Nutrition for the game.

[Stewie 721]

I usually tackle the pre game ritual 2 ways.

about 3-4 hours before I skate, i eat a simple pasta dish with either quinoa, brown rice, or whole grain pasta noodles, and a simple mixture of earth balance, nutritional yeast, and a little salt on top, or a few times a very light olive oil and capers sauce. and sometimes pair this with either some asparagus or broccoli, but usually just the simple meal.

then again right before I leave to go to the game, or sometimes in the locker room before i get dressed, I eat a home made energy bar i make in the fridge that contains my energy boosting foods, with some dates for simple carbs, coconut oil for MCFA, apricots, chia seeds. These give me a ton of energy.

This method seems to have worked the best for me so far. this last week I had a surprise birthday party thrown for me, and ate a ton of junk and just didnt have the same energy level going into the game 3 hours later.

also another thing i like to do is drink a little emergen-c before the game, for the energy boost from the vitamins etc. Not sure if its entirely the right thing to do, but it sure beats downing sugar packets like we used to do before games when i was a kid.

[jds 20]

+1 on the Beta-Alanine. It's "the next creatine".

Ok, so I tried some Beta-Alanine. My legs, achy from a strength workout, felt fresher for sure in my Monday night pickup game. However, I did notice a "prickly" feeling on my skin-very mild and warned of as a possible reaction to the product on the label. My question is, does this cease after one gets used to the increase in Beta-Alanine in one's system? Anyone else have any similar experiences?

[SB39 2]

I'm 29 now, and only started doing specific pregame nutrition 3 or 4 years ago. 4 hours before the game I have my last meal; moderate protein, moderate fat, somewhat high carb. Sometimes I make a fruit smoothie with full fat cottage cheese and tea as the base. I've noticed a cleaner feeling since I introduced apple sauce, either to the meal or the smoothie, a couple months ago. Fruit works well for me for a cleaner, sharper feeling and better endurance.

[mug25 2]

Ok, so I tried some Beta-Alanine. My legs, achy from a strength workout, felt fresher for sure in my Monday night pickup game. However, I did notice a "prickly" feeling on my skin-very mild and warned of as a possible reaction to the product on the label. My question is, does this cease after one gets used to the increase in Beta-Alanine in one's system? Anyone else have any similar experiences?

It will stop. For me, it was after the first dose. Hasn't happened since.

[SydNap 25]

I drink a large glass of Accelerade before any workouts I do, including hockey. After a lifiting, running (dryland) or hockey game I drink a glass of Gold Standard Whey Protein. I've done a reasonable amount of research, but have gone mostly on reading others' suggestions, and they seem to be working for me. I'm interested if anyone else has input or suggestions.

[skyscrape 5]

Ok, so I tried some Beta-Alanine. My legs, achy from a strength workout, felt fresher for sure in my Monday night pickup game. However, I did notice a "prickly" feeling on my skin-very mild and warned of as a possible reaction to the product on the label. My question is, does this cease after one gets used to the increase in Beta-Alanine in one's system? Anyone else have any similar experiences?

I get the beta alanine tingle every time I take it, but it is gone within ten minutes. I was always told it was the way you could tell if it was good and functioning. But the stuff works. I always get it the worst on my neck and scalp, but like I said it goes away pretty quick.

[mug25 2]

I get the beta alanine tingle every time I take it, but it is gone within ten minutes. I was always told it was the way you could tell if it was good and functioning. But the stuff works. I always get it the worst on my neck and scalp, but like I said it goes away pretty quick.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that if you DONT get the tingle, it doesn't necessarily mean it's "not working".

I drink a large glass of Accelerade before any workouts I do, including hockey. After a lifiting, running (dryland) or hockey game I drink a glass of Gold Standard Whey Protein. I've done a reasonable amount of research, but have gone mostly on reading others' suggestions, and they seem to be working for me. I'm interested if anyone else has input or suggestions.

Accelerade tastes great but it's really high in Sodium. Hence why I switched off of it and onto Xtend.

[Stoop 1]

Here's what NOT to do. Yesterday I had lunch at noon (chicken and rice), a red bull at 3 pm, and then nothing until game time at 8. Felt dead on the ice. What's the best timing here for caffeine and/or simple carbs? An hour before gametime? 2?

[jds 20]

The effects of caffeine can last hours and it is absorbed quickly so there is a pretty big window for that. 5mg per kg of body weight (2.2 lbs) is a good dosage. Some studies have found that the equivalent dosage of caffeine from drinking coffee doesn't have the same ergogenic effect as from caffeine pills.

[kovalchuk71 212]

Does Xtend have any odd/sketchy ingredients in it at all? I have read nothing but positives about BCAA's for working out and want to start taking them once I begin working out again (Bad move, I stopped for over a month). Also, when is the best time to take it? I have read drinking during a workout does wonders, but does drinking it before or during a game have better effect?

Also, does anyone recommend any beta-alanine supplements? Once again, I'm really looking for straight beta-alanine with no other odd/mystery ingredients.

okay, well I'd say that the low-carb thing's your problem; if you go low carb and play hockey/train in the weight room, you're just asking for trouble. Low carb diets - especially if you're exercising a lot - can cause high cortisol issues. High cortisol will cause you to gain & retain fat; high cortisol can also desensitize your testicles to LH/etc and cause your testosterone to drop. Low testosterone causes even higher cortisol. A vicious circle. Don't do it.

Low carb is okay if your doing light exercise and for the short term; in the longer term you need a balanced diet; and that includes carbs; and if you are exercising a lot, you need quite a bit of carbs and protein.

Rather than go low-carb, you need to change out the carbs you use: no wheat in any form (check out book, "Wheat Belly"), and no sugar, and cut out most grains in general.

Instead: white rice is an excellent carb - extremely clean, and completey free of allergens, and easy to digest. Potatos too. Some poeple like me tolerate oats quite well.

There could be many reasons for why you get tired - I bet it's related to the lack of carbs. Beyond that, almost everyone - unless you are drinking water all day - is a bit dehydrated; by the 2nd/3rd period you most definitely are unless you are drinking huge amounts of water.

I constantly sip this stuff with some rice powder for carbs while playing/lifting: http://www.dsm.com/l...me_peptopro.htm It's a bit expensive - you can use a high quality whey protein too.

That way, you get your water, your carbs, and your protein while playing. This helps you work/play harder; your recovery is happening while you're playing because the building block are there (your blood is filled with amino acids due to the protein intake). If you recover and play harder - and reduce your cortisol - you burn more fat.

When I want to lean out a little bit, I have a lot of my carbs for the day in the morning and around my workout; the rest of the day I take in less carbs. This is also a good strategy because usually in the morning your cortisol is highest (your cortisol peaks in order to wake you up); you can blunt and drive that cortisol first thing by taking in good, high quality carbs.

Do you have any other suggestions for non-wheat items? So, you do not consume any types of bread at all?

[MyBoxersSayJoe 133]

Picked up Xtend Blue Raspberry tonight. Tastes pretty good, energy level never dropped during the game. I think I only did one scoop for my 16 oz. bottle of water, though. Says two for every 8 oz. but I liked the consistency of one. Much better than gatorade or powerade. Hopefully it works out.

Funny note, I asked if they had Xtend and the guy brought me over to the Extenze.