When beginning a speed and agility training program, many of today’s athletes ignore one of the most important aspects to getting the results they want and that is nutrition. Too many young athletes tend to eat too much fast food and not pay attention to what they eat throughout the day.
To get the most out of a speed and agility workout, the best place to start when it comes to nutrition and dieting is a balanced meal. All meals throughout the day should contain foods from all four food groups. If this is not possible, make sure your diet includes portions from all four food groups throughout the day.
In order to adapt your diet to the sufficiently high physical demands of sports training, which requires high energy production, you need to increase your carbohydrate intake. No matter what sport or workout you do, this type of energy generation can only be achieved by breaking down carbohydrates. This means that players should pay special attention to this aspect of their diet – especially when considering the notorious exercises of speed and agility programs, especially when athletes are not given guidance on what to eat. The heavy training schedule that most speed and agility training involves only serves to increase the need for carbohydrates.
When discussing this topic, it is common to express the form of energy expended in terms of percentages (portions) consumed as carbohydrates, fat and protein. While the typical diet for the general population is around 40% carbs, 45% fat, and 15% protein, the recommended nutritional ratio for a soccer player (who is very strenuous and training well) would be around 65% carbs, 20% fat, and 15% protein, according to Peak Performance Newsletter.
Taking essential amino acids immediately after a workout increases protein synthesis, which means more muscle and (assuming you train “right”) more strength. A very important point when it comes to protein intake is timing – if you’re taking protein shakes or bars, take them as soon as possible after your workout.
Provided you eat a balanced, high-energy diet, supplementing with creatine has also been shown to improve the ability for repeated sprints, as discussed earlier in the Vitamins and Supplements article.
Some of the information used in this article comes from the Peak Performance Newsletter.
Thanks to Michael Seno
