Mid Season Nutrition Tip

You trained well yesterday, fastest runs of the seasons so far, you listened to your coach and worked on everything they had to offer you that day, your skis are tuned and ready for another great session tomorrow. What else can I do to make tomorrow-another great training session?

Prepare your body for the intense session of skiing that next morning through proper nutrition and watch your training sessions step up to the next level. Even at a young age understanding what your body needs to ski for a full day of training is important. As young athletes it is not as important to count every calorie, as it is important to make sure your body has the fuel it needs to last all morning!

Breakfast is a very important meal for ski racers. They are usually up early in the morning, and many times lunch comes at 11:30, which is a long time from breakfast in most cases. This being said it important that the fuel you have lasts until your next meal. Eating a well-balanced meal in the morning will keep energy levels up, sustain your ability to focus, and help prevent injury. Here are some examples of “fuel filled” morning meals.

Breakfast

• Cold or hot cereal with fruit or fruit juice and low-fat or nonfat milk
• French toast or pancakes with maple or fruit syrup
• Breakfast burrito (scrambled eggs, salsa, low-fat cheese in a flour tortilla) and fruit juice
• Toast with jam or honey and low-fat yogurt
• Bagel or English muffin with jelly and/or peanut butter, a banana, and fruit juice

There are sometimes when you do not have time for a sit down breakfast in the morning. There are healthy alternatives to donuts and pastries in the morning. Think about you meal before training as “quality in, quality out” the better quality your meal is pre-workout/training session the better fueled your body will be. Try a few of these quick on the go meals for the car ride to the mountain.

Quick Snacks

· Trail mix with dried fruit

· Fresh fruit

· Bagel

· Pretzels

· Wheat or rice crackers

· Small sandwich

· PowerBar® Performance Energy bar

· PowerBar® Fruit Smoothie Energy bar

· PowerBar® Energy Bites

· PowerBar® Energy Blasts gel filled chews

· PowerBar® Energy Gel

· PowerBar® Nut Naturals Energy bar

· PowerBar Harvest® Energy bar

· PowerBar® Triple Threat® Energy bar

Even when you consume these suggested meals pre-workout there are times when during a session you still need more, maybe you have to take 2 more runs, or the session has run longer then normal. Coming prepared to the hill each day will help those situations and make sure that training session is not wasted. You should carry a water bottle, hydration is very important, and a quick snack.

I hope these tips can help you with your training sessions! Good luck, ski fast, and most of all make sure you are having FUN!