Basketball Tips: Keep Energize and Strong Throughout the Game, Suggested Meal for Game-Day

Game day: Where all hard work and pain from training desperately need to show results. The main item that will influence the outcome of your training, is your preparation of battery (meal) on the game day. So what to eat?

The pre-competition meal or food that is eaten on the day of the competition, is very important. This is the food that the athlete will use to provide fuel to the body during the game. Because it is a well proven fact that food eaten just before a game will not help perform any better, it is necessary for the athlete to eat meals at the right time. Here is what we want to accomplish with the pre-competition meal:

• Allow for the stomach to be relatively empty at the start of competition.
•  Help avoid being hungry during the competition.
• Keep plenty of energy available for competition.
• Avoid stomach upset.
• Provide plenty of fluids for the body.

I have always believed in a diet high in carbohydrates (avoid fats, grease) about 1-2 hours before game-time or practice (you need time to digest it). Players should eat enough to feel their hunger is satisfied, but not overeat or stuff themselves. If it is a larger meal (lunch or dinner), eat at least 2 to 3 hours before the game; if it is a snack (you already had lunch or dinner earlier), eat the snack 1 hour before the game.

Suggested foods:

Some kind of pasta is a good lunch or dinner choice.

Others:

Cereals and grains
Vegetables
Crackers
Peanut butter crackers
Peanut butter sandwich
Pancakes
French toast
Bagels
Orange juice
Apples
Bananas
Grapes
Lean Meats

Avoid dairy products high in fat. Low fat yogurt would be fine. Adequate fluid intake is important before and during the game to avoid dehydration but again, too much is not good medicine. In addition to water, sport drinks or fruit juices are good choices.

If your practices or games are late in the afternoon, make sure you eat breakfast and lunch that day. Some fruit like bananas or oranges one hour before the practice or game would be a good booster.

Shared from coachesclipboard.net