Limit the refined grains and sugars such as sugary cereals, white breads and bagels. You'll benefit more from whole-grain products.

Choose healthy sources of protein such as chicken, turkey, fish, peanut butter, eggs, nuts and legumes. Stay hydrated with beverages, as a two percent drop in hydration levels can negatively impact performance.

Options include milk, water, percent fruit juice and sport drinks. However, realize that sport drinks and percent fruit juice tend to be higher in overall sugar content and, in the case of fruit juice, lack many of the health benefits present in its whole food counterpart.

Also, be sure not to confuse sports drinks such as Gatorade with "energy" drinks such as Red Bull and similar beverages. Stick with whole food options as much as possible as opposed to highly processed foods. Without adequate calories from the healthiest food sources, you will struggle to achieve your performance goals.

Plan a nutritious meal by choosing at least one food from each category. Healthy fat. Adequate hydration is a key element in sports performance. Most athletes benefit from developing a personal hydration plan. A general rule for training is to consume a minimum:. Four to six ounces of fluid every 15 minutes of exercise.

To properly assess, weigh yourself immediately prior to and after a workout. For every pound of weight lost, replace with 16 ounces of fluid. Best hydration choices include water, low-fat milk or percent juice. Sports beverages are best reserved for competition, where quick hydration and electrolyte replacement are necessary.

There are a few golden rules when it comes to eating on game day:. It happens the days, weeks, and months leading up to the competition. Conclusion Maintaining a healthy lifestyle during the school sports season is vital for young athletes in Centennial, Colorado.

By prioritizing nutrition, adequate sleep, effective time management, and leveraging local resources like Team Speed, you'll set yourself up for success both on and off the field.

Embrace these healthy habits to thrive in your athletic pursuits and achieve your goals. Stay dedicated, stay healthy, and let your passion for sports drive you toward greatness! Certifications: Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist CSCS from the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

He was a collegiate quarterback and then followed his playing career by becoming a college football coach. Erik has a decade and a half of Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback coaching experience at the college level.

In addition to his football coaching duties, Erik also served as a Strength and Conditioning Coordinator. Everything starts with the core and the mind.

This focus is realized through a whole-part-whole approach where the entirety of an exercise is explained, then broken into parts to be learned, and then culminating with the execution of the entire exercise. Education: BS in Comprehensive Biology; University of Nebraska — Kearney, MSc in Applied Sport and Exercise Science with an Emphasis in Strength and Conditioning; University of East London.

She has spent her life involved in sports such as volleyball, basketball, soccer and track and field. After being named one of the Athletes of the Year in Nebraska in high school, she took her competitive spirit and skills as a volleyball player to the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

She earned top conference honors all 4 years and All-American status twice through hard work, leadership and pure love of the sport. Her professional volleyball career was cut short due to injury and she is now motivated to help fellow athletes achieve their sports performance goals.

Focus: Tara is driven to use her experience to help athletes in all sports to reach maximum potential and stand out against competition. She is devoted to challenging individuals to make physical and mental improvements that will positively impact life beyond sports.

Education: BS in Business Administration and Marketing; American International College. I went to Arapahoe High School where I played Football, Lacrosse, Wrestling, and Rugby. I received a scholarship to play Division 1 Rugby out on the East Coast at American International College.

All four years of school, I was all conference, and as a team we finished Top 10 in the nation consistently. After I graduated, I moved to New Zealand to take my game to the next level.

Played Division 1 club Rugby until I got an opportunity to play professionally back here in the States. I earned a contract with the MLR Major League Rugby team, Rugby ATL, in Atlanta before COVID shut things down. I have been coaching an elite rugby academy based out of Colorado that competes with the top teams in North America since I also joined the coaching staff at Regis High School and recently won a state championship.

I started as an intern here at Sterling's Team Speed and worked to become a full time performance coach. Focus: To bring my personal experience and knowledge to take any athlete to the next level. I really enjoy seeing athletes be confident and change their beliefs about what they're capable of.

Fill out the form to inquire about strength, conditioning, injury prevention, and speed training and receive information on Sterling's Team Speed. We will share news, events, programs and special promotions about Sterling's Team Speed. Get inspired by Sterling's Team Speed as we help you reach your fitness goals.

Training all ages and levels, Sterling gains results for those individuals serious about their personal fitness while helping them achieve their goals. Sterling is known for being truly invested in his clients.

He works with kids to not only better their performance but also their lives. Sterling builds confidence in his clients and their ability to compete! He is particularly experienced in helping return to play following ACL surgery. Focus: Emphasizing functional training, using multi-joint movements, innovative exercises, and exercise related to sport or lifestyle is important in improving performance.

I like being innovative in selecting and varying exercises in order to keep things challenging and exciting for my clients. He attained a Bachelors of Kinesiology at the University of British Columbia and worked as a student trainer with athletes of all ages.

After graduating, he worked in a physiotherapy clinic in Vancouver for 2 years rehabilitating musculoskeletal injuries. He recently relocated to Denver to pursue a career in strength and conditioning with youth athletes.

Focus: Ben is passionate about helping athletes reach their goals through education and science-based training. His background in corrective exercise and focus on movement quality helps to develop well-rounded athletes and reduce injuries on and off the field.

As a youngster, Matt grew up playing many sports; but, excelled at the highest level in club baseball and soccer. His ultimate passion is soccer which resulted in a powerful and successful soccer career, and ultimately expertise in soccer training. Focus: As a high caliber soccer player and overall strong, conditioned athlete, Matt focuses not only on developing an athlete physically, but mentally as well.

He recognizes that fitness is the key to a healthy and enjoyable lifestyle. Matt refers to one specific quote spoken by the great N.

Education: BS in Human Performance and Exercise Science; Youngstown State University. Joe previously worked as a strength and speed coach in Columbus, OH training young athletes as well as collegiate athletes with backgrounds in various sports.

He grew up participating in wrestling, baseball, football, and basketball. Eventually, Joe chose to direct all of his focus and dedication toward wrestling. Focus: Joe plans to use his knowledge and experience in sports performance to provide athletes with the tools necessary to reach their full athletic potential.

According to Joe, the most satisfying thing, as a coach, is to see the development of each athlete and how progress leads to achieving goals.

I am 22 years old, and I graduated from UNC in Greeley, CO with a BS in Sports and Exercise Science. Throughout my life I have played many sports, the two I played the most were soccer and baseball. Other sports I played were basketball, football, fencing, swimming, and rugby.

You can also get more support and advice by turning to others who are working on similar goals or who have already been on their own health journey for some time now.

Get connected with like-minded individuals on Facebook groups or through other community channels. There is no denying that experiencing gratitude and appreciation tends to foster positive feelings, which in turn contributes to our overall happiness, decreased depression, and increased satisfaction with ourselves and life An easy way to practice gratitude is to make a gratitude list.

You can also channel more positive thinking by turning to something that makes you happy. This could be a person, a funny video, a favorite song, or an image.

When times get tough, consider keeping this positive keepsake close by to remind yourself to think happier thoughts. Gratitude is a powerful tool to help us cultivate healthy lifestyles and make positive choices. Social media can be a great tool for motivation, but sometimes it can also end up making you feel pretty down on yourself if you're not consciously choosing who or what you follow.

Follow social media that aligns with your health and wellness goals for inspiration and positive mindset. It's easy to make changes for a couple of days in a row, the hard work lies in making these changes stick for the long haul.

This is also how you get results, by being consistent - repeating the same behaviors for an extended period of time. Creating routines for the morning or bedtime can help us become more consistent in our habits and creates opportunities to stack health habits on top of each other.

The first few seconds you have in the morning upon waking up can make or break the tone of your day. If you wake up and immediately start to think about all the negative or things you have to do, you'll probably feel less motivated to get out of bed; strive to wake up and think about what you appreciate going into your day.

Even a simple thought of "Everything is always working out for me" or "today I will feel happy" can shift you into a new perspective. The same is true when getting ready for bed. Screen time, busy days, and outside distractions may make it hard to unwind and truly get ready for some quality sleep.

Carve out time before bed for self-care and use tools like meditation, deep breathing, reading or whatever works for you to relax. Building a positive and restorative morning and bedtime routine can help you stick to a growth mindset and healthy lifestyle.

Becoming aware of the thoughts and feelings we have is half the battle of shifting to a more beneficial mindset. Consciousness or awareness is a powerful tool, simply put it's the act of being conscious of something or an action. When we practice being more mindful and aware we are able to assess our wellness in all areas of our life and work through stressful situations in healthier ways.

Research suggests that mindfulness increases our psychological well-being by reducing unwanted symptoms and emotional reactivity through improved regulation of behavior Our body is an ecosystem of interconnected and multi-directional processes, mindfulness practices may also positively impact our psychological well-being as the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction programs on the body are still undergoing evaluation Mindfulness helps us break free from reactive habit patterns and liberate us from unwanted actions.

Stretching should be a common practice for everyone but it's often overlooked or missed even by people who train hard daily. Regular stretching does more than protect our mobility, it can also reduce stress, body aches, improve our posture, promote circulation, and decrease the risk of low-back pain.

Aim to stretch minutes daily for least three to four days a week to reap the rewards of stretching because stretching once doesn't make much of a difference, it's continually stretching overtime where we see the most benefits. There are many varieties of stretching. Practicing regular meditation or yoga is thought to help us snap out of impulsive thoughts in our day-to-day and stay focused on the task at hand.

Regular stretching helps protect our mobility, keeping our muscles strong and healthy by maintaining a range of motion in our joints and maintaining proper balance Alcohol and smoking can have big impacts on our health, which is why most health care providers would agree that reducing your consumption of alcohol and cessation of smoking is always a healthier choice.

Overconsumption and abuse of alcohol play a role in the development of a variety of medical problems including cardiovascular diseases, liver cirrhosis, and contributes to injuries, automobile collisions, and more 26, According to the CDC, cigarette smoking causes diminished overall health, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, lung disease, cancer, and harms nearly every organ of the body No matter what your health goals are, reducing or removing alcohol and smoking from your lifestyle can benefit your health We want things because we know what we don't want, but when we get caught up in fact we don't have it right this instance or haven't gotten a hang of a new habit as much as we wanted to, our inner critic may act up.

Give yourself a break, and show yourself some compassion. Life can be challenging, and the least we can do is give ourselves a big ole hug and remember to take things one step at a time.

What's that saying, "Rome wasn't built in a day" and "everybody starts somewhere"; this is a process and all that matters right now is your commitment to yourself and how you feel. When negative thoughts or feelings come up in our journey practice forgiveness and non-judgment; health and wellness is a continual process, not a destination.

Did you know in Japan they practice "forest bathing". Shinrin-Yoku SY , or forest bathing, is the practice of immersing oneself in nature by mindfully using all five senses There is growing evidence to suggest that spending time outdoors and in natural environments may benefit our immune system function, cardiovascular system, respiratory system, reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and induce mental relaxation 31, 32, Whether it's a minute walk in the morning or a quick walk on your lunch break, getting outside in fresh air will help your mindset and mood.

Knowing how to celebrate our wins and learn from our losses is crucial to reevaluating our goals and pivoting when getting discouraged or needing to make a change.

Celebrating your wins, even the small stuff, can help you learn to appreciate where you are now in your journey and remind you that this is a process. The same can be said with celebrating your losses, that's right, I said celebrate your losses and failures.

Without our failures or losses, we probably would never be motivated to do anything; we often figure out what we want by knowing what we don't want. If you find your inner critic acting up when you fall short or are feeling defeated this is a beautiful moment for some inner-work:.

Learn to get comfortable with your feelings of failure and you can overcome almost anything; these moments are here to show us our strengths and help build sustainable and healthy goals.

Self-care also includes time to do things you enjoy and have fun with, or learning something new! There is the saying, "you can't pour from an empty cup"; if you are constantly moving through life with the mindset of I "have-to" or "should" then it might be time for you to add in some activities just for the joy of having fun.

Adults need recess too. When we take time to schedule activities for the sake of pleasure and simple enjoyment we are consciously choosing things that feed our soul and rejuvenate us. Everyone has their own version of fun; fun could be hanging out with your partner, friends, co-workers, pet, or kids.

Fun may be dressing up for holidays, hiking outdoors, playing a board game, learning something new, or gardening. Whatever fun is for you, give yourself permission to have fun and enjoy yourself, there doesn't need to be any bigger point to the activity beyond that.

Scheduling time for fun activities can connect us with like-minded communities, relieve stress, stimulate our mind and creativity and more! This processed American diet has come to be called the S. diet or standard American diet, full of ultra-processed junk foods and high-sugar drinks saturated fat and trans fat.

It's no surprise that consuming a S.

Growing as an athlete is a learning process, and at each moment you have the chance to choose to reset and focus on what you want to be for the future.

Learn step-by-step how to overcome limited training time and get faster. Walk away with a personalized plan to increase your performance.

Email Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Important points in this post that we should know about performance enhancing habits for athletes. This would be a huge help. Thanks for sharing this one out.

Pingback: Cycling is Less Environmentally Friendly Than You Think. Here's What You Can Do About It. Phenomenal article as usual — this one really comprehensive. Thank you.

Your email address will not be published. By Mara Abbott Olympian, CTS Contributing Editor There always seems to be a long list of ways we can improve, as athletes and as humans. Sleep more When life gets busy or Twitter gets compelling sleep is often the first place we compromise, but getting enough sleep is critical for both physical and mental performance.

Try Visualization Do you have a big event coming up? Practice Good Sleep Hygiene The way we prepare ourselves to sleep can impact the quality of our rest. Meditate Many elite athletes have begun to speak out about the positive effects of meditation. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Comments Post Author. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Search Submit Clear. CTS Coaches. CTS Athlete House. Understanding optimal performance requires self-awareness about how lifestyle affects your readiness to train, compete and win!

A balanced healthy lifestyle is crucial for success. To discount it as unimportant and not an essential part of athletic preparation is the downfall of many an athlete that had the potential for greatness. At a training session, coaches are focused, and rightly so on the specifics and objectives of that training.

On match day, all focus is on performance on the field. Every lifestyle choice an athlete makes, whether it be what they eat or how they sleep, has a direct impact on how they perform. Educating and empowering athletes to make informed decisions to improve their lifestyle can pay huge dividends on the playing field.

From sleep to peer pressure, there are a huge number of factors that form part of the daily lives of most athletes. Education and guidance are essential to help athletes navigate their pathway to success and understand how they can improve key areas outside of specific skills training, that can help them reach their potential.

We take a closer look at the research behind several key factors such as Getting insufficient sleep is a badge of honour in our society, yet has detrimental effects on our safety, performance and health — Cheri Mah.

The most significant factor for your brain and central nervous system to function to its potential is that it is rested. Research has shown that sleep is a clear predictor of performance in sport.

What we do know is that sleep is needed to conduct the basic functions of life no matter what your role or occupation, so naturally, for an athlete it becomes even more important to get adequate sleep. The benefits include Educating athletes on tips to improve their sleep hygiene and the benefits of quality sleep on their performance can help.

Athletes who learn to manage their stress and anxiety and channel it into their performance are often the ones who succeed. Therefore, it is vital to monitor your stress levels and to become aware of the tell-tale signs in order to take action before it becomes a problem.

Being aware of stress and its source allows you the opportunity to deal with the issues and ensure that you reach the maximum performance in terms of life and sport. When not managed well, stress can play havoc with your mental health and ability to perform.

Limit trans fat like partially hydrogenated oils and saturated fat, found in fatty meat and dairy products like whole milk, cheese, and butter. Choosing when to eat fats is also important for athletes. Fatty foods can slow digestion, so it's a good idea to avoid eating them for a few hours before exercising.

Sports supplements promise to improve sports performance. But few have proved to help, and some may do harm.

Anabolic steroids can seriously mess with a person's hormones , causing unwanted side effects like testicular shrinkage and baldness in guys and facial hair growth in girls. Steroids can cause mental health problems, including depression and serious mood swings. Some supplements contain hormones related to testosterone, such as DHEA dehydroepiandrosterone.

These can have similar side effects to anabolic steroids. Other sports supplements like creatine have not been tested in people younger than So the risks of taking them are not yet known.

Salt tablets are another supplement to watch out for. People take them to avoid dehydration, but salt tablets can actually lead to dehydration and must be taken with plenty of water.

Too much salt can cause nausea, vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea and may damage the stomach lining. In general, you are better off drinking fluids to stay hydrated.

Usually, you can make up for any salt lost in sweat with sports drinks or foods you eat before, during, and after exercise. Speaking of dehydration , water is as important to unlocking your game power as food. When you sweat during exercise, it's easy to become overheated, headachy, and worn out — especially in hot or humid weather.

Even mild dehydration can affect an athlete's physical and mental performance. There's no one set guide for how much water to drink. How much fluid each person needs depends on their age, size, level of physical activity, and environmental temperature.

Athletes should drink before, during, and after exercise. Don't wait until you feel thirsty, because thirst is a sign that your body has needed liquids for a while.

Sports drinks are no better for you than water to keep you hydrated during sports. But if you exercise for more than 60 to 90 minutes or in very hot weather, sports drinks may be a good option.

The extra carbs and electrolytes may improve performance in these conditions. Otherwise your body will do just as well with water. Avoid drinking carbonated drinks or juice because they could give you a stomachache while you're training or competing.

Don't use energy drinks and other caffeine -containing drinks, like soda, tea, and coffee, for rehydration. You could end up drinking large amounts of caffeine, which can increase heart rate and blood pressure.

Too much caffeine can leave an athlete feeling anxious or jittery. Caffeine also can cause headaches and make it hard to sleep at night. These all can drag down your sports performance.