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Fuel Your Performance

At AXSOM, we believe that the process of eating should be viewed simply as fuelling the body. In the same way that a high performance car needs clean fuel to perform to the highest level, the body needs clean fuel to be at its most efficient and effective. We fuel to train, fuel to recover, and fuel to compete. This is applicable in all areas of life, not just with regards to competitive athletes. With nutrition, you are not only fueling the body, but the mind too, as food provides energy for our brain as well as our bodies. 

Naturally we want to feel energised and focused every day, but without adequate and appropriate fuel, we simply wont. Luckily, the process of change shouldn’t be difficult. Perfection at all times is not expected when fueling the body. We usually try for 80% good clean food eaten frequently, with some flexibility (20%) for when life gets in the way. A simple guide when it comes to choosing a food is pick a food which has undergone the least processing from farm to fork. Naturally, whole foods are always best.
If you want to change the way you fuel your body, it won’t be difficult. We have our clients follow the following approach when it comes to nutrition. It is both a simple and effective framework to enable you to fuel for plenty of energy while supporting brain and muscle recovery.

 

PERSONALISE IT

Create your nutritional plans around your own goals, habits and body-type.
You have specific eating habits and you don’t have to completely change that. However, small adjustments in the right direction may make a big difference over time.
You also may have a personal goal, whether its a performance goal or body composition goal, choose food that will best support this goal.


EAT WITH PURPOSE

Use the time while you eat to contemplate other aspects of life, even to meet friends or socialise.
It is a good idea to eat when its time to, not because you want to.
Socializing or unwinding will help slow you down while eating and give you a chance to digest the food.


EAT FOR FUEL

 Make good, natural choices to fuel your body for your day and for whatever tasks or obstacles are ahead.
Choose foods that are most nutritious and colourful to help prevent illness or becoming unwell.
Choose foods that support brain power and function such as good fats and oils.
Choose foods to support muscle growth and recovery such as poultry or fish.
Choose foods to give you energy such as grains and unprocessed carbs.


EAT TO SUSTAIN

Sustain energy, metabolism and hydration to increase the value of each meal.
Eat within 30 minutes of waking up.
Eat every 3 hours.
Make good hydration choices such as herbal teas and water with a pH of 7+.
Just as our sport or occupational performance is a work in progress, our nutritional plans will always need adjustments. As a rule, once you have mastered a change of habit, try to master another and continually improve the way you FUEL your body. It is worth the time and energy investment.
Blood Flow Restriction Training

Blood Flow Restriction Training

Restriction to blood flow first emerged as a form of exercise training with Japanese bodybuilders in 1995, but is now more commonly referred to as Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training.  Over the past 3-4 years, BFR training has exploded in popularity amongst strength coaches and physiotherapists alike. Early research identified the capability of BFR to stimulate hypertrophy and strength gains when combined with low-load resistance training but there was a distinct lack of research on how this was happening.  

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Field Sport Conditioning

Field Sport Conditioning

As teams across the country are forced to suspend all collective training, we thought we would help out with a sample session that can be completed individually and modified to suit!
This session includes work in all energy systems to maximise transfer to your sport.
Give it a go and pass it along to your team mates if you think they would benefit. Feel free to get in touch with any questions!

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Repetition Tempo

Repetition Tempo

Tempo is a training variable equal in importance to reps and sets. This programming tool allows coaches to target specific adaptations in an athletes programme and is a key component of a training plan. Essentially, in resistance training, tempo refers to the speed that an exercise is performed. The tempo that each rep is performed at will dictate the total time under tension (TUT) for any given set, and this component is one of the major keys to achieving the desired training response.

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Psychological Resilience in Sport

Think of the physical preparation that goes into an athletes performance; nutrition, sleep, strength training, recovery, rehabilitation are just a few. Ask, is mental performance receiving the adequate amount of time and dedication that it should be in comparison to the physical preparation, and if not, why?

Movement Skills – Acceleration

There are many elements to enhancing speed, no one training method holds the key. Rather it is a combination of components that result in greatest improvements. For example, developing specific strength qualities, is one of the most effective ways to increase the power necessary for maximal sprinting. However unless an athlete first focuses on movement, and in turn movement skills, they may struggle to maximise the results from their efforts in other areas.

Movement Prep

The purpose of any physical preparation routine should be to optimise performance in the upcoming session or competition, while decreasing the risk of injury.
Traditional warm-ups have typically included light aerobic movement followed by static stretching, and while this approach is successful in raising body temperature, it does not contribute significantly towards reducing injury risk, and certainly not towards optimising performance.

Pre-Season in Gaelic Games

We are at that time of year where a lot of teams are returning to training for the season ahead. Of course, most will have different league and championship calendars and will go about their preparation for each competition in various ways. Some will begin with gym sessions only, some will opt for field sessions only, and some will choose a combination of both. Some may even decide to give their players another few weeks before returning to any form of training.

Training Variables – Part 3

As is the case when determining the optimal reps and tempo, the training objective also dictates another important variable – the number of sets.
In general, the higher the number of repetitions, the less sets that are required to achieve the optimal volume. Conversely, the lower the number of repetitions being performed, the more sets that are needed. There are of course exceptions to this, but to illustrate how training objective will most typically influence the number of sets performed we will take two examples for comparison..

Training Variables – Part 2

As a general rule of thumb, the higher the total time under tension, the greater the impact on body composition. This is due to greater metabolic adaptations associated with increased time under tension. In order for an athlete to maintain control over a weight for a prolonged period, he/she must sacrifice on the intensity of the set (weight on the bar). This has a knock on effect of potentially reducing the strength training effect. Heavier weights will be required to optimally develop maximal strength, and particularly so to develop relative strength, therefore lower prescriptions for total time under tension must be applied.

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