Monday, January 30, 2012
Mandarin Chicken
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
vegetables
1 can mandarin oranges in light syrup
1 1/2 Tablespoons of brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons of corn starch
salt and pepper
Heat a bit of oil in a large frying pan, over medium-high heat. Slice the chicken into strips then add to the pan.
Slice up whatever vegetables you have. (Such as carrots, onions, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, baby corn, etc.) Add them to the pan and stir.
Add the sugar and corn starch to the mandarins with their syrup and blend until sugar and starch dissolve. Add to the pan for the last 2-3 minutes of cooking.
Serve with rice noodles or rice.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Tomato-Cheese Pasta Sauce That Becomes Minestrone Soup
Pasta Sauce:
olive oil
1 shallot
2 cloves of garlic
1 zucchini
1 red pepper
handful of peas or green beans
oregano
fresh chilies (or dried chili flakes)
1 jar of tomato sauce (500ml)
1 can romano beans
1/2 cup of mozzarella (parmesan or romano for more kick)
pasta
salt and pepper
Put water on to boil for the pasta.
Heat the oil in a pot on medium-high heat. Finely chop the shallot and red pepper then add them to the pot and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Dice the zucchini. Mash and chop (or grate) the garlic. Chop the green beans if you have some. Add the zucchini, garlic, peas/beans, oregano, and chilies to the pot. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the (drained and rinsed) romano beans, and the tomato sauce. Simmer until pasta is cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Grate the cheese. Just prior to draining the pasta, remove the sauce from the stove, add the cheese to it, and stir to melt. Drain the pasta and serve with sauce.
Minestrone Soup:
Add broth to dilute the leftover sauce into a soup. Bring to a boil, add a handful of small shaped pasta and cook until al dente.
Recipes for Athletes
I've been asked lately for recipes and meal plans, so I will be putting up a series of recipes on this blog; a sort of cookbook for athletes. I think meal plans are too structured and take the pleasure out of eating. I'll concentrate on tasty dishes that make it easy for athletes (and non-athletes, too) to meet their daily nutrient requirements.
All of the recipes must meet five requirements: They must be 1) nutritionally dense, 2) flavourful, and 3) focus on real ingredients; 4) they can be prepared and eaten in 30 minutes or less; finally, 5) they can be adapted to accommodate weight-gain or weight-loss goals. This last requirement is achieved through criteria 1 and 2, so small portions for weight loss leave you satiated but large ones for weight gain aren't a chore to stuff in, and by having a (easily and) highly variable CHO portion without affecting the recipe.
Stay tuned...
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Agility Training - The Importance of Technique
This is an article I wrote a few years ago that was published in the National Strength and Conditioning Associations Performance Training Journal. The target audience for that issue was football coaches and athletes. It is applicable to all ground-based sports, so is relevant for hockey, basketball, soccer, volleyball, figure skating, baseball...
There is a bunch of research and information on how training for strength, power, and speed improve agility. This is because those correlations are relatively simple to study. On the contrary, the effects of technique must be deduced: A novel technique will inevitably be slower than a well-practised one, so you can't compare A to B, unless both techniques are well refined skills of the same athlete. Logical, deductive reasoning, based on a strong knowledge of biomechanics, functional anatomy, physics, sport rules, position skills/assignments is necessary to determine the best techniques to be taught.
I believe that at least two of these agility techniques should be taught and practised early in the off season. (Typically, they could be done between sets since they're low intensity, low volume work focused on co-ordination.) That way when power, speed, and reactive agility training is introduced, the athlete has a repertoire of refined techniques and should automatically select the ideal one based on the situational demands of the training (i.e. specific drill/exercise, the surface, direction, which foot is in contact...). Only if they slip, or appear inefficient does the coach need to intervene with a technical correction.
Enough explanation. Here it is: Improving Agility Techniques
There is a bunch of research and information on how training for strength, power, and speed improve agility. This is because those correlations are relatively simple to study. On the contrary, the effects of technique must be deduced: A novel technique will inevitably be slower than a well-practised one, so you can't compare A to B, unless both techniques are well refined skills of the same athlete. Logical, deductive reasoning, based on a strong knowledge of biomechanics, functional anatomy, physics, sport rules, position skills/assignments is necessary to determine the best techniques to be taught.
I believe that at least two of these agility techniques should be taught and practised early in the off season. (Typically, they could be done between sets since they're low intensity, low volume work focused on co-ordination.) That way when power, speed, and reactive agility training is introduced, the athlete has a repertoire of refined techniques and should automatically select the ideal one based on the situational demands of the training (i.e. specific drill/exercise, the surface, direction, which foot is in contact...). Only if they slip, or appear inefficient does the coach need to intervene with a technical correction.
Enough explanation. Here it is: Improving Agility Techniques
Friday, January 6, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
New Years Resolutions
It's that time of year when people come out of the woodwork (off the couch is a more accurate phrase) looking to find a personal trainer and/or a gym membership as part of a New Years Resolution to get into shape, or loose weight, or get back to a size 8, or ...
This post is not to stroke your ego and tell you how great you're doing by starting a workout program, how it will increase your quality (and quantity) of life, improve mental and physical health, relieve stress, be fun, and make everything in life easier. You know this. You also know that you will most likely drop out of any new activity and revert a sedentary lifestyle before the second week of February. Instead let's look at the realistic outcomes from some of the more popular modes of activity people commit to at this time of year.
Workout videos at home: Your home treadmill is used as a clothes rack, your bike is rusted and doesn't shift properly, you can't find your left running shoe, you hire some guy to plough your driveway. You have lots of opportunity for exercise at home and you don't do it. Videos are no different.
Join a running club: If you're a runner, a running club can be a good idea. There are also many learn-to-run programmes available. Both meet regularly. You'll expected to attend. You'll meet others who can serve as motivators (or competitors: "I ran 10k yesterday. Did you?"). Running requires a high caloric expenditure. All this is good. At some point, since your biomechanics are less than perfect (weakness, technical flaw, old injury) you'll have to stop running and will consider coming to see me to fix your problems and make you a more efficient runner. This is great for me.
Fitness classes: They have the same pro's as a running club, but unfortunately are not ongoing. When the month is up or the 12 week session ends, you are unlikely to continue because you missed 3 classes in the original session, and you've got a really busy month coming up, so you'll just pay the drop in fee instead, but then that doesn't work cause your favourite instructor is no longer teaching on Tuesdays, and sometimes your meeting runs late on Wednesday and...
Gym memberships: If you know what you're doing (you don't) and you will actually stick to a regular workout schedule (you won't), gym memberships are a great way to go. Make it worthwhile: before you sign up, select a personal trainer (see below) and commit to an ongoing relationship with them. Then pick a gym where they can train you.
Personal trainer: A good (or excellent) personal trainer will work with you on a FREQUENT AND ONGOING BASIS to help you achieve your goals. Selecting a good (or excellent) personal trainer is like picking a good (or excellent) plumber, mechanic, lawyer, or surgeon: A piece of paper, or a fancy advertisement means NOTHING of their competence as a professional. Do your homework, interview them, check their references, their credentials and scope of practice, and professional liability insurance. Once you've chosen one, you will form a relationship that will help you adhere to a programme over a long term.
Diet: C'mon dieting doesn't work! You need to change your relationship with food and your approach to eating. Check out the Gaining and Losing Weight section of this blog.
Take the stairs: Challenging yourself to take the stairs, walk to the store, and do calisthenics during commercial breaks, will help increase your daily activity levels. They probably are not intense (or long or frequent) enough to count as exercise, so don't expect to see major changes in your body or continued improvements beyond the first couple months even if you do stick with it.
This post is not to stroke your ego and tell you how great you're doing by starting a workout program, how it will increase your quality (and quantity) of life, improve mental and physical health, relieve stress, be fun, and make everything in life easier. You know this. You also know that you will most likely drop out of any new activity and revert a sedentary lifestyle before the second week of February. Instead let's look at the realistic outcomes from some of the more popular modes of activity people commit to at this time of year.
Workout videos at home: Your home treadmill is used as a clothes rack, your bike is rusted and doesn't shift properly, you can't find your left running shoe, you hire some guy to plough your driveway. You have lots of opportunity for exercise at home and you don't do it. Videos are no different.
Join a running club: If you're a runner, a running club can be a good idea. There are also many learn-to-run programmes available. Both meet regularly. You'll expected to attend. You'll meet others who can serve as motivators (or competitors: "I ran 10k yesterday. Did you?"). Running requires a high caloric expenditure. All this is good. At some point, since your biomechanics are less than perfect (weakness, technical flaw, old injury) you'll have to stop running and will consider coming to see me to fix your problems and make you a more efficient runner. This is great for me.
Fitness classes: They have the same pro's as a running club, but unfortunately are not ongoing. When the month is up or the 12 week session ends, you are unlikely to continue because you missed 3 classes in the original session, and you've got a really busy month coming up, so you'll just pay the drop in fee instead, but then that doesn't work cause your favourite instructor is no longer teaching on Tuesdays, and sometimes your meeting runs late on Wednesday and...
Gym memberships: If you know what you're doing (you don't) and you will actually stick to a regular workout schedule (you won't), gym memberships are a great way to go. Make it worthwhile: before you sign up, select a personal trainer (see below) and commit to an ongoing relationship with them. Then pick a gym where they can train you.
Personal trainer: A good (or excellent) personal trainer will work with you on a FREQUENT AND ONGOING BASIS to help you achieve your goals. Selecting a good (or excellent) personal trainer is like picking a good (or excellent) plumber, mechanic, lawyer, or surgeon: A piece of paper, or a fancy advertisement means NOTHING of their competence as a professional. Do your homework, interview them, check their references, their credentials and scope of practice, and professional liability insurance. Once you've chosen one, you will form a relationship that will help you adhere to a programme over a long term.
Diet: C'mon dieting doesn't work! You need to change your relationship with food and your approach to eating. Check out the Gaining and Losing Weight section of this blog.
Take the stairs: Challenging yourself to take the stairs, walk to the store, and do calisthenics during commercial breaks, will help increase your daily activity levels. They probably are not intense (or long or frequent) enough to count as exercise, so don't expect to see major changes in your body or continued improvements beyond the first couple months even if you do stick with it.
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