In our first week of " The Warrior Voice”, I took the time to interview Dom Walton and Julia Kutz on the effects of nutrition and sleep on performance. Leading into this topic, I thought about the different perspectives athletes may have on the right way to go with nutrition and sleep management for effective performance. Me personally being a 2-sport athlete, I try to get 8-9 hours of sleep the night before a game or meet and eat every meal of the day with snack periods. Julia and Dom both stated some interesting perspectives that could be beneficial for every athlete.
As we all know, every athlete wants to perform their very best at each competition, but with all the hassle athletes may face with time, how much should we value proper rest? And how important is it really for us athletes to have the proper amount of sleep before competition? Julia started by stating that "I think sleep is one of the most important things for an athlete. When you wake up tired, or not properly rested, you're immediately not putting yourself in the right position to perform well in the classroom, as well as in your selective sport.” I was ecstatic to hear Julia mention the classroom performance because our academics do indeed come first! When asked about napping, she explained how like many student-athletes, she rarely has time for a nap but also described a past presentation about how 26 minutes is the perfect length for a power nap if time is available in the day. This seemed interesting to know, because we may tend to nap too long and end up staying up later at night because of it. Julia also described leading up to a game she tries to get 8 hours of sleep, sometimes even 9 or 10. Dom had some great input on the topic, stating that "Sleep and proper rest is the epitome of everything. If we don't get the right amount of sleep, it’s something that will show in your performance ". Dom is a national qualifier in the Shot Put and Weight-throw and described how he aims for 40 hours of sleep throughout the week. I noted that Dom spoke on hours for the week leading up to meet day. Athletes may tend to just get a good night’s sleep the day before a competition, when every night’s rest in the week plays an essential role. Both athletes also agreed that they feel like you are putting your body at more risk for injury if you're not getting the proper rest. When things shifted toward nutrition, I related the first question to the first about sleep and rest, with all the hassle sometimes athletes face with time, how essential is it to make sure you are not skipping a meal?, or asked if they could even breakdown how they plan out meals for the day. Dom started by explaining how skipping meals is a huge negative. "When you skip a meal, you’re cheating your body out of the right fuel. Even if you feel you don't have enough time mid-day to eat, carry snacks to keep you energized, or even get a light salad or sandwich from one of the numerous spots on campus like the University Center, or The Pods (in the library, cafe entrance, and in sci-tech). Julia went ahead to briefly describe how she attacks nutrition for proper fuel leading up to competition. "I make sure to eat a big healthy breakfast to fuel and energize me for the day, breakfast is so important when starting the day! Lunch is sometimes hard for most athletes because of class and maybe early 2pm or 3pm practices, but you should at least get maybe a light salad or protein shake from The University Center to keep you going." I personally related to lunch being the most difficult meal to sneak in throughout the day but came in agreeance with both on getting a salad or something light to eat on the go! We all know that fueling up is important going into a competition or practice, but what about the recovery? I explained to both athletes how I personally feel that recovery is an area where sometimes athletes don't take it as serious and can be detrimental in the long run. Stopping by the trainer’s office for treatment is important, but what we put in our bodies after competing is too. Dom explained the re-fueling process by saying "You have to re-fuel your body the same way you fuel for a competition. There should be no break or difference in eating after a competition, along with adequate amounts of sleep because that’s when you're going to hurt the most!". As a 2-sport athlete, I think recovery is one of the most important things to take advantage of. We put our bodies through a lot and as Dom stated earlier, we cannot cheat our bodies! When Julia was asked about recovery, I found it interesting what she stated about the process. "I feel like away games are easier to refuel up for because the coaches make sure we get the proper foods on the way back like grilled chicken or salads with a protein in it. Home games are sometimes harder because we have more range and freedom." This was interesting to me because going back to my original point of sometimes athletes not getting the right recovery, some athletes when given freedom like this for meals, they may choose to get fast food right after a competition, which isn't really going to be beneficial for proper recovery. Towards the end of both interviews, I spoke about myself being a pasta addict, so it was pretty much easy to guess what my favorite meal is leading up to competition. So, I asked both, what is your favorite meal or foods to eat as preparation for competition? "I like to carb up the night before (rice, pasta, veggies), but the day of, I like to eat bagels :)" Julia also described before every game she eats a mini snickers literally right before warmups. My eyes kind of lit up, but as she broke down the reasoning, I was less shocked. "It sounds kind of weird, but me and my Coach were talking about it because she used to do it in college when she played. It kind of has that weird blend of sugar and protein to get you amped up!" Dom on the other hand, without hesitation, stated that his favorite meal to eat before competition was salmon. Dom also finished off his interview by breaking down how sleep and nutrition had a huge impact on his best performance as a warrior. "This year, the meet we had at Bucknell, I made a nice big breakfast before the meet and repeatedly ate snacks throughout the meet when I wasn't competing. Along with being well-rested, the snacks kept me fueled properly throughout the day to help me get National Qualifying marks in both the shot put and weight throw! In the first week of "The Warrior Voice" I had a blast talking to Julia and Dominic about their respectable perspectives on this topic. I think a lot of our athletes can learn from them with the brilliant responses they gave on sleep and nutrition. As already mentioned, Dominic is a Junior Thrower who is a national qualifier in the shot put and weight throw. And Julia is a Sophomore Forward averaging 9.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, trying to help lead the warriors into a deep postseason run! Go Warriors!
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AuthorJamal Cooley Archives
April 2020
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