Improper Diet and why most college athletes don't perform to their ability.

[tek52086]

There has been a huge amount of confusion with why some college programs are much more productive then others. Some say recruiting, some say coaching, others say their training in the off season, i argue and say its their diets the seperate the ncaa champs from the loosing seasons.

For example, division I college basketball players....

This is the day in the life.

I was a cheerleader in college at a certain division one mid major in NJ so what I am saying comes from my own actual observations of a classmate of mine the past 4 years in college.

This for the most part is the diet acertain NBA draft pick that went 12th overall to the Kings followed in the 2007-2008 basketball season... (not mentioning any names but you do the research)

Preseason:
5:45am - wake up, no breakfast, possibly a gatorade on the way to practice.
6am - Running workout for 45 minutes on track
730am - breakfast in the cafeteria consisting mainly of carbs from doughnuts, muffins, juices and bread.
8:30am - 12:30pm - Classes
12:30pm - Lunch consisting of mainly fried food ie. french fries, chicken, soda.
2:00pm - gatorade and an afternoon workout
4:30pm - dinner similar to lunch but usually something better that the cafeteria had to offer.
9:30pm - late night snack at the diner on campus, usually some kind of sandwich on a white roll or something fried.

Now it doesnt take a nutrition expert to realize the major problems with this diet. Considering over 3 hours of working out is only being fueled by a piss poor nutrient selection, and this player was able to go in the first round in the NBA draft, it gets you really thinking. With all this fresh in my mind then i will continue on my rant...


Now just imagine...
5:30am - oatmeal and protein shake in the dorm
6:00am - practice on track
6:45am - post workout shake
7:30am - breakfast consisting of carbs, proteins and fruits
8:30am-12:30pm classes (with a meal replacement shake between class periods)
1:00pm - lunch consisting of complex carbs, lean proteins and fiberous veggies
1:45pm - carb/protein pre workout shake
2:00pm - workout followed by post workout shake
4:30pm - dinner similar to lunch
9:30pm - weight gainer shake, oatmeal, anything really that is lean.

Now after you are done imagining how the nutrient profile of this athlete has changed, how will the performance change as well you ask?
Well for one, increased lean mass, quicker metabolism, faster recovery, and better overall performance.

Im not in any way, shape, or form saying its the players fault...I attribute it to the coaches lack of knowledge in new methods of sports nutrition. Who knows... That tweak in the diet could have resulted in a top 10 draft pick and maybe even a conference championship and ncaa tourney berth.

In a perfect world, all athletes would have required readings such as "power eating" by susan kliner and "nutrient timing" by dr john ivy. These athletes would know that fried foods and other junk isnt going to fuel their championship dreams.

People say that NFL players are so large and muscular because they are all juiced up, i beg to differ. Luckially for them, all their meals are given to them in stirafoam trays throught the day during their season and they get the perfect ratios of nutrition to fuel their workouts, as well as cutting edge sports supplementation for recovery.

Just imagine the possibilies if all ncaa athletes followed a strict diet, didnt drink on tuesday nights and knew that you should have more then just a "protein shake" after their workouts......all right well i'm done.....


really gets you thinking doesn't it?

[Fury317]

This is exactly why Im majoring in Nutrition and Exercise Science, so that I can fix stuff like this, along with other problems with our society's eating and exercise habits.

I get the dish from a football player here at Ohio State. Now I wont get into this, but we have been to the National Championship, what 3 out of the last 4 years, were a pretty good team. Anyways, met this guy in the gym a while back and he fills me in on what the strength coaches have him doing and eating. He tells me stuff about speed work, heavy work, basically different routines that powerlifters and bodybuilders do to achieve the greatest potential. He's told be how they adjust diets and shit. And look at how the football team performs. Then you look at the basketball team, as you stated. The thing that comes to mind is about 7 or 8 years ago when Maryland won the championship and they had that center or forward (cant remember his name) who was DIESEL and just owned the paint! I mean come on! Look at Ben Wallace (not his offense haha)- dude owns the glass and curls 50's for like 30 reps. It is obvious that size plays a role in b-ball and other sports, just as it does in contact sports.

[shizz702]

Good post, really does make you think. It's a shame how the majority of the masses in general are so ignorant when it comes to proper nutrition.

[BaseballMonster]

I am a highschool senior who just graduated, I have been following Animal routines for explosive leg power and a better core. Only in just 4 months time have i put 20 lbs on and in a 12 week diet lost 8 lbs of fat and created 12 lbs of muscle. It helped me become faster and more explosive especially since I am a pitcher. I am now going off to college and my coaches are sports nutritionist majors. Thank you for bringing up this important topic.

[JMC]

Agree 100%. I'm sure there are plenty of schools who have a nutritionist on staff, but I think some would have to fall back on the coaches and stregth and conditioning coaches as well. I'm sure we've all met the "nutrition expert" who believes in one thing or another and will preach it (ala .5 g protein a day for serious lifters), what they really need is someone with "our" type mentality... eat to produce the best end product, whatever that may be.

[tek52086]

yeah everyone looks for the magic bullet but like we say there is no one sized fits all template.

the point i was trying to make is that if an athlete can perform like that with such a shit diet, just imagine if he did things the right way or atleast cleaned up his act, he could have gone alot further then he has already. and it goes with any sport im sure there are guys just dogging it to get by and dont know their ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to sports nutrition but still are winning trophys, imagine if they were enlightened.....

[ROC1291]

this can apply to tennis too. a fairly foreign sport to most of us, i've been doing my fair share of watching lately and i can say its an endurance sport to say the least.
my girl plays tennis and eats 2, maybe 3 meals at the most during a day.

guess how long she trains for?

well lets just say she got up at 5:45 today and just got home at 5. She gets a half hour break, and then a small break at 3pm again. Then when she gets home, her father trains her again some days (today being one of those days) until 8 pm.

She barely gets any sleep, got all of her energy from a red bull today, and complained her legs were cramping and she gets muscle pains every now and then that hurt tremendously.
I've suggested getting some proper nutrition in to prevent from damaging her metabolism and to make her a better tennis player overall (right now she's unbelievable, but during tournaments she lacks the energy to play more than a few matches because she simply doesnt eat enough).

Just think, she could be the next Serena Williams if she ate correctly, and probably wouldn't have to train half as much as she does now.

Does anybody have any suggestions or meal plans I can give to somebody who is stubborn when it comes to this stuff?

[Lud14]

I am right with you all on this. I didn't have the privilege of playing collage sports but was a three sport athlete in high school and am going to be a teacher and a coach. I really think all this nutrition stuff should be talked about in high school. I didn't know shit about what to eat in till i got to collage and started talking to educated people and doing lots of research. That is when i finally started to make gains. Sure a lot of that came from maturing but still. I really believe you have to start better educating kids early about proper nutrition, especial pre and post workout or competition in order to build these kids habits so they they can apply them at the college level. I also think if you take the time to do this as a high school coach you will find success. That is my plan at least. I would love some input.

[BryanSmash!]

It wasn't too long ago when most believed that weight training would make an athlete bulky and inflexible, thereby decreasing his performance.
Now, Im not taking a shot at coaches by any means, Im just saying that sometimes it takes a while for them to adopt certain practices.

[thelunchbox]

college kids need certain things in their diet like beer and cold pizza.