Benefits of Almond Milk

Well, I've offically made my decision to leave the cow behind.  I've switched to drinking almond milk.  It tastes great and it has many benefits for your body.  Almond milk is a great source of protein, minerals, and its filled with vitamins.  It has antioxidents and magnesium.  Also, if you are lactose intolerant, almond milk is very easy to digest.  Here are all the benefits of drinking almond milk:

• Almond milk is good source of magnesium. It can help to break down the food into energy. It can also help in the functioning of the parathyroid glands, which produce hormones that are known to be good for bone health.
• Also, almond milk is loaded with manganese, selenium and Vitamin E. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects the cell membranes. Selenium is good for our immune system; it helps in reproduction, and in the metabolism of thyroid. It also prevents cell damage as well as tissue damage.
• It is packed with unsaturated fat, which means that it can reduce the risk of heart disease.
• As almonds are rich in protein, they help the body with growth and repair. It is also a great way to boost your daily carbohydrate intake. An ounce of this nut can provide the body with about 12% of its protein needs.
• Almond skins are a good source of flavonoids, which are good for cardiovascular health. They can protect your heart from various heart diseases.
• Manganese can activate the enzymes in the body. Manganese and phosphorous can keep teeth and bones healthy.
• Almonds are rich source of potassium which can help to improve heart function and to maintain normal blood pressure.
• Almonds milk does not contain cholesterol and saturated fats. It has high levels of vitamin E and unsaturated fats.
• Almond milk has zero fiber.
• 8 oz (237ml) of almond milk contains 70 calories, 2gm protein, 10gm carbohydrates and 2.5 grams of fat.

Overcompeting in Track and Field

Many high school track athletes are encourage by the very structure of their competitions to overcompete almost every week during their competition season.  This becomes a problem for young athletes because racing in more than one event is always a compromise because of nervous system fatigue.  Many coaches take taxing of the nervous and nueromuscular system for granted.  I always hear this from coaches;  "Oh they are young they can get over it" or "whatever it takes, we need to win this meet".  An athlete pays a price for overcompeting.  For example, if an athlete competes on a given day in a 100m, 200m, 400m, and long jump they will have significant nervous sysetm fatigue for at least four days.  That's right FOUR DAYS!!!!  The only way this can be minimized is by choosing minimal events or "taking it easy" in some of the events.  But, if the athlete takes it easy the athlete could risk the chance of losing their ability to focus with enough determination in a high quality event.  Awards for young athletes that reward maximum points earned in a given meet or season (that are earnd through overcompetition) are counterproductive to the goal of maturing young athletes. 

Stretching to Improve Athlete Performance

Contract-relax stretching is one fo the most effective forms of stretching for increasing flexibility and range of motion.  Products such as Thera-band stretching straps are great to use for contract-relax stretching.  This type of stretching is an active stretch and it is known to enhance performance.  The following is an example on how to do a contract-relax stretch. 

1. Breathing- Breath in as you contract the muscle and breathe out as you relax and stretch.

2. Start Phase - Begin with a moderate tension in the strap.

3. Contract phase- Provide enough elasticity in the strap to support resistance during muscle contraction.  The muscle should be at resting length.  Contract the muscle through the range of motion or hold a static contraction for 3 to 5 seconds. 

4. Stretch phase- Provide enough tension in the strap to lengthen the muscle.  Hold the stretch for 10 seconds and repeat 5 times. 

Contract-relax stretch can be done before and after workouts. 

For more information on contract-static stretching go to http://www.thera-band.com/

Training for Middle Distance Runners

Middle Distance runners are the most difficult runners to train because of the multi-energy system demand on the athlete.  A coach has to be very strategic in training middle distance runners, therefore, planning a running program for competition is critical.  Many coaches make the mistake of giving middle distance runners high mileage and little or no speed work.  When this happens the runner stays in a comfort zone in their races.  This makes it difficult to improve in their times.  In middle distance running their are two zones,  the comfort zone and the critical zone.  Most runners don't train in the critical zone and to be honest that really frustrates me!  The critical zone is the decision making part of the race.  It's when the runner decides to take the race over and develops a kick.  But, when there is no training in the critical zone the athlete is never able to finish strong in a race.  Preparating athletes for the critical zone is a high priority.  The critical zone is about a 1/4 of the race distance and it is important for the athlete to be as fresh as possible before the race to execute this distance.  A coach must add variety to the training and avoid overtraining.  Remember recovery and sleep is the most important part of the training.  High mileage with no plan  and no speed work will minimize any chance for the runner to run their best.  Here is a sample of a multi-pace training system that I use when training middle distance runners.

5 paces of a training plan 

1. V02 Max run (800m-3200m) pace
2. Special Endurance II (grass runs - 500 meters)
3. Special Endurance I ( 300-500 meters)
4. Speed Endurance (150-200 meters)
5. Speed (30-60 meters)

A good running program should have these phases covered.  Remember middle distance runners have to sprint too and they need to work out like sprinters.  Lots of fast running combined with mileage and drills will allow middle distance runners to achieve their personal best!

Gino

Coaches and Athletes on The Internet

I went to a workshop last month on Coaching and Ethics in Sport and one of the coaches did a presentation on the dangers of social media on the internet.  It was a real eye opener for me and I'd like to share with you all some of things I learned at this workshop about student-athletes and coaches websites such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and texting.  Many colleges coaches have several athletic scholarships they can offer when recruiting.  Scholarships today are worth a lot of money, especially full athletic scholarships.  Coaches today are doing more interviewing, and background searching on potential student-athletes.  Many of the coaches have software capacity to tap into any Facebook or Myspace page.  Also, many college admissions offices and employers check Facebook and Myspace accounts.  It has now become part of the recruiting process. 

Coaches and parents need let their kids know that whatever they post online will stay there forever.  Many of the kids think that only a small number of friends are reading their postings but the truth is that their posts are open to the entire world.  There was a situation in New Jersey when some football players decided to post their a video tape of their post-game celebration on Youtube and within a few hours those players were punished and suspended from the team by their football coach, and they were suspended from school.  They are many more cases out there like this one. 

So to all student-athletes out there that work with me be careful when posting on your web pages and also texting.  It is worth your while to review all text, posts, and photos that appear online.  Think twice before posting anything.  You don't want to anything to go against you when an opportunity for a college scholarship arrives at your doorstep.