to be prepared with adequate levels of strength, mobility, stability, coordination, etc…The preparation or actual running itself is improving one quality causing a dramatic shift in one direction towards a quality that requires a balance of all the ones listed above.  The same goes for athletes or the general person wanting to be healthy.  If you have nagging injuries, or are not seeing results, if you start preparing correctly and doing the things throughout the day to be successful or less likely to be injured, the chances are you will see results.

Cheers,

Matt

Training Results are Simple But Not Easy

Ok, I have probably written about this in the past but it needed to be said.  Everyone seems to have various goals to start and as they train.  If you do not, get one.  Having a goal may be all you need to reach it.  Most people’s goal fall under these categories…

• Gain muscle mass
• Lose body fat
• *Perform in sport: this means play at a high level without getting injured (98% what we do at Endeavor)
• Be pain free in life

These have been the goals from athletes, my friends, or random guy ‘A’ that I may talk to about training.  However, for 99% of us, those goals can be quite simple but they can be a pain in the ass.  Then you have person “A” who explains to you they want to be ripped jacked fuel with no body fat.  Yes, they want to be Laron Landry.

The link said "supposedly he's on the David Boston diet." We all know what diet he was on.

I’ve written about this in previous blog posts but if you haven’t heard yet, I am huge proponent of the KISS principle (Keep it simple stupid).  When I reflect back on most of our athletes, their training is basic in the sense that it has everything you need to be successful with added exercises that are addressing the mobility restrictions, poor postural flaws or overuse problems that are associated with their sport.  The basics stay relatively the same, but progress as they move better and become stronger.  There a just a few quick heads up that I wanted to point out so that you can stop reading this, go out and be fruitful with your training…

When it comes to training: go to someone who is adequate in assessing your movement quality, so that they can make suggestions on what you can or cannot do.  Avoiding the “stupid” exercises can help one realize how training does not have to suck and can give you the confidence to keep going without getting hurt.  There is and will continue to be strategies to maintain or improve the training effect while having some issues.  Believe me, I have realized this and been in that position. The reason why the KISS principle works?  Check out the programs such as Dan John’s 40-day program, Jason Ferruggia’s, or Jim Wendler’s 5-3-1.  The programs are basic but at the same time are not easy.  Learning basic math is not always fun and for some, may have been extremely hard, but in order to progress to more difficult levels and improve, there needs to be the foundation.  Crawl before you walk, walk before you run.

Nutrition:  Has anyone else ever noticed that people who want to lose body fat OR gain muscle mass typically eat like garbage?  These could be two separate goals (although good training will decrease body fat and increase muscle mass).  I get very frustrated when people say they want to achieve goals yet are not willing to do the very basics.  Frustration is showing I care! If your breakfast is cereal, your lunch is Wawa(I may get trash thrown on my lawn for saying it), and then for dinner you have your typical “big” meal, then things need to change.  Going out and buying your favorite creatine, extreme mass builder 8000, and hammering the gym 5x/week is not going to yield results that you want with that diet.  Try and start making very simple changes.  The biggest one I have made was starting to make in bulk on the weekend.  I usually make a giant container of either…

 

•  ground turkey with vegetables and seasonings
• ground beef with different vegetables and similar seasonings
  

  People that make livings looking ripped and jacked do it because they have a lot of time to get like this, have great genetics, and hopefully are not drug induced. Be realistic...big results take time, they are not 100 m dash to the finish

That is 2-3 awesome meals each day of the week besides snacking on some almonds/walnuts, greek yogurt, or even the simple protein smoothie.  When I do not have this regimen, I typically feel like garbage and instantly need a Redline (well, I’ll need a Redline anyway )

Try to keep focusing on the simple things before you ADD a bunch of other stuff.

Cheers,

Matt

The Issue I Have With Supplements

My last post was written in response to questions I had received from a few friends of mine regarding what protein I take and if there if there are any other supplements that I recommend.  The fact that I recommended these probably neglected the fact that I should have spent time expanding on FOODS to eat, or ask what their diet currently consists of.  Granted, people are busy with family, work related duties (>8hrs/day), and all the stressors that come with this thing called “life.”  What I have always found to be interesting is this idea that you can take something (insert whatever EXTREME product on the market) and it will result in amazing muscle gain, fat loss, improved performance, in the next week without realizing that their diet is absolutely garbage.  Nothing works like magic, unless you juice and it takes commitment and dedication to improve performance.  Seriously though, there are some very basic things we can all do and promote to help those that may be willing to advice.

Here..take this even if you eat 500 calories a day and watch your results sky rocket! ...SIKE

There a few issues I have with supplements, not the ones that are required like fish oil,vitamin D, post recovery shake, or even a greens supplement.  Try and wrap the mind around these next mind-blowing considerations…ultra scientific stuff…

#1 Water is the Best Anabolic  (Dan John quote)

• No, it’s not that type of anabolic (you roid head!).  Yes, it is probably the single most neglected “supplement” that you should and damn well better be drinking everyday.  One simple way to  know if you are drinking enough water is to take your bodyweight and drink HALF that in ounces (200lbs = need at least 100 oz. of water/day).  That amount is on the lower end..so drink a little bit more to be on the safe side.  It is widely known that even the slightest dehydration(1%) has a negative impact on physical and mental performance.  Wake up drink a 2 cups of water, at every meal consume 16oz. of water, and try to refill a water bottle of few times during the day.  Honestly, just drink water and if you hate it try adding ice cubes and a slice of lemon or lime.  For me, when I get bored with plain water adding the a slice of lemon and putting cubes in the shaker bottle for whatever reason does the trick.

#2 You can never outtrain a bad diet

• It does not matter what you do in the gym or how awesome we think the training program we created for the athlete/client will work.  Eating garbage = garbage results.  This comparison would not seem to make sense

Barely eat or garbage food intake = Improved performance, muscle gain, fat loss, etc.. (other goals)???

• Eat a protein at every meal, eat vegetables like an animal (buy a greens supplement for help), and stick to quality carbohydrates like potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruits/vegetables, beans, oats, sprouted grain breads, and quinoa.  I never bought sprouted grain bread but even if the local store does not have it does not mean that you are screwed.  Notice how many other good carbs I listed.

     I think that once someone starts to get these few issues down they really start to see results and perform better physically and mentally.  Along with good sleep and taking some quiet time each day for yourself, you might find yourself in the optimal situation to start asking about supplements and taking performance to a whole other level.

Cheers,

Matt