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DIET
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Food is a very important part of your training
routine. Training and diet come
hand in hand you cannot get satisfactory results with one but not the other.
Never turn up to a training session without eating 1 or 2
hours before a session. A car will
not run without fuel and your body will not function fully without it’s own
fuel: - food.
I have taught many people, ladies especially, in the
past who have turned up to a class and halfway through have looked lethargic and
when questioned about their last meal have said that they haven’t eaten since
that morning. They then say that
they haven’t had the time, my answer is MAKE THE TIME, how long does it take
to grab a sandwich or a couple of bananas?
You cannot expect to train effectively and to your full potential without
eating and of course you will eventually suffer with fatigue and become very
ill.
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I do not believe in heavy dieting while
training intensely. If you are
training 3+ times a week your body needs its food as explained above. I do, however believe in healthy eating i.e.: - at least 3+
meals a day consisting of plenty of protein and carbohydrates.
These meals do not need to be large, in fact 4 to 5 small meals are
better than 2. Small meals will be
digested quicker and so your body will be “fuelled up” throughout the day.
Meals should contain not an excessive amount of fat however; your body
does need a certain amount of fat to function properly especially when in heavy
training.
Foods beneficial to your training schedule include
pasta (my favourite) which is quick and easy, chicken (breast and skinless),
tuna (can be mixed with mayo or salad dressing), baked potato, any type of
vegetables especially green vegetables which give you lots of iron, fruit,
low-fat yoghurts, rice, semi- skimmed milk, brown bread and fresh fish.
Foods to eat in moderation are cheese, white bread,
take-out foods, red meats, burgers, chips, cakes and snacks such as crisps,
alcohol, chocolate and sweets (Sorry girls!)
A nice idea is to give yourself one day a week when
you allow yourself to eat what you want. It
will not do you or your routine any harm and it stops you from bingeing at other
time’s treat yourself for doing well.
This is just a guideline, not gospel that should not
be broken. If you eat out don’t think that you should only be able to have a
tuna sandwich while others dig into a hearty portion of fish and chips.
It’s all about moderation, you can allow yourself the odd treat without
feeling guilty especially when eating out as it is hard to find healthy choices
when eating out in this country compared to others e.g. U.S.A where you can even
obtain a pasta salad in McDonalds.
Always take a regular supply of multi-vitamins and
minerals as an extra way of making sure that your body receives all the
essential ones and any that you may not be receiving from your diet.
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IMPORTANCE OF WARM-UP
A good warm-up is very important, as one of the prime
causes of minor injuries in training is insufficient warm-up of the muscles,
tendons and ligaments.
Remember it is better to spend 5 minutes warming up
properly than to skip it and pick up a long term injury which could put you out
of training for several months.
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A warm-up is very much up to the discretion of
the individual it can range from gentle stretching to intense shadow boxing.
Skipping or doing a couple of rounds of footwork are also good ways of
warming up. Remember to always spend a few minutes stretching out all worked
muscles at the end of a session this will reduce aching the next day and also
help to limit injuries.
