Turf Wars 2022 is only weeks away. Competing athletes have been hard at work with their training and nutrition prep to ensure they perform at their very best.
On this month’s IG Live of “The Breakdown” hosted by Coach Natalia, we sat with our in-house registered dietitian, Ryan Turner, Coach Yusuf, and 2019 Man of the House, Turf Wars’ Champion, Scott Grossnickle to learn insider training tips from the pros.
The Live’s summary is below:
Fueling
How does an 8-12 week competition prep differ from a 3 month body composition challenge? In the month leading up to the competition, what nutrition tweaks should athletes start making in their diets?
While tracking your macros, a good baseline is:
- 0.5 gram of fats
- 1 gram of protein
- 1.5 gram of carbohydrates
- all per pound of bodyweight
It is important that you are eating as close as you would closer to competition time.
- Slowly increase carbohydrates & fiber
- Increase hydration
- Recover & rest
You want to avoid trying new things as you are getting close to competition. Try new things a few weeks ahead.
With respect to the night before, as well as Game Day fueling, what’s the best advice you can give our athletes in terms of intake / consumption, maintaining energy, hydration, etc.?
The night before, athletes should focus their nutrition as their pre-workout. Those who find themselves unable to eat the morning before competition, utilize the day before to get the carbohydrates in. You want to bring up the amount of stored energy.
Start increasing hydration in the days leading up to competition, with an increased focus of electrolytes. Sodium, magnesium, potassium, chloride, calcium, all necessary electrolytes to ensure your cells are remaining hydrated.
Training
What is the logical Turf Wars competition prep timeline look like?
- Ideally begin training prep 8-12 weeks before competition day.
- Look at the events of the competition and hone in on your weaknesses.
- Give yourself time to build strength.
- Early on in your preparation, spend more time on building strength. After a 4-6 week period of building strength, you can then work on translating that strength into power.
What aspects of our Strength classes are going to be beneficial to Turf Wars? Is there a strategic way to stack Strength throughout the week based on Turf Wars prep?
- Notice your strengths and weaknesses;
- For example, if you know you lack more upper-body strength, focus on upper-body strength classes earlier in the week, give your body a couple days to recover and translate that to a conditioning class to test that power.
- Check out Training Tracks to see how best to stack your classes per week.
Much like there is a tapering period for endurance races (whether it be a triathlon, marathon, etc), training smart is obviously just as important as training hard on the Turf. What is an intelligent taper period for something like Turf Wars? Is it 100% rest/recovery or more so shifting to more low intensity movements/workouts?
As part of your training routine in the weeks/months ahead of a competition, you should find yourself going down in volume 2-3 weeks before the event. The taper period will be in the week leading up to game day. You do not want to do anything that will drastically change how you perform. You want to give your body as much opportunity to recover and rest, so on day of you are ready to give it your all.
The week leading up to competition, incorporate other lower intensity movements such as yoga or mobility work to assist your body in recovery for competition.
Post-Competition Recover
In terms of post-competition recovery/come down, is there any strategy to adjusting nutrition consumption, training, etc.? Assuming there’s a period of ‘treating yourself’ after completing such an intense but rewarding competition.
After the competition, many athletes may not feel hungry. But make sure you eat something. You just performed. Your body needs to refuel.
Remember the Four “R”s of Recovery: Restore, Replace, Repair, and Rest
- Restore the electrolytes & fluids you lost
- Replace the carbohydrates burned
- Repair your muscles with protein
- Rest with a good nights sleep
Have a protein drink, get some carbohydrates (fruit is a great option), and rehydrate best you can.
After refueling, find some type of movement to help your body’s recover. You are most likely going to end up a bit sore from exerting yourself. Stretch your muscles, do low intensity movements such as riding a bike or going for a walk. These movements will go a long way in terms of being able to help you with the recovery process and as your body is repairing itself after an intense competition.
There is still time to register for Turf Wars 2022 and attend event specific workshops to ensure you are performing your very best on game day. Best of luck to all the athletes competing.
Not competing, but would love to cheer on your teammates? Purchase your spectator tickets here.