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5 ways yoga can improve performance in youth

It’s hard to imagine rambunctious children easing into downward dog or holding a warrior pose. However, a growing number of fitness professionals recommend yoga for young athletes.
According to Dana Santas, creator and director of Tampa, Florida-based Radius Yoga Conditioning, young athletes can improve performance and reduce injuries by incorporating yoga into their fitness routines.
A yoga trainer for many Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA and college sports teams, Santas developed a yoga program specifically for youth sports.
Could your child Namaste his way to better play? The following are five ways yoga can improve sports performance.

1. Gain more flexibility

Flexibility is one of the biggest benefits of practicing yoga. Increased flexibility reduces tightness in muscles, can help alleviate tension and improves range of motion. The increased range of motion allows young athletes more fluid movement.

2. Increase strength

Relaxation and flexibility are often associated with yoga. However, practicing yoga can also help increase strength and power. Young athletes can use poses such downward dog, the plank, tree, dolphin and dolphin push-up as low-impact alternatives to weight training. Strength training combined with flexibility increases power. More power enhances explosive movement in sports such as baseball, tennis, basketball, soccer and football.

3. Build self-awareness

Ronnie Goff, a registered yoga instructor, beliefs beyond the physical benefits, yoga provides youth athletes with self-confidence through self-awareness. She writes on her Awaken Health Fitness blog, that young athletes learn that “while your performance can be improved, you are whole and perfect just the way you are. In short—it can help make youth sports a lot more fun.”

4. Reduce risk of injury

Nothing derails athletic progress like an injury. Citing the Center for Disease Control, Santas points out that more than half of all pediatric sports injuries are preventable. Yoga, she states, is a good way for young athletes to prevent injuries. By increasing muscle strength and flexibility through yoga, a young athlete can minimize over-use injuries. Yoga can also aid in muscle recovery.

5. Improve control

Young athletes who practice yoga may gain a stronger sense of control. They understand the relationship between mind and body. They also learn how to monitor and manage their body through breathing techniques. By controlling breathing, the young athlete can manage nerves during tense competition or adjust breathing to exert more power.

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5 Ways to Strengthen and Protect Against Injury

Whether in warm-up, active engagement, or cool down, athletes are at risk for injuries. It doesn’t matter if you’re a casual jogger or a professional football player – injuries are real and possible for athletes of every level.

Here are a few tips to keep you on the street, court, or field and protect against injury:

1. Start Slow
Rushing your body into an activity it’s not accustomed to can lead to injury. Slowly increase the intensity of your workout routines to allow your body time to adjust. Overuse injuries can occur when you increase your intensity too quickly, so it’s important to ease into a new regiment or routine. Try and limit yourself to a 10 percent increase (or less) per week.

2. Warm Up and Stretch before You Start
Regardless of how long or rigorous your exercise, dedicate 15-20 minutes to full-motion warm up and static stretching. Start off your workout with a cardio workout to raise your heart rate and temperature (butt kicks, lateral movement, high knees) and finish with slow stretching (no bouncing!) Stretching lengthens muscles and increases blood flow, which can prevent against injuries.

3. Hydrate and Use Proper Form
It’s a no-brainer, but your body needs proper fuel to burn while the motor revs up, so to speak. You wouldn’t put pizza and beer in the tank of your car, would you? Water and good carbohydrates are the general rule of thumb. Also, having someone inspect your form can help offset any potential long-term injuries in your future exercises.

4. Don’t Overdo It
The “No Guts No Glory, No Pain No Gain” people are all suffering from injuries, no question. Don’t train hard everyday – overuse injuries can occur unless you alternate hard and easy days on your workout routine. Avoid the Weekend Warrior ideology as well. Cramming too many activities into a shortened period can fatigue your muscles.

5. Get a Consultation from an Expert
Of course, a physical examination from your physician is a great way to identify any potential issues in your exercises. But knowing the limitations of your body and getting guidance from an athletic trainer or physician can greatly benefit your progress.

An Easy, Natural Way to Boost Your Athletic Performance

 An Easy, Natural Way to Boost Your Athletic Performance

 

What's cheap, refreshing, and good for you? It's the diamond of all nutrients. It's the king of all life. It's water. It takes a loss of only 1% - 2% of your body's ideal water content to cause dehydration. And dehydration will affect your athletic performance. In this post, I'll cover what dehydration is and how to avoid it. I'll also tell you about a secret, natural sports drink that's ideal for the young athlete, so stay tuned.

What is dehydration?

After waking up your body is crying out for water, it is in a state of dehydration. Dehydration occurs when the body sweats out more fluid than it takes in. One of the first physiological responses is the thickening of blood, which creates more work for the heart. Thick blood is like trying to pass mashed potatoes though a funnel; on the other hand,  thin blood is like pouring water down the same funnel. The added stress placed on the heart significantly decreases endurance.

What is overhydration?

Overhydration, on the other hand, is when the body takes in more water then it can process, and is a phenomenon quite common to athletes. Gulping large amounts of water overloads the bodies ability to absorb and utilize it. Taking small sips at regular intervals instead will allow for better absorption. Remember, the average person loses 90 ounces of water daily, which needs to be replaced.

Can I drink too much water?

Hyponatremia is the point at which the body becomes overly hydrated. Too much water can flush minerals, known as electrolytes, from the body. These minerals help regulate the smooth and efficient contractions of muscles, and when the bodies electrolyte levels become too low, cramping, muscle spasms, and other signs comparable to dehydration occur. Not fun. If you run a marathon without replenishing properly, or if you ingest a super-human amount of water in a really short period of time, for example–then crazy things can happen to your fluid balance. You can lose too much fluid, become dehydrated and pass out from low blood pressure... Your heartbeat could become irregular… you could overload your cells and cause them to burst... Lots of NOT fun things that can potentially land you in the emergency room.

Optimal hydration

Don't make the mistakes many other athletes have made by drinking large amounts of water in the days prior to an important competition. Instead, consume only a moderate amount of water, sipping it throughout the day, and no coffee, no energy drinks, no caffeinated teas, and no chocolate, sorry. Avoid caffeinated foods and drinks, since caffeine is a diuretic. It'll suck the water right out of you. Limit high protein foods prior to an event, since water is used during the digestive process. Fresh fruit is the best option. For optimal hydration, think of replacing dry, cooked, and processed foods with fresh fruits and vegetables. Most people who eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables don't need to consume as much water, as those on a standard diet. In fact, some drink no water at all. The shift to more raw foods will certainly help maintain hydration, and will probably improve health overall. Fruits and vegetables are all made of water, it's like eating water.

Performance Enhancers: The Safe and the Deadly

People use ergogenic aids to improve their performance during high-intensity physical exercise. An ergogenic aid is anything that gives you a mental or physical edge while exercising or competing. Examples include caffeine or sports drinks filled with carbohydrates and electrolytes to replace salt expelled during sweating. They also include a wide range of performance enhancers, some of which are banned or illegal, and many more that aren’t.

Ergogenic Dietary Supplements

Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, vitamins, minerals, herbs, or other botanicals that are taken by mouth and don’t also contain controlled substances can be labeled a “supplement.”

Many of these supplements are marketed to boost athletic performance, but scientific proof of their effectiveness is sometimes lacking or contradictory.
Other ergogenic aids that are generally recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) include various naturally occurring compounds, such as:

Hydroxymethyl butyrate (HMB): an amino acid found naturally in the body. HMB is said to enhance and strengthen muscle as well as help slow down the breakdown of muscle during exercise.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA): may help reduce fat deposits. It’s popular with bodybuilders.

Carnitine: transports long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondria. This allows them to be burned for energy, which can boost exercise performance.

Chromium: said to increase lean muscle mass, which is beneficial to athletes.

Creatine: increases muscle energy, short-term endurance, and lean muscle mass. And there’s evidence to back up these claims. Many people looking to boost muscle mass supplement their workouts with creatine.

While all these products are marketed to increase athletic performance or help build muscle, individual results may vary. Also, with limited scientific evidence to support some of the supplements’ claims, consult your doctor or athletic trainer to discuss the safety and effectiveness of individual supplements.

Harmful or Illegal Ergogenic Aids

The NCAA and the Olympics commission have banned other substances. This is because they offer an unfair advantage or can cause harm to the athlete. Some of those include:

Anabolic and other steroids: illegal in both sporting events and according to the law. While some high-profile athletes have used them to increase strength and lean muscle, the side effects are numerous and potentially fatal.

Blood doping: the process of boosting red blood cells to help carry more oxygen to the muscles and lungs. It can be done with blood transfusion, a process that cost Lance Armstrong his Tour de France titles.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA): possibly the most abundant steroid in humans. Using synthetic versions to increase steroid production is potentially dangerous and banned by the Olympics commission.

Ephedrine: a central nervous stimulant. Ephedrine produces similar effects to adrenaline, but it too can be dangerous. It can cause serious cardiovascular effects, including stroke, and a whole host of other problems. Both athletic organizations and the FDA ban it.

Human growth hormone (HGH): a drug developed to help children with growth disorders. It stimulates cell reproduction and regeneration. Athletes looking to gain an edge abuse this drug. It’s banned in all professional sports. Potential complications include enlarged organs and chronic disease.

The Takeaway

Many infamous drugs and practices can give athletes an unfair advantage. But they can cause more damage than stripping an athlete of a title. For example, anabolic and other steroids that affect a person’s hormones can cause long-term damage, or even death.
Many supplements may claim to boost performance, but there aren’t better ergogenic aids than training, dedication, fluids, and proper diet.

The Sun Shine Vitamin (Vitamin D) and Athletic Performance

  


You have likely heard that vitamin D plays a key role in bone health. But did you know it is also essential to physical performance in relation to muscle strength, power, reaction time, balance, coordination, and endurance? It is well known that particular groups of the population are more likely to have low or insufficient blood levels of vitamin D, and some recent studies have shown low levels of vitamin D in athletes. Low levels of vitamin D can not only lead to increased risk for stress fractures but also respiratory infections and muscle injuries. The following explains the many roles vitamin D plays- make sure you get enough so you can keep performing.

Vitamin D plays significant roles in many functions in the body, including:

• Bone Health: Vitamin D is needed for bone growth and maintenance. Low levels can enhance the rate of bone breakdown and increase the risk of bone injury such as stress fractures.

• Muscle Health: Vitamin D helps to improve muscle protein synthesis, overall muscle strength and body stability/balance. Some studies show that vitamin D supplementation in athletes with insufficient levels can increase the size and amount of the fast twitch muscle fibres, which are important for short energy burst-type activities found in power and anaerobic sports.

• Inflammation/Immunity: After intense periods of exercise, such as long-distance activities, there is a significant increase in inflammatory markers throughout the body, which can contribute to “overtraining” or “overreaching” syndrome. Studies show that enhancing vitamin D levels can reduce inflammation, therefore allow training to be resumed more quickly and with a less negative impact on overall performance. Maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels  may decrease the frequency of illness such as respiratory infections, gastrointestinal upset, and the common cold, which can all adversely affect athletic training and performance.  If you are not healthy enough to train, your performance can be negatively affected.

How much vitamin D is needed for benefits?
The current recommendation for vitamin D daily intake in adults 18-70 years old is 600 IU and should not exceed 4000 IU unless prescribed by an appropriate health care professional. This latter is the upper limit (UL) of vitamin D daily intake above which there is a risk of harm.  More is not better!

How can you increase your vitamin D?
Vitamin D is called the “sunshine” vitamin because our bodies can make vitamin D when our skin is exposed to a sufficient amount and strength of sunlight (specifically ultraviolet B rays). A number of factors hinder this process: training or competing in northern latitudes (especially during the winter months), practice indoors, consciously avoiding sun exposure (including using sunscreen and/or covering your skin when outdoors) or if you have a darker skin pigmentation.
Due to public health concerns about the increased risk of skin cancer associated with sun exposure, the DRIs for vitamin D assume individuals have minimal sun exposure and that all vitamin D must come from food, beverages or supplements.
Well recognized good food sources of vitamin D include fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines, and tuna), egg yolks and milk (including flavoured milks), and fortified soy beverages. Check the labels of other potentially fortified beverages such as orange juice.

Bottom-line: It is well known that particular groups of the population have insufficient or low levels of vitamin D, and there have been recent studies that have shown low levels of vitamin D in athletes. It’s important for all athletes to get enough vitamin D because it is essential for several body functions needed for peak physical performance.
Don’t forget – chocolate milk is a great source of vitamin D and is an easy and delicious way to help boost your D intake for the day!

Beets Proven to Offer a Natural Way to Increase Athletic Performance

What if you could get your PR by consuming more beets?  Sounds crazy, but it’s true.
Beets are high in nitric oxide.  Studies show that nitric oxide helps the body increase circulation and oxygen efficiency, which improves energy to working muscles, extends endurance, and speeds recovery.  Elite athletes have the highest potential for nitric oxide production, and the rest of us can eat more beats or take a nitric oxide supplement like Beet Elite Neo Shot to aid our bodies’ production.

If you are curious what your current nitric oxide level is in your body, stop by Complete Runner and ask to take the test.  It is free of cost and only takes a minute, and will let you know if your body could benefit from an increased diet in beets!

Instead of filling your body with caffeine or sugar before a race or workout, wouldn’t you rather fill it with something natural that is proven to increase athletic performance?

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