Did you miss the free nutrition clinic held this week? No worries! We will be featuring 1 pillar every week for the next six weeks. This week’s topic is Protein.
Brian Marver, expert nutrionist from Total Nutrition answers all of our questions about protein. Which foods are a good source of protein? When should I eat protein? How much protein should I have daily? What does protein do for me? Find out by watching the short clip below!
Colin Spencer emerges as a superstar at Nike Sparq Combine in Houston
Colin Spencer of Woodrow Wilson HS dominated the competition at the NFSC in Houston on Saturday. Spencer posted the highest SPARQ rating to be recorded this year with an astounding 141.12. This rating is a tremendous improvement over the 103 rating Spencer posted a year ago. Spencer recorded Top 5 results in nearly every category including combine bests pro agility (3.87) and vertical jump (41.7in). He sped to a blistering 4.42 40yd dash and threw the powerball 39.5 ft. Spencer has been training with Performance Course since the Fall and has shown superior commitment to personal training goals. Spencer’s performance at the combine is truly a testement to his work ethic and dedication to improvement.
If you’re looking to run fast and jump high, posterior chain movements should be a constant in your strength training. The posterior chain includes the hamstrings, gluteus maximus and erector stabilizers. As an athlete, sprinting and jumping is greatly affected by posterior chain muscle strength. As a result, the stronger an athlete’s posterior chain, the faster they can run and the higher they can jump.
An effective posterior chain movement that we like to incorporate is the “poor man glute ham.” This exercise requires no equipment!
- Athlete on knees with upper body upright
- Partner holds athlete’s legs at the lower calf
- Lower body toward ground keeping your legs, hips and back rigid and in a straight line.
- Immediately upon contact with ground in push up position, push off the ground slightly and pull back to the starting position
The off-season is the perfect time to focus on muscle-building and growth. With practices limited, you have the opportunity to spend your time in the weight room increasing strength and in the kitchen feeding your body the fuel it needs to grow. Here are a number of important diet tips as well as supplement recommendations to help you make the most out of this off-season.
Importance of Daily Diet: Muscles cannot grow without the proper fuel. That would be like expecting a car to run without gasoline. The body needs large amounts of the following macronutrients: protein, amino acids, carbohydrates, fat and water in order to rebuild and repair muscle and tissue, keep energy stores high, and keep the circulatory system functioning. If the body is not being fueled every 3 hours, it will begin use muscle as an energy source (muscle catabolism). This means it is extremely important for student athletes to be consuming meals rich in protein and carbohydrates every 3-4 hours as well as drinking water frequently.
Supplementation:
A Supplement is defined as: “1. Something added to complete a thing, make up for a deficiency, or extend or strengthen the whole.” –Webster’s Dictionary
It is important to understand that supplements are not a replacement for a sound diet, training, or ample rest. HOWEVER….
Supplements are essential for athletes and all those who are pushing their body to the limit and past it, depleting vital amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins and H20.
Q: It is extremely difficult to prepare an adequate amount of foods to intake 5-750 calories per meal every 3 hours, how can I do this as a student athlete?
A: It is almost impossible. This is where the importance of a Meal Replacement/ Weight Gain Shake comes into play. A quick and easy way to increase meal frequency of protein and carbohydrates.
Muscle Growth and Recovery:
Daily diet is a very important component of growth as we’ve stated earlier. In addition, the Pre and Post-workout windows are another very important component of increasing strength, building muscle and adding size
Pre – Workout:
It is important to pre-fuel the body before a workout if the goal is to add size and strength. Eating a meal 2-2.5 hours prior that is rich in complex carbohydrates and Protein is important to supply the muscles with the amino acids and Glycogen (carbohydrates) needed to fuel your workout
Supplements:
BCAA: Any athlete looking to increase muscle mass should be drinking Branch Chain Amino Acids before work outs. These essential amino acids are necessary for muscle growth and recovery.
Post-Workout- “The Anabolic Window”
Supplements:
Post-workout is where a lot of the growth in our muscles occurs. This is a point where it is extremely important to provide the body with the following nutrients: Protein, BCAAs, Carbohydrates, and Glutamine. The body requires these nutrients as quickly as possible and this is the optimal time to drink a Post-Workout Recovery Shake.
Vitamins/ Minerals
Getting all the vitamins and minerals the body needs is another extremely important aspect of muscle growth and recovery, but most importantly immune function. You can’t improve upon your performance if you are sick! A number of these vitamins and minerals are supplied to our bodies through consumption of fruits and vegetables. However, 99% of people are not getting the USDA recommended 5-9 servings per day. Our bodies require many of these vitamins and minerals in order to properly absorb and derive energy from the foods we consume:
Supplements
In order to fill the gap between what you consume through foods and what your body requires as an athlete, it is imperative that you use a whole-food based multivitamin. In addition, a number of athletes use greens supplements, to deliver the proper dose of vegetables to improve recovery.
In summary, there are a number of aspects that play a role in improving performance, increasing strength, and building muscle. There isn’t one thing that can be substituted for another and in order to excel at the highest level, athletes must take advantage of everything that is available with regard to training, diet, and supplementation.
- The TN Team
CLASS 5A REGION I AREA ROUND
North Crowley (24-12) vs. Lubbock Monterey (22-8)
6:00 Friday at Clyde HS
Lubbock Coronado (25-6) vs. Arlington Bowie (28-6)
6:00 Friday at Merkel HS
Plano West (33-2) vs. Cedar Hill (28-6)
7:00 Friday at Flower Mound HS
Irving MacArthur (32-2) vs. Keller (27-6)
6:30 Friday at Colleyville Heritage
Arlington Martin (16-15) vs. Amarillo (27-6)
6:00 Friday at Vernon HS
EP Bel Air (21-7) vs. Arlington Lamar (23-12)
5:30 Saturday at Midland Christian
SL Carroll (30-3) vs. Mans. Timberview (25-9)
8:00 Friday at Richland
Duncanville (34-1) vs. FM Marcus (23-12)
6:30 Thursday at Euless Trinity
CLASS 5A REGION II AREA ROUND
Harker Heights (34-1) vs. Gar. Naaman Forest (16-16)
8:00 Friday at Glen Rose
Sachse (28-7) vs. Temple
7:00 Friday at Waco High
Pflugerville (38-0) vs. Klein Collins (25-10)
6:00 Saturday at A&M Consolidated
The Woodlands (30-2) vs. Round Rock
8:00 Friday at Hearne
DeSoto (31-5) vs. Garland (25-8)
7:00 Friday at North Forney
Skyline (28-4) vs. Mesquite (21-10)
7:00 Friday at South Garland
Austin Anderson (29-4) vs. Humble Atascocita (20-12)
7:00 Friday at Navasota
Spring Dekaney (35-1) vs. Georgetown
7:00 Friday at A&M Consolidated
CLASS 4A REGION I AREA ROUND
Amarillo Palo Duro (16-13) vs. EP Irvin (24-6)
6:00 Friday at Odessa High
Clint Horizon (30-2) vs. Wolfforth Frenship (25-8)
6:00 Friday at Odessa College
Stephenville (18-16) vs. Kel. Timber Creek (22-11)
7:00 Friday at Brock
FW Western Hills (27-6) vs. Granbury (28-7)
6:00 Friday, FW’s Wilkerson-Greines AC
Canyon (27-3) vs. EP Burges (21-11)
4:30 Friday in Odessa College
EP Chapin (31-0) vs. Plainview (26-7)
7:30 Friday at Odessa College
Mansfield Summit (31-3) vs. FW Trimble Tech (23-10)
6:30 Friday at Richland
Aledo (29-4) vs. Arlington Seguin (25-10)
7:00 Friday at Mansfield HS
CLASS 4A REGION II AREA ROUND
Lincoln (28-0) vs. Wylie (23-11)
TBD
Rockwall (29-7) vs. Kimball (16-9)
7:30 Friday at North Mesquite
Bryan Rudder (31-5) vs. Royse City (25-8)
7:00 Friday at Fairfield HS
Longview Pine Tree (24-7) vs. RR Cedar Ridge (26-10)
6:00 Friday at Corsicana
Carter (19-10) vs. Highland Park (23-7)
7:00 Friday at Conrad
McKinney North (20-12) vs. Bryan Adams (16-10)
7:30 Friday at Garland Naaman Forest
West Mesquite (28-7) vs. Tyler John Tyler (24-8)
7:00 Friday at Wills Point
Sherman (25-6) vs. Pflugerville Connally (23-13)
6:30 Thursday at Glen Rose
Flower Mound Marcus’ success continues as they rise to #5 in the Powerade Fab 50 power rankings for Men’s Highschool Basketball.
Behind the play of McDonald’s All American Marcus Smart, Marcus High School fought their way to a 29-2 record playing a national schedule. Ranked #1 in the state of Texas Marcus HS looks to repeat as State Champions.
Marcus will play Flower Mound High School Tuesday, Feb. 14th for their season ender in hopes to cap off an incredible regular season and gain momentum for the Texas 5A State Tournament.
(if you don’t have a lot of time, skip to the 25 second mark)
McKinney High School Lion Basketball player AJ Moutry has been on a scoring tear as of late as the Lions continue their hot streak winning 9 of their last 11. Moutry, the 6’1″ Senior Guard, has been the source of this hotstreak averaging nearly 32 ppg through the last 11 games. 
On the season, Moutry averages 26.9 ppg on 47% shooting from the field leading all McKinney High Basketball Players. Moutry’s incredible 11-12 stats are a major improvement over his Junior year where he averaged close to 12 ppg. So far, the highlight of Moutry’s season, and the McKinney Lions, was a 54 point effort against Pearce. The Lions clinched the game in double overtime as Moutry hit the game winner with under 2 seconds remaining.
AJ’s Maxpreps profile can be viewed here and a collection of his highlights from this season can be viewed on the video profile.
