How To Survive Training Camp
1) Always eat breakfast. Try to refrain from a lot of grease. Make sure you have protein (eggs, lean meat, cottage cheese and/or protein breakfast shake), carbohydrates (potatoes, toast, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, vegetables) and proper hydrating fluids (water and/or Gatorade). Make sure to get up early enough so that the breakfast has time to digest.
2) Warm-up before the warm-up. If you have a stationary bike at your facility, ride 4-6 minutes before you go out for practice. You can also jump rope or do jumping jacks. This will get the blood flowing before you get into your full team warm-up. A warm muscle is always more friendly than a cold muscle.
3) Stretch after the first practice. Before you go into the locker room, get a good stationary stretch to properly cool yourself down. The areas that you want to focus on are the hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes, calves, low back and quads. If you take care of these muscles, then they will take care of you.
4) Recover immediately after practice. I would suggest purchasing a recovery drink such as Endurox. It is a great product that gives you the right amount of protein and carbohydrates to replenish everything that you just lost during practice. This IS NOT a substitute for food though. You can purchase Endurox off the Internet or from most supplement stores for $30.
5) Eat a good lunch. Fast food is not a good option for a meal in between practices. Foods with a lot of grease and or sugars slow you down and make you feel heavy and sluggish. Make sure you have protein in your meal (chicken, turkey, fish), carbohydrate (green vegetables, pasta, whole grain breads fruits) and hydrating fluids (water and/or Gatorade).
6) Cold Tub. The cold tub is probably the best thing on this list. The cold bath acts as an agent to help the muscles recover by facilitating blood flow between the sore area of the body and the heart. If your school does not have an ice tub, you can purchase some ice and put it in a trashcan and fill the trash can up with cold water. You can also do the same thing at home in the privacy of your own bathroom.
7) Stretch before bed. The worst thing in the world is a cramp in the middle of the night. If you stretch before you go to bed, your muscles will be loose and therefore reduce the potential for cramps in the middle of the night and tightness/soreness in the morning.
When I was playing in the NFL my goal was to arrive at each practice of the day with the least amount of soreness possible. I followed the steps above to achieve this goal. It allowed me to play full speed from the beginning to the end of practice. Good luck in camp and take care of your body.
Leonard Stephens, Performance Enhancement Coach
Perfect Performance, LLC
lstephens@perfect-performance.com
Facebook: Perfect Performance
Twitter: @PerfectPerform
