Preparing For the Optimum: 24 Hours Prior
- Noah Soliman
An athlete’s behaviour 24 hours before competing is arguably the most critical for attaining peak performance. From the foods consumed to the quality of sleep, there are multiple factors that determine the physical and mental condition of your body ahead of a strenuous and stressful event. This episode will break down the latest research behind the components of optimal athletic performance, recommending the corresponding measures to give you the confidence to smash your next fixture.
Unobvious Consequences of Fast Foods
We all know that fuelling yourself with fast foods and confectionery will hinder your athletic potential. Alongside increasing your body fat, junk foods provide short-lasting energy – undesirable for a full 90 minutes or 4 quarters. Consequently, you’re likely to experience a crash in energy mid-game, causing your performance to drop dramatically due to fatigue.
Therefore, we recommend laying off the calorie-dense takeaways and cooking a meal that is more friendly to your body. But: what does this meal entail?
Ideal Pre-Game Meal
Whether it’s the evening before or the afternoon of, you want to be cooking meals that:
Include complex carbohydrates (like whole wheat pasta, rice, and potatoes), as these foods provide long-lasting energy to guarantee optimal performance throughout.
Have protein-dense foods, such as grilled chicken, as the nutrients will intensify your muscle repair for the upcoming game and its subsequent recovery.
Contain vegetables, such as broccoli (vit A, vit C, calcium), as the various vitamins and minerals will contribute to efficient bodily functions.
Avoid consuming too many high-fibre foods before the game, as they’re difficult to digest and could cause stomach problems during competition.
For snacks directly before the fixture, we recommend starchy foods that are low in the glycaemic index. These are foods that do not cause sharp blood sugar changes, but instead a sensible increase that will accommodate for the entire game. Examples include:
Whole-grain bread, bananas, digestives/graham crackers.
Ideal Pre-Game Meal
Whether it’s the evening before or the afternoon of, you want to be cooking meals that:
Include complex carbohydrates (like whole wheat pasta, rice, and potatoes), as these foods provide long-lasting energy to guarantee optimal performance throughout.
Have protein-dense foods, such as grilled chicken, as the nutrients will intensify your muscle repair for the upcoming game and its subsequent recovery.
Contain vegetables, such as broccoli (vit A, vit C, calcium), as the various vitamins and minerals will contribute to efficient bodily functions.
Avoid consuming too many high-fibre foods before the game, as they’re difficult to digest and could cause stomach problems during competition.
For snacks directly before the fixture, we recommend starchy foods that are low in the glycaemic index. These are foods that do not cause sharp blood sugar changes, but instead a sensible increase that will accommodate for the entire game. Examples include:
Whole-grain bread, bananas, digestives/graham crackers.
Your Approach to Hydration
Water will always be your safest bet. Ensure you’re sufficiently hydrating yourself throughout the day – especially before a game – as this has reported to reduce your risk to muscle cramping and fatigue.
However, to promote high electrolyte levels ahead (and during) of your fixture, drink sport drinks such as Gatorade or Lucozade Sport. A high electrolyte concentration will sustain water levels in your blood, preventing aerobic degradation.
NO to Energy Drinks
Research has suggested that consumption of energy drinks can contribute to stomach aches, headaches, insomnia, and hyperactivity. It is unideal to be sleep deprived or ill before an imminent sporting event.
Cognitive Impacts from Insufficient Sleep
The scientific community have frequently evidenced the negative impacts lack of sleep can have on your cognition. Multiple studies have concluded that insufficient sleep (6 or less hours) causes reductions in an individual’s alertness, attention, and reaction time. In many high-speed sports, such as tennis, slowed reactions could cost you a point, a set, and even the game. We recognise that nights before a major fixture can induce emotions of anxiety and excitedness, which can contribute to poorer sleep. Note that whilst your sleep will never be of the quality experienced in a relaxed state, give yourself enough time in bed to tick off the required deep and REM sleep to prevent a mental state that is detrimental.
Emotional Impacts from Insufficient Sleep
On top of cognition, insufficient sleep can leave you more vulnerable to waking up ‘on the wrong side of the bed’. Research reports individuals who’ve had a lack of sleep are more likely to feel anxious, angry, tense, and irritable. If entering a fixture with these emotions, they can negatively dictate your mindset towards in-game difficulties. For example, an irritable athlete may struggle to remain composed after losing the lead in a football game. Therefore, they will not have the required belief to execute a comeback, making defeat inevitable.
Athletic Impacts from Insufficient Sleep
Whilst many athletes have the mental maturity to dismiss feelings of irritation and anxiety, there’s no stopping plummets in physiological performance. This was showcased by a study in which 11 men saw a fall of 187 metres in their usual 30-minute runs following sleep deprivation. The men’s fall in performance is likely because of reduced deep sleep, which is the stage that promotes cardiovascular health.
Avoiding Muscle Soreness
Your day before a fixture should be relaxed. You should not be engaging in physically demanding exercise such as high endurance or strength training. By putting your muscles under high pressures, you are damaging the fibres – causing onset muscle soreness. This soreness will likely materialise the following day, becoming a distraction and cause of discomfort mid-game.
To tackle sore muscles after a workout, engage in PhysioFrog’s exercises aimed at providing muscle soreness recovery.
Light Aerobic Exercise
By engaging in light aerobic exercise, you are promoting blood flow around your body and encouraging the necessary physiological processes ahead of your game. It also maintains your cardiovascular health without tiring your body. Forms of light aerobic exercise you could engage in include:
Jogging.
Cycling.
Swimming.
Maintaining Mobility
A thorough mobility routine the day before will prepare your muscles for the high ranges of motion you’re likely to experience in-game. This will give you the comfort and confidence to push your body to its limits the following day, without the fear of injuries via overstretching or overload. When performing the stretches, you should focus on achieving the greatest ranges of motion and promoting relaxation throughout your body. The relaxation aspect will also tend to any anxiety you may be experiencing. Ensure you’re performing these exercises while your muscles are warm to maximise elasticity and therefore range of motion.
Many of PhysioFrog’s exercises focus on your muscles’ mobility, preparing you for optimal athletic performance. Whether they’re stretches before running or soccer stretches, we recommend exercises based on your age, occupation, and activities played. By selecting individual muscles via our Your Body page, you can tend to your lower body with our exercises for legs mobility, or our upper body with our chest opener exercises.
The 10-Minute Rule
As for the big day, studies have suggested engaging in a light stretching routine (at most) 10 minutes before your fixture commences. Stretching your muscles within this time frame will ensure their length will be maintained during exercise, maximising injury prevention and performance enhancement.
Your Ideal 24 Hours
As an athlete, you want to give your body the best opportunity for victory. That opportunity stems from:
A pre-game meal of complex carbs, protein-dense foods, and vegetables. Try rice, grilled chicken, and spinach!
A hydrated body – drinking plenty of water every day and avoiding energy drinks.
Thorough and undisrupted sleep; 7 hours minimum.
Strong cardiovascular health and elastic muscles.
Peak performance demands peak preparation.
Thanks for reading,
Noah Soliman, Principal @ PhysioFrog
Get to grips with the physiology and mechanisms behind our warm-ups, and learn how their applications can maximise your on-field performances. Along with the physical benefits of muscle preparation, get an insight into its psychological benefits to truly understand your mind and body!
Get to grips with the physiology and mechanisms behind our warm-ups, and learn how their applications can maximise your on-field performances. Along with the physical benefits of muscle preparation, get an insight into its psychological benefits to truly understand your mind and body!
Our mobility and aerobic exercises come in various formats, and are recommended based on your sports played
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