Every athlete who does speed and agility training looks forward to the game, match, meet, contest  or event where they can compete and showcase their talents.    What many athletes don’t know is how important  the hours before the contest  can be.  Specifically, what and when to eat before an event.

Timing Is Everything

The timing of a pre-contest meal is vital.  If you exercise vigorously too closely after a meal, blood will be drawn away from the digestive tract and to the working muscles during exercise.   This causes a delay in digestion that is harmful to the body’s processes.   On the other hand, if you fast before a game it may decrease the stored up glycogen to the point where athletic performance will be impaired as the body runs low on nutrients.   Therefore the best time to eat is 2 ½ to 3 hours prior to exercise to allow food to travel from the stomach to the intestines .

After The Meal

It is not advisable to exercise heavily after eating, like doing speed exercises.  It is also inadvisable to sit around directly after a pre-game meal.   Moderate walking will burn excess calories and aid in digestion.

Foods

Eat foods that can be easily digested like fat-free yogurt, lowfat milk, fruit and lean meat . An athlete should stay away from any foods that are heavy on fat  and fiber as they take longer to digest.   Foods with high sugar should not be eaten as they will cause a rapid rise in blood sugar and then a rapid decline in blood sugar resulting in less energy.    These foods can also pull too much fluid into the digestive tract leading to cramping, nausea, and dehydration.  Also stay away from caffeine, it causes increased urine production which can result in dehydration.

Speed and Agility Training Meal - Yoghurt and berries

Suggested Pre-Game Meal

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What can you do to get maximum gains from each and every workout?

It is important to know that after  speed and agility training ,   the process of refueling is very important. Not only does refueling make your workouts count, it can be the difference between better performances or stale performances  in  any given contest.  Does this sound far fetched?  Not at all,  just ask any college level or professional athlete.

There are three areas of nourishment an athlete needs to address;  fluid, carbohydrates and protein.

FLUID
Drink at least 3 cups of fluid plus an additional 2 cups for each pound of weight loss acquired during the practice. This can be water or powerade.  Powerade should be the fluid of choice if you are a salty “sweater” or if your training exceeds one hour.    Note that you always must weigh before and after practice in order to accurately assess your fluid needs.

CARBOHYDRATES
Intense workouts use up the carbohydrates in your system.  In order to provide energy, it is very important to replace the carbohydrates (carbs) burned, and store some additional carbs for the next workout.  It is recommended that an athlete consumes 50-100 grams of carbohydrates after practice or workouts.

PROTEIN
Protein is used for muscle fibers in order for them to build up stronger and faster and to prevent muscle breakdown.   The recommended amount for refueling is 10-15 grams.  A study with Marines during  54 days of basic training reports those who refueled with a 100 calorie recovery drink that contained only 10 grams (40 calories) of protein, not only enhanced muscle protein deposition but also contributed to 33 percent fewer total medical visits, 28 percent fewer visits due to bacterial and viral infections, 37 percent fewer visits due to muscle and joint problems, and 83 percent fewer visits due to heat exhaustion. (Flakoll, Med Sci Sports and Exercise, 2004)

REFUELING SNACKS
Below are some suggested snacks for after workout nourishment.

• Chocolate milk low-fat ( 2 cups )  and 1  banana
• 4 oz. snack size container of lowfat cottage cheese:
• Two tablespoons of hummus on four Kashi Heart to Heart crackers
• 6 oz. container Chobani vanilla nonfat Greek yogurt
• String cheese (part-skim mozzarella) and  Bagel
• Peanut butter and jellysandwich and Powerade (2 cups)
• Yogurt ( 8 oz.) low-fat mixed with 1/2 cup granola cereal

So next time you do your speed and agility training, speed exercises or agility training, refuel to  make your  hard work count.

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Every year  over 300 of the best college football players in the country are invited by the National Football League (NFL) to the  NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis  Indiana.  Why?  Millions of dollars are at stake for the teams and players in salary, bonus’ , endorsements, winnings, appearances and more.

There the athletes showcase their athletic skills and abilities to NFL top executives, coaching staffs, player personnel departments and medical personnel from all 32 NFL teams  prior to NFL draft.  So why is this necessary when teams have already seen these athletes play game after game either live on Saturdays or on TV?

Football player - Speed and Agility Training

The answer is simple, the NFL places great value on the fundamentals of a true athlete.  No matter how often a scout has seen an athlete play the game live or on the screen, the NFL needs to evaluate an athlete’s raw ability in speed exercises, strength training workouts and speed and agility drills.  In other words, the yards run, the passes caught, the touchdowns scored are not a factor at the combine.  It’s all about measuring how fast, agile, strong and explosive the prospect is – athleticism.  The following are the actual drills used at the NFL Combine to judge potential draft picks.

40-yard dash
This is the main event.  Teams look for explosiveness and speed from a dead start.  The athletes are timed at 10, 20 and 40-yard intervals.  One of the most important speed exercises.

Bench press
Every athlete is given the weight of 225 pounds to bench press.  The objective is to see how many times he can bench press this weight, which is called repetitions, or reps for short.   The repetition factor measures the athletes endurance.    This also tells a lot about the work ethic of the athlete in college and whether he attended strength training workouts.

Vertical jump
The vertical jump starts with the athlete standing  flat-footed while his reach is measured.  The athlete then is told to jump and touch a the highest point he can, which is a flag in the series of flags above him. The difference in the standing reach and the flag is the vertical jump measurement.  This exercise evaluates  the  lower-body explosion and power .

Broad jump
The broad jump tests the athlete’s  lower-body explosion,  lower-body strength and balance.  From a starting point, the athlete stands balanced .  He then jumps out as far as he can while sticking the landing.

3 Cone Drill
The 3 cone drill tests an athlete’s speed and agility.  It measures ability to change directions at a high speed.  From a starting line, three cones are place in an L-shape.  The athlete runs 5 yards to the first cone and back. Then, he turns, runs around the second cone, runs a weave around the third cone, which is the high point of the L, changes directions, comes back around that second cone and finishes.

Shuttle run
Remember the suicide drills in PE?  The shuttle begins with the athlete starting in a three-point stance and exploding  out 5 yards to his right, touches the line, goes back 10 yards to his left, left hand touches the line, pivot, and he turns 5 more yards and finishes.

Now Its Your Turn

The  NFL, through research and experience has put together drills and exercises it uses to evaluate potential million dollar athletes.   If you are a serious athlete, or just someone who wants to be a better athlete,  practice the speed and agility exercises above and who knows, and maybe someday you too will be invited to the combine.

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