I’ve been getting a lot of questions recently about nutrition and supplements for hockey players. Rightfully so. The off-season is a make-or-break development time for a lot of players. Over the last week I came across two great articles that I wanted to share with you, one on nutrition (you can use this as a grocery list) and one on supplements. While I wouldn’t call these two articles a comprehensive look at nutrition and supplementation, they are a terrific starting place.
Top 55 Foods to Build Lean Muscle and Lose Body Fat from Mike Geary
Mike puts a “look better naked” spin on this article because his market is mostly people that…well…primarily want to look better naked. If an article title with phrases like “build muscle” and “lose fat” helps you buy in to eating healthier than all the better. In reality, this is just a long list of healthy foods that should be in every player’s diet. If you can’t find or get all the things on this list, don’t sweat it. Remember that some good steps are still better than no good steps. Get what you can and eat it as frequently as possible (e.g. don’t eat one healthy meal and 3 shit meals everyday).
Supplements 101 from Brian St. Pierre
Brian is my go-to guy when I have nutrition questions, either for myself or for our athletes at Endeavor. In this article, Brian highlights 5 essential supplements that everyone should be taking. Again, this isn’t necessarily pitched to be specific to hockey players, but just things to improve overall health and well-being. With that said, all of these things will have performance-enhancing benefits for hockey players and should therefore not be overlooked.
On a related note, I just came across an article from Dr. Mike Roussell called The Secret Benefits of Creatine Revealed. Creatine is still one of the most misunderstood supplements in existence and it’s one that I recommend most of our hockey players take. The documented benefits are remarkable and the negatives are almost non-existent. Creatine helps build strength and muscle mass, which most people know, but it also helps with a host of other things that people are less familiar with. Dr. Roussell is a really bright guy, and he outlines 5 great benefits of creatine in this article.
Check back in a couple days as I’m working on a post on concussions in hockey that you’ll want to read. Until then!
To your success,
Kevin Neeld
P.S. Just a quick reminder that this webinar with Joe Dowdell is tomorrow. If you’re interested in building a profitable fitness business, make sure you register today before all the spots are gone! The 5 Key Ingredients to Building a Successful Fitness Business & Career