Nutrition and recovery

1. Get 8-10 hours of sleep per night
Your major growth hormones are released for recovery during this time.

2. Eat breakfast
Your body is in starvation mode, since you have not eaten since supper, and needs nutrients right away. Breakfast is your most important meal of the day.

3. Post workout stretch/massage
This helps the body return to normal quicker and speeds up the recovery process.
Stretching and massage on off days, or later in the day after training, also help speed recovery.

4. Eliminate alcohol and caffeine consumption
Alcohol and caffeine are diuretics – they suck the water out of your cells which leads to dehydration.
Alcohol increases fat deposition, decreases testosterone, and decreases protein synthesis (the protein that you take in for repair of muscle tissue, caused by training, is not being utilized fully for recovery).
Caffeine disturbs your sleep cycles.

5. Eat five fruits and vegetables per day
These provide your vitamins and minerals needed each day for various functions of the body.
Eat the rainbow: make sure you get a variety of colors – each kind contains a different vitamin/mineral.

6. Drink one gallon of water per day
If your body is even 5 percent dehydrated then you will have a significant effect on your performance.
The best way to track your hydration is to check your urine – if it is clear you are hydrated if not you are dehydrated.

7. Consume 4-6 balanced meals/day
Each meal should contain a protein source (meat, fish, or dairy), a carbohydrate source (fruit, vegetable, etc) and a fat(avacado or oil).

8. Take one day completely off per week for mental and physical well being
With all the physical activity you are putting yourself through it is important to take one day completely off. Try to just kick back and relax – nothing too intense. Make sure you are not trying to add more training in on your scheduled days off or you will overtrain. Sometimes it is better to work smarter and not harder.

9. Consume a post workout meal or shake
Your second most important meal of the day and it should be taken within 30 minutes after your training has ended.

10. Have fun
Make sure you are training because you enjoy doing it.
Do things that you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.