November 2019: Leadership, Macronutrients, Stress

Leadership | Macronutrients | Stress

Mindset Principle: Leadership

By Rachel Poppe

Leaders can come in all shapes and sizes. Some leaders show themselves in the front of the group as the most vocal, while some lead more quietly by example. Some lead with a title attached to their name, some without.

While playing soccer in college I had to learn how to lead without the title ‘captain’ attached to my name. For three of the four years playing I had no title. I learned to earn respect from my teammates and coaches by my actions. I was early to every workout. I held my fitness to the highest standard. In every drill, every rep, I strived to be the best. I established myself as a leader in the program, no doubt, which led me to being voted a captain my senior season. After I earned that title through my consistent actions my words then carried more weight. I started as a quiet leader, ending more vocal.

What does Leadership look like in your life, in your circumstances? Are you vocal, do you quietly set the example, do a combination of both?

“The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.”

Nutrition Principle: 3 Macronutrients

By Chelsea Bellinger

The three macronutrients: Carbohydrates, fat and protein are important nutrients for maximizing training results. Carbohydrates are the main energy source that your body uses day to day. Fats help with brain function, absorption of other nutrients and it acts as a back up energy source when carbohydrates are all used up. Proteins are essential for building and maintaining lean muscle.

All three of these macronutrients work together to make sure the body is getting the most out of training sessions. Ratios of these macronutrients in the diet can be manipulated for individual athletes to help them achieve their specific goals. Want to know if your macronutrient ratios are right for your goals? Ask your trainer and they’ll help you create the best nutrition plan for you!

 

Physical Principle: Stress

By Sammy Knox

Stress is the body’s way to react to a challenge. When we talk about stress in our workout programs, we’re talking about different ways to challenge our athletes’ bodies to get stronger, faster, etc. 

Depending on an athlete’s program, we’re going to prescribe different levels of stress (or loads) to help increase strength, explosive power, or stability (control). There are a number of different factors that go into the stress levels our athletes go through in their workouts — these factors include the athlete’s in-sport goals and their bio-mechanical abilities. Before we can gain strength and increase speed, we must first make sure our bodies are able to handle the stresses necessary to reach our goal levels of strength and speed. Once we are in the right position, we’ll give our athletes’ bodies the necessary levels of stress (in varying degrees and phases) to work towards their end goal.