Tips to Gain Weight

It is critical to athletes, especially those wanting to attain success at the next level, to reach or maintain a certain weight. Think about the importance of being a certain size on the football field, or a wrestler trying to stay in a certain weight class.

Many athletes we work with here have a common goal: they want to gain weight. This counteracts what most folks want to do when it comes to monitoring their diet---they want to LOSE weight. Dieters go after a specific plan (South Beach, etc.) and follow it. But unfortunately, athletes who need to gain weight usually just follow this plan: eat more.

While this will help some, it is never enough. Like anything else, if you don't know where you are going & how to get there, you will never get there. So I encourage athletes wanting to gain weight to get a plan.

Tips:
* Schedule a daily eating plan: Breakfast, snack, lunch, pre-workout, post-workout, dinner, snack.
* Monitor calories: look at the label & see where you are getting the extra calories from---it should be a nice balance from carbs, protein, & fat. Also count the calories to make sure you are getting enough during the day
* Work more, eat more: If you increase your exercise intensity, you have to increase your caloric intake
* No naked bread: spread something on rolls, toast, bagels, etc. This is an easy way to get more calories.

There are several other things to do, and we can discuss more in-depth, but the point is to HAVE A PLAN in order to gain weight. Don't just assume that an extra helpign at dinner will do it.


**Disclaimer: I am not a registered dietitian, so any nutritional advice offered here is from my own personal experience & certification. Tips gained from Scarlett Goad, RD & Kelli Kostelnik, RD

No More 2-a-Days?

So it's not even July and here in Arkansas we are flirting with the triple-digit mark on the thermometer. Nice to think of what July & August will bring us.

Last week I attended the National Athletic Trainers Association's (NATA) Annual Meeting in San Antonio. This educational session & trade show brought over 9000 of my colleagues together to learn the "latest & greatest" in sports medicine. An interesting item that was announced last week was the call for the reduction or elimination of 2-a-day football practices for high school football players in August. A report issued by the NATA outlined the dangers of the grueling training sessions and noted 39 heat related football deaths since 1995.

While this is just a position statement and cannot be enforced, it does bring up some interesting points. Read them here.

Highlights of the recommendations:
1. A 14-day acclimatization period---during the 1st 5 days athletes can only practice once per day
2. A total of 3 hours per day
3. Recovery periods
4. The recommendation that a certified athletic trainer be on hand to monitor both climate conditions & the athletes' conditions

Several other groups collaborated with the NATA on this consensus statement: American College of Sports Medicine, Gatorade Sports Science Institute, National Strength and Conditioning Association, United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and American Academy of Pediatrics.

OK...so there will be (& already has been) a lot of push-back from this. Many coaches are saying that since they have an athletic trainer (AT) at practices, then they are OK because they listen to what they say. Others say this is not needed because they take precautions & grant access to water. All of this is good. But these aren't 100% guarantees that there will be no heat-related issues.

Coaches say they need twice-daily practices to get their teams ready for a grueling season. I would tend to agree...however, times are different for the typical high school football player. Football is now a 12 month sport: 10-plus games in the fall, followed by off-season lifting/walk-throughs, then there is spring football. Summer rolls around and there are camps, clinics, and 7-on-7 games/tourneys. Now you are right back at 2-a-days. Couple all of this with extra speed/strength training on their own (obviously I highly endorse this!), or other sports, and, well, they are busy! My point is that the average high school player SHOULD be in better shape than the average player 10 years ago. So, I throw this out.....are two weeks of 2-a days still needed? A coach would like as much practice time as they can get, and I don't blame them for this. But, are some schools still doing 2-a-days just because "that's what we have always done"?

Times are different than just a few years ago.....that warrants a reassessment of the status quo. Is there a better way? Are today's athletes at more risk for heat illness?

Special Speed/Strength Training Program for the "Dead Weeks"

Arkansas Sports Performance Center is offering a special training plan designed to help athletes maintain their level of summer workouts during the mandatory "Dead Week" period of June 21-July 4. As you know, student-athletes are not allowed to do any workouts at school during this time. This special condensed program is a great opportunity to maintain & improve levels of strength & conditioning.

A total of ten (10), 1 1/2-2 hour workouts, engineered to work smarter, not harder
Choose workout times: 10am, 2pm or 6pm
Sport specific with lots of one-on-one attention
Only $175!
Improve your speed & strength in 2 weeks!
Build for the rest of the summer!
GET IN SHAPE FOR TWO-A-DAYS!
Official ASPC Gear T-shirt included!
You must schedule to reserve a spot!

We are only offering this to a limited number of athletes, as we don't want to disrupt our commitment to provide as much individual attention as possible.

Call today! 501-539-FAST (3278)
www.arsportsperformance.com
go to info@arsportsperformance.com to reserve your spot

Combine Results!

You should have received an email from Athletic Republic with your username & password...please let us know if you did not receive it.

Athletes: your times will not be made public via a master results list until Monday morning (April 27th). You have until then to notify us if you want a number scratched.

COMBINE RESULTS

We are working as hard as we can to get the results from Saturday's Combines in the books. Please be patient.....as soon as we are finished (within a few days) access information will be emailed out to participants.

I really appreciate everyone's patience as we dealt with the weather & some technology issues. All in all, it was a good day with some fast times registered!

Easter weekend closing

Please note:

We will be closing Friday at noon, as well as all of Saturday to mark the Easter weekend.

We will resume again Monday the 13th. Please call us at 501-539-3278 to set up appointments.

Planning Season

April is now officially here, and in full swing. For me personally, April brings a plethora of activities and events. I told my wife the other day that if I can just get through this month I will feel like I can breathe a little bit. Not to be self-indulgent here, but here is a quick recap of life for me: Bear with this------there is a point to this rambling coming up soon.

• Just finished up a Football University (FBU) event in Orlando, FL this weekend.
  
• Two Football Combines on April 18th
  
• Arkansas Athletic Trainers Association state meeting April 24-26 in Hot Springs
  
• Daily "running the business" stuff
  
• Giving due time to my family
  

 

So what BJ, everyone's busy? Why are you singling yourself out?

 

Good question!

 

Here's what I have learned about this month of April (& beyond): if I can be disciplined to focus on specific tasks at hand, ask God for strength to handle these things, & HAVE A PLAN…then things will take care of themselves. I emphasize the last thing about planning for a reason. I write this to my athletes to develop & have a plan. If you are a student-athlete, here's what I mean:

• What are your SPECIFIC goals? Do you want to make the team? Do you want to start? Do you want to overcome an injury? Focus your attention on your own personal goals
  
• Develop the plan. Meeting your goals must involve a planning process. Does your goal involve improving your physical conditioning? Or a specific task like getting faster?
  
• Tell someone about your plan: if you have accountability, that person has permission to ask you if you have done the work needed to meet your goal. They won't let you sleep in instead of going to work out.
  

 

I have started this similar process when trying to meet the demands of my schedule and attending to these various projects. It has helped me stay on task. If you are an athlete looking ahead to your next season, don't wait to start your achieving your goals. You have to be proactive!

 

Nothing happens without some action! Who's working SMARTER right now? You, or your competition?

 

 

OTHER NOTES:

• Major League Baseball opened another season today. With all of the off-season distractions, I am happy to see baseball being played again on this stage!
  
• Spring Football for high school: soon, we get to hear the pads rattling again! I hope that all of my guys who have been working hard with me since the end of their season will see the benefits!
  
• Speaking of planning...summer is coming soon. If you are thinking of getting in some speed & agility training with us, go ahead & reserve your spot soon! Don't wait!
  
• If you are interested in attending the Open Football Combine, go to www.arsportsperformance.com to register
  
• DEEP SNAPPERS CLINIC: Saturday, May 9…we are hosting a special clinic to teach the art of deep snapping a football! Email me for more information: bjmaack@arsportsperformance.com