Pre-season: What should we keep in mind?

The preseason is the ideal time to focus on learning and incorporating eating habits focused on our nutritional needs and goals as well as the load of daily training. 

Our collaborator Nutrisport, tells us on this occasion what factors we have to take into account in the sports preseason

During this period, training sessions can be double, morning and afternoon, in which there is a high load of exercises, these being more generic. These sessions include such exercises how to enhance the skills of athletes, strength training-explosive, aerobic conditioning, recovery and physiotherapy sessions, to redirect the individual to an improvement of the body composition and to restore the parameters for an improvement of the performance.

Throughout the seasons, athletes experience fluctuations in energy expenditure from physical exercise, in spontaneous caloric intake, weight and body composition, reaffirming what is indicated by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) that the requirements and needs of nutrients They are not static and the recommendations should be periodized according to the individual situation and condition.

A psychological level, the subjects will be prepared for face the next challenges as well as to manage the difficulties with which they are, and in turn to maintain consistency and uniformity in training and matches, without forgetting to enjoy and know how to manage, from the nutritional point of view, the social activities that involve food.

Recovery between training sessions

So that the processes of regeneration at muscular level are carried out in totality, and thus to be able to face the next session in full energy, the recovery is a key point. They take special relevance sources of carbohydrates, right at the end of physical exercise, Combining fast and slow absorption carbohydrates, such as oats, dried fruit, dried fruit, fresh or cooked fruit, pasta, white or full rice, bread of various cereals, pancakes, crepes, among others, without forgetting a protein contribution of high biological value such as supplements based Whey protein, fresh Quark cheese, cottage cheese, whipped cheese, egg, white or blue fish and meat.

Sports supplementation is useful at these times in which athletes must resort to adequate nutrients in certain quantities at times when it is not so obvious to cover the requirements only through conventional foods.

Achieve an adequate body weight

The percentage of fat mass is a performance limiting factora reduction of fat mass is related to the improvement of explosive capacities (sprint) as well as resistance in trained subjects.

It is in the preseason and their training plan that individuals must focus on gaining muscle mass, and reduce the amount of fat mass, in order to reach the right volume and weight, taking into account their initial situation and the objective sought. The contribution of protein sources should have special consideration, given its ability to stimulate the growth of muscle tissue in addition to providing other nutrients.

Furthermore, the creatine contribution, one of the precursors of the energy substrate faster in the muscle, can promote muscle recovery and improve the adaptations of the muscles to exercise, generating a greater capacity of explosiveness and strength, interesting in certain sports in which maintaining a tone and muscular volume, together with an agility in the explosive capacity, has special interest, such as hockey, rugby, basketball, water polo and soccer , among others.

Make the most of rest: promote a recovery dream

During the night period, the processes of recovery at muscular level, accompanied by a series of hormones, an increase in growth hormone, and a reduction in the levels of the stress hormone (cortisol), which are responsible for maintaining a proper climax to optimize regeneration at the muscle tissue level and promote the physiological adaptations that occur in physical exercise.

Keep a sleep hygiene, favoring a night rest, will be key for boost the performance of athletes.

Hydration

One of the performance limiting factors is dehydration, so in warm environments where players experience fluctuations in body fluids and electrolytes due to a slightly elevated rate of sweating, we will try to meet the needs of the subjects.

Isotonic or powder-based drinks made from salts are very useful at the moment, since they provide electrolytes such as Sodium (Na +), Potassium (K +), Magnesium (Mg +) and many of them Calcium (Ca2 +), in certain quantities for maintain physiological parameters and counteract the losses produced by sweat, together with a complex of carbohydrates in a concentration of 4-6%, the main energy substrate in sports with a factor of certain explosiveness together with resistance, these drinks confer optimum hydration, while maintaining correct blood glucose levels.

NutriSport recommends you

The Nutrisport catalog puts at your disposal a wide variety of products that will allow you to achieve all the objectives proposed in your preseason training plan. To maintain a good hydration during that time, Sport Drink ISO Powder will provide your body the optimal amount of vitamins, minerals and sugars for the proper development of your workouts.

Cellular Creatine It is a great option for short duration, high intensity exercises. Although it can be used in numerous sports practices, it is in anaerobic ones, in which you can obtain greater benefits. Its mode of consumption depends on whether it is the loading phase (intake of 3 scoops of Cellular Creatine half an hour before exercise and 3 scoops immediately after; for 10 days) or the maintenance phase (3 scoops immediately after exercise for 2 months).

Another outstanding product to take care of your diet during the preseason is Mega Protein Whey + 5. Thisproduct has been developed with the nprotein needs of all those athletes who do workouts with a important muscle wasting, formulated based on whey protein concentrate (Whey Protein Concentrate) together with a combination of 5 ingredients with a synergistic effect that stimulate protein synthesis and favor the absorption of amino acids and protein.

References

Sergej M. Ostojic. Changes in body fat content of top level soccer players. Journal of sports science medicine. (2002) Vol. 1 (2): 54-55.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3963243/

Juliane Heydenreich, Bengt Kayser, Yves Schutz and Katarina Melzer. Total Energy expenditure, energy intake, and body composition in endurance athletes across the training season: a systematic review. (2017) Vol 8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5292109/

Tyler TF, Nicholas SJ, Campbell RJ, Donellan S., McHugh MP The effectiveness of a presean exercise program to prevent adductor muscle strains in professional ice hockey players. American Journal of Sports Medicine. (2002) Vol. 30 (5): 680-3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12239001

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