Peak Physical Performance

...or "why is Caolan posting with alliteration this blog??"

...so, daylight saving is nearly upon us - and that means the beginning of summer sports competitions...

"...oh great - another blog where Caolan bangs on about all that stretching that I don't do..."


...yes, stretching is a part of playing any sport, as is physical training...but preparing your body requires more than that...

...of course, summer means increased temperatures - which means you will sweat more and therefore, lose more body water while you play or train...a general guide for most people is that you should consume around 5% of your body weight in water every day (for example, 83kg of me should consume about four litres of water, especially on the days when training or playing). 


...now I know that there are a lot of sports drinks out there on the market that advertise that they replace the important electrolytes that your body loses while you sweat (and they do), but I have a major issue with them. The amount of sugar in them - the leading sports drinks have 14 grams of sugar in a 600ml serving of the sports drink. 


"...yeah, so - what's wrong with sugar?? Wouldn't I have just burnt that off??"


...you may have burnt off the kilojoules of energy that the sugar supplies, but that's not what I am concerned about...sugar changes the way in which our body responds to injury and inflammation - it only takes 5-7 grams of sugar to markedly decrease our body's ability to repair itself. There are hydration formulas on the market that do not contain these processed sugars (apologies, most of them will be practitioner only so you will need to consult your chiro), and that's what I take myself...


"...okay, that's what I can drink - now's where you tell me I have to watch what I eat too..."


(I love it when patients finally get it)


...yes, you do...and the eating side of things can get a little complicated, so I am going to break it down into the times before the event:


4-6 hours before the event: eat a good balanced meal, with a focus on eating some good low glycemic index (low GI) carbohydrates...if you want to consume some fats or sugar, now is the time to do it...


30 minutes - 1 hour before the event: here is where you need a good source of simple carbohydrates to give you that extra little burst of energy before you play - fruit is a really great example (bananas are usually my choice of fruit here), a chocolate bar is not...this is also a good time to hydrate yourself too...

20-45 minutes after the event: now is the time to replenish the body's glycogen stores that would have been depleted whilst exercising (glycogen is a form of glucose that the body stores in the muscles as a quick source of energy) - you need to consume more of those good low GI carbohydrates...


...couple these tactics with a good, regular stretching program and adequate pre-event training and you should be all set for your summer sports...and as always, if you want to know more - ask your chiro...or me...