Tag: Brian St. Pierre

8 Simple Tips to Improve Your Sleep Quality

Today I have another segment in the series of sports nutrition tips from my friend Brian St. Pierre, who wrote the Nutrition Guide for my new program Ultimate Hockey Transformation.

For a “nutrition” tip, this article has almost nothing to do with eating. With the alphabet soup of credentials Brian carries after his name, I wouldn’t describe him as a sports nutrition expert as much as an adaptation expert. The reality is that quality training can be significantly enhanced, or completely undermined by your “out of gym” habits. This includes what you are or are not eating, the accumulation of additional stress in your life, and the quantity and quality of your sleep.

Sleep is a topic I’ve done A LOT of research on (See: Sleep and Sports Performance Part 1 and Part 2); this is a great checklist to significantly improve your sleep, recovery, and as a result…your adaptation.

Enjoy.

Tip #9 – Create A Sleep Ritual

Let’s be honest, we all know that sleep is important for our health. However, many of us, if not most of us, tend to act as if that just doesn’t hold true for us. We seem to believe that we can get away with it.

While you may blame “school work” or simply being “busy”, research clearly and consistently shows that people miss out on sleep due to something called “voluntary bedtime delay.”

Basically, we stay up late because we want to, often watching Kardashian re-runs (Editor Note: This sounds like a personal revelation from Brian…), or mindlessly reading useless info on Facebook. No matter the reason, it is unlikely to actually be more important than logging sufficient and quality shut-eye.

In the big picture, sleep is just as important as nutrition and exercise when it comes to improving how you look, feel, and perform. Before we get into strategies to optimize your sleep quality and quantity, here is a quick recap on why this is so important in the first place.

Why sleep rules

The average US teenager gets about 7 hours and 15 minutes of sleep per night. Unfortunately, teenagers require 8-10 hours of sleep per night.

And studies suggest that people who sleep fewer than 6 hours per night gain almost twice as much weight over a 6-year period as people who sleep 7 to 8 hours per night.

There are many other consequences to not getting enough sleep consistently, as it can:

limit your ability to learn, listen, concentrate and solve problems
contribute to acne formation
lead to aggressive or inappropriate behavior
cause excessive food intake, especially intake of highly processed foods
lower your immune system, making you more prone to get sick and miss training and playing time
lower your ability to recover from training and games
and more

Fortunately, research also shows that simply getting adequate sleep can quickly right the ship on these issues. So how do we go about creating an environment conducive to optimal sleep? Well here is a step-by-step guide on getting sufficient, and restorative, sleep.

Creating a sleep routine

The first step to getting more and better sleep is to simply create a nighttime routine. A routine will signal to your body that you are preparing to go to sleep, and it will start to initiate the process automatically. In addition will also help to prepare you for optimal sleeping conditions and duration, if done correctly.

1) Set a regular schedule

Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day and night. While maybe aiming for all 7 is unlikely, try to be as consistent as possible. This consistency will help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, as your body will become accustomed to your schedule and will automatically start to prep you for sleeping and waking at those times.

Routine.

2) Avoid excessive caffeine

Sleep actually has 5 stages. Getting to deep sleep (stages 3,4 and 5) is imperative to having your sleep be genuinely restful and restorative. Unfortunately, having caffeine within 7-9 hours of bedtime can prevent you from getting into those deep, restorative phases. You may “sleep” for 7 hours, but it is poor sleep, and recovery will be compromised.

3) Eat and drink appropriately

Having a large meal immediately before bed can disrupt your ability to fall and stay asleep. Instead, aim to simply have a “normal” meal a few hours before bedtime, as described earlier in the previous tips. A nice blend of protein, carbs and fats will help to keep you satisfied, won’t prevent sleep, and can possibly improve your ability to fall asleep as your brain converts carbs to serotonin.

In addition, try to limit your fluids 2-3 hours before bedtime. Excess fluid intake prior to going to sleep can cause you to wake several times to urinate. While total sleep time is important, it is even more beneficial if your sleep time is uninterrupted.

4) Create tomorrow’s to-do list

We have all lied awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about all the stuff we have to do the next day. Take a few minutes before you start getting ready for bed and write a list of things you are thinking of: homework to do, papers to write, calls to make, project ideas, creative thoughts, etc.

5) Turn off the TV/Computer/Phone

Unplugging from the digital world can have a host of sleep benefits. First off, you remove a stimulating device, which will help your brain and body to better prepare for sleep. Secondly, the blue light from your electronics can actually prevent the production of melatonin, which will delay your ability to fall asleep, and could negatively impact your sleep quality. (Editor Note: If you absolutely HAVE to be on your computer before bed, download F.lux to block blue light at night)

6) Static stretch/Read/De-stress before bed

The role of static stretching in improving mobility/flexibility is certainly debatable. However, it is fantastic at helping you to relax. Just 5-15 minutes can be enough to help prepare you for a better night’s sleep.

Alternatively, reading a book for 20-30 minutes before bed can also help to slow you down. However, you are probably better off with something other than engrossing fiction. I certainly know if I read some fiction before bed, the next thing I know its 2am and I am still reading!

You could also simply meditate for 20 minutes here. Any type of de-stressing exercise would be appropriate and beneficial, though winding down with breathing techniques and progressive relaxation before bedtime is especially helpful.

7) Go to bed before midnight

According to sleep experts, every hour of sleep before midnight is worth 2 after. This has to do with our natural circadian rhythms and wake/sleep cycle. Our body is meant to go to sleep when it gets dark, and wake when it gets light. That old saying about early to bed and early to rise still stands the test of time.

8) Sleep at least 8 hours

8 hours seems to be the minimum amount needed to keep teens fit and healthy. If you know you have to wake at 6:15 to get ready for school, then you should be in bed by 9:30 and hopefully asleep by 10. Getting in bed at 10:15 doesn’t count. It’s the amount of time you sleep, not the amount of time you are in bed.

Bottom line: Create a sleep ritual that works for you, where you can consistently get at least 8 hours of quality sleep each night. Your performance, body, and health will be better for it.

-Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD, CSCS, CISSN, PN1

P.S. For more information on how to get a copy of Brian’s incredible hockey nutrition manual, click here: Ultimate Hockey Transformation

Brian is a Registered Dietitian and received his Bachelor’s in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Maine, where he also received his Master’s in Food Science and Human Nutrition. He is a Certified Sports Nutritionist as well as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

Brian worked for three years at Cressey Performance as the head Sports Nutritionist and as a Strength and Conditioning Coach, working with hundreds of athletes and recreational exercisers of all types. During this time, he also authored the High Performance Handbook Nutrition Guide, Show and Go Nutrition Guide, Ultimate Hockey Nutrition and dozens of articles for publication.

Nowadays, he works closely with Dr. John Berardi as a full-time coach and a nutrition educator at Precision Nutrition. In particular, working closely with our elite athletes and fitness professionals. As part of the Precision Nutrition mission, he helps to deliver life-changing, research-driven nutrition coaching for everyone.

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!

Get Ultimate Hockey Transformation Now!

Year-round age-specific hockey training programs complete with a comprehensive instructional video database!

Get access to your game-changing program now >> Ultimate Hockey Transformation

“Kevin Neeld is one of the top 5-6 strength and conditioning coaches in the ice hockey world.”
– Mike Boyle, Head S&C Coach, US Women’s Olympic Team

“…if you want to be the best, Kevin is the one you have to train with”
– Brijesh Patel, Head S&C Coach, Quinnipiac University

Quickly Identify “Power Foods”

Today I have another sports nutrition tip from my friend Brian St. Pierre, who wrote the Nutrition Guide for my new program Ultimate Hockey Transformation.

I like this tip for one reason: It’s incredibly simple to implement.

Almost every question I get about nutrition sounds something like “Is ‘x’ good?”

If you just follow the three simple rules Brian outlines below, you’ll be eating “power foods” packed with nutrients the overwhelming majority of the time. Enjoy!

Tip #8 – Eat Mostly Minimally Processed Whole Food

One of the best things you can do for your health is to improve the quality of your food intake. If you’ve been following along with these tips, you’ve learned the value of getting appropriate amounts of proteins, veggies, carbs, and fats at meals.

And those are really important tips. But once you have that down, its time to refine the sources of each of those groups. That’s where today’s tip comes in.

Minimally processed whole foods are foods that:

You can hunt, fish, pluck, grow or ferment,
Can be easily made from foods you could hunt or gather, and
Have always been food.

This means foods like meats, fish and seafood, any and all fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and oils, whole grains, starchy tubers (like potatoes and sweet potatoes), and beans and legumes.

This has ALWAYS been food

That means that you should minimize the highly processed foods that are so rampant today – sodas, energy drinks, and sports drinks (except for during intense activity), crackers, cookies, pastries, cakes, and donuts, fast food, and other concoctions of the modern food industry.

Now, this doesn’t mean you should never eat these things. What would life be without some ice cream or the occasional root beer? But, it means that you consume foods like that in moderation – they should not make up a big part of what you eat.

And that you should eat mostly minimally processed whole foods. There are several compelling reasons for this.

Missing Nutrients

The first reason is because these highly processed foods are missing tons of beneficial nutrients that are inherent to whole foods. As part of their processing, they are stripped of things like protein, fiber, some vitamins and minerals, water, as well as phyto- and zoo-chemicals

Whole foods naturally contain all of these nutrients in abundance. This means that whole foods give you more of the things you need to help you look, feel, and perform your best. And those highly processed foods just fall short.

Hyper-rewarding and hyper-palatable

In addition, highly processed foods are actually specifically engineered by food companies to overpower your brain, causing you to eat more calories than you need and eventually gain body fat, feel crummy, and perform poorly.

This is the other main reason that eating mostly whole, minimally processed foods is so powerful. When you eat these whole foods your brain is able to signal to you that you have eaten enough.

However, when you eat highly processed foods, they tend to be what are called hyper-palatable and hyper-rewarding. In essence, what happens when you eat these foods is that your brain becomes over-excited, and it can’t “hear” the signals telling it how much food you have eaten. This delays the signal telling you that you’ve eaten enough, and don’t need any more food. In the end, you eat more calories than you need almost every time, which will eventually catch up to you.

Guilty.

Plus, processed foods can even simulate an addiction in your brain, much like drugs. Causing you to seek out these foods and over-eat them. The only way to break this is to consciously try to eat mostly whole, minimally processed foods, which don’t cause these problems.

The bottom line is you should aim to eat 80-90% of your food from whole, minimally processed sources. It’s totally ok, and even a little helpful, to have some processed foods, just be reasonable about it.

-Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD, CSCS, CISSN, PN1

P.S. For more information on how to get a copy of Brian’s incredible hockey nutrition manual, click here: Ultimate Hockey Transformation

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!

Get Ultimate Hockey Transformation Now!

Year-round age-specific hockey training programs complete with a comprehensive instructional video database!

Get access to your game-changing program now >> Ultimate Hockey Transformation

“Kevin Neeld is one of the top 5-6 strength and conditioning coaches in the ice hockey world.”
– Mike Boyle, Head S&C Coach, US Women’s Olympic Team

“…if you want to be the best, Kevin is the one you have to train with”
– Brijesh Patel, Head S&C Coach, Quinnipiac University

Sports Nutrition Tip: Drink This, Not That

After spending the weekend celebrating the 4th of July, a holiday that drives unthinkable spikes in hot dog sales, I thought it’d be an appropriate time for another guest post from my friend Brian St. Pierre, who wrote the Nutrition Guide for my new program Ultimate Hockey Transformation.

As a quick reminder, you can get ~50% off almost all of my products until Friday using these links:

Ultimate Hockey Training (~~$35.95~~ $19.95)
Ultimate Hockey Transformation (Pro: ~~$147~~ $77 Elite: ~~$117~~ $57)
Optimizing Movement (~~$97~~ $47)

Enjoy!

-KN

Tip #7 – Drink Mostly Calorie-Free Beverages by Brian St. Pierre

Water is one of the most important aspects of exercise nutrition. In fact, your muscles are over 70% water!

If you don’t drink enough of it, and you end up even a little dehydrated, you will suffer. Your performance will decline, your health will diminish and your body composition will worsen.

Not drinking enough water will especially hurt your performance.

Lose anything more than 1% of your body water – which you can do exercising for just one hour in the heat – your endurance drops, strength and power disappear, and your heart starts racing during relatively easy activities.

This is why it is critical you drink enough. It strongly affects everything you may want to improve – how you look, how you feel, and how you perform. Being dehydrated prevents any of the other nutrition strategies I’ve covered from providing you as much benefit.

So, how much water should you drink?

As a hard-training athlete, you should aim for 12-16 cups (3-4 liters) every day.

Of course, this is easier said than done. Here is an easy 3-step process that I’ve borrowed from my colleague, Dr. John Berardi, for drinking enough:

Step 1: fill a 1-liter bottle and drink it during workouts and practices

Step 2: fill another 1 liter bottle and drink it right after workouts and practices

Step 3: each time you eat a meal, drink another 1-2 cups of water

Now, your beverage choices are not limited to just water. But you would be best served by consuming mostly calorie-free beverages, including water. I will go over some of the best ones. Even with these other options available to you, it would be best if water still made up at least half of your total fluid intake.

Black coffee

Coffee is a somewhat controversial beverage, but it really shouldn’t be.

Some people metabolize caffeine poorly, or feel jittery from caffeine. If this is you, minimize your coffee consumption. But for everyone else, 1-3 cups of black coffee can provided a nice dose of health benefits:

Improved athletic performance
Decreased risk of some cancers
Decreased risk of neurological diseases
And more.

Tea

Tea is one of the most consumed beverages in the world. It is loaded with antioxidants and powerful nutrients. A few cups per day has been shown to:

Calm nerves
Decrease risk of some cancers
Boost immune system function
And more.

Drinks to minimize

With the focus on consuming mostly calorie-free beverages, that means there are other drinks you should aim to minimize. These drinks usually just provide lots of unnecessary sugar and calories, and don’t provide much value to the body.

These drinks include:

soda
energy drinks
fruit juice
alcohol

Note, that this doesn’t mean you should never drink these beverages. An occasional soda or juice is not a problem. It is what you do consistently that matters, not what you do on occasion.

Sports drinks

There can be a time and a place for sports drinks too (Biosteel, Gatorade, Powerade, etc.), such as during extended exercise, being active in intense heat, or during competition. But for general hydration purposes, water is your best choice.

In the end, it is critically important that you consume adequate amounts of fluid every day. If you’re working out or competing, and start feeling a little confused, get a headache, feel tired too quickly, get dizzy, get light-headed when standing up, or feel really moody, these are early warning signs; you need to start drinking water immediately.

-Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD, CSCS, CISSN, PN1

P.S. For more information on how to get a copy of Brian’s incredible hockey nutrition manual, click here: Ultimate Hockey Transformation

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!

Get Ultimate Hockey Transformation Now!

Year-round age-specific hockey training programs complete with a comprehensive instructional video database!

Get access to your game-changing program now >> Ultimate Hockey Transformation

“Kevin Neeld is one of the top 5-6 strength and conditioning coaches in the ice hockey world.”
– Mike Boyle, Head S&C Coach, US Women’s Olympic Team

“…if you want to be the best, Kevin is the one you have to train with”
– Brijesh Patel, Head S&C Coach, Quinnipiac University

Sports Nutrition Tip: What you need to know about fat

I’m particularly excited about today’s sports nutrition tip from Brian St. Pierre. As in the past, this tip is a “teaser” from the Nutrition Guide he wrote for my new program Ultimate Hockey Transformation.

Today’s tip covers a topic that is essential to fueling consistently high performance and making significant gains in off-season training. It also happens to be one of the most misunderstood topics. Check it out and post any questions/comments you have below the article.

Enjoy! – KN

Tip #6 – Eat Healthy Fats at Most Meals and Snacks by Brian St. Pierre

While the reputation of dietary fat seems to have improved somewhat of late, in general nutrition recommendations, it has taken a beating for years (or decades, even).

In reality, certain fats are really important for those who are looking to improve their health, body composition, and performance. And they can be extra important for hard-training athletes.

In the 70s, 80s and even early 90s, people thought that dietary fat made you fat, slowed you down, deteriorated your health, and caused heart disease. Fortunately, we have learned a lot since then, and now realize that the right fat intake can actually help to prevent all of those things!

You need an appropriate intake of healthy fats:

for your cells to work properly
for proper production of both testosterone and estrogen
for proper immune function
for the absorption of important nutrients like vitamins A, D, E & K

What Makes Fat Healthy?

In general, the determining factor in whether fats are healthy or not is if they meet 2 criteria. They should be either:

naturally occurring (such as the fat in nuts and seeds)
relatively minimally processed (either they’re whole foods, or they’ve been simply pressed or ground)

A solid list of healthy fats would be:

Oils such as olive, coconut, flax, canola, fish, algae, and a little butter
Avocado or guacamole
Nuts such as almonds, Brazil, cashews, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, etc.
Nut butters such as almond, cashew, etc.
Peanuts and natural peanut butter
Seeds such as chia, ground flax, pumpkin, sunflower, hemp, etc.
Dark chocolate (in moderation)

Of course, other foods have some fats (especially whole eggs, fish, dairy, and meats). But these fats (above) are healthy fat superstars, and are ones you should look to add to your intake to boost health, performance and body composition.

What Are Unhealthy Fats?

Now, there are some fats you should look to keep to a minimum in your diet. These fats tend to increase inflammation, risk of heart disease and cancer, and other nasty things.

Unlike healthy fats, unhealthy fats:

don’t naturally occur in the foods they’re found in; and
have to be created through an industrial process.

These would include fats such as:

Trans fats (look for the ingredients partially hydrogenated and vegetable shortening)
Industrially processed oils (these would include corn, cottonseed, safflower*, soybean, and sunflower* oils)
Fried foods (which are cooked in oils that are repeatedly heated, which damages them and creates some nasty compounds)

*There are high-oleic versions of safflower and sunflower oils that are okay in moderation.

How Much Fat Should You Eat?

In general, athletes should aim for 0.5 g of fat per pound of target bodyweight. So if you want to be 140 pounds, fat intake should be around 70 grams. Or if you want to be 200 lbs, fat intake should be around 100 grams.

This doesn’t have to be perfect, and I have a really simple way to get in this intake:

Men should eat ~2 thumb-sized portions of healthy fat at most meals, and women should eat ~1 thumb-sized portion of healthy fat at most meals.

Image From PrecisionNutrition.com (see: Forget Calorie Counting)

This is a great starting point to make sure you are getting enough fat for your needs. But it is just a starting point, and is not set in stone. When trying to lose weight, you may want to cut some meals down by 0.5-1 thumb of fat. And when trying to gain weight, you may want to add 0.5-1 thumb of fat to a few meals. Let hunger, fullness, and results be your guide, and try not to over-complicate it.

-Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD, CSCS, CISSN, PN1

P.S. For more information on how to get a copy of Brian’s incredible hockey nutrition manual, click here: Ultimate Hockey Transformation

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!

Get Ultimate Hockey Transformation Now!

Year-round age-specific hockey training programs complete with a comprehensive instructional video database!

Get access to your game-changing program now >> Ultimate Hockey Transformation

“Kevin Neeld is one of the top 5-6 strength and conditioning coaches in the ice hockey world.”
– Mike Boyle, Head S&C Coach, US Women’s Olympic Team

“…if you want to be the best, Kevin is the one you have to train with”
– Brijesh Patel, Head S&C Coach, Quinnipiac University

Sports Nutrition Tip: The key to sustained energy

Enjoy! – KN

Tip #5 – Eat Quality Carbs at Every Meal and Most Snacks

While carbs have taken a beating in fat-loss circles over the past decade or so, the fact of the matter is carbs are not evil. Nor are they inherently fattening.

In fact, as someone who is exercising, you NEED carbs. That’s right, you need them. And getting in the right carbs in the right amounts can boost your performance, improve your health, and make you leaner and more muscular!

What’s The Deal With Carbs?

When it comes to eating carbs, it comes down to 2 things:

eat the right carb sources,
in the right amounts

You don’t have to over-think this, as it does not mean low-carb. It also doesn’t mean avoiding carbs at some times and having them at others. It is simply about choosing quality carbohydrates, and eating them in reasonable amounts.

Many people try to go too low-carb while training hard, and while it may work in the beginning, eventually it will come back to haunt you. Low-carbohydrate intake combined with hard training will lead to thyroid problems, cortisol and stress problems, as well as a decrease in testosterone and increase in estrogen. This will stall fat loss, inhibit muscle gain, decrease performance, lower your energy, worsen your mood and overall just make you feel like crap.

So just don’t do it. The goal is to get in enough carbs so that you fuel your training, optimize recovery, and maintain optimal hormone status, but not so much that you feel sluggish and over-fed. To do that is actually easier than you might imagine.

So How Many Carbs Should You Eat?

You already know to have 1-2 palm-sized portions of a protein rich food, and 1-2 fists of veggies at every meal, now we are going to add to that. For most meals you should have:

1-2 palm-sized portions of a protein-rich food
1-2 fists of vegetables
1-2 cupped handfuls of starchy carbs or fruit

To give you an idea, here is a list of quality carbohydrate sources:

barley
beans (dry, canned, or refried)
buckwheat
fruit (fresh, frozen, or unsweetened dried)
lentils
oats (old-fashioned, rolled, or steel-cut)
potatoes (try a variety of colors – white, red, yellow, purple)
quinoa
sweet potatoes (try a variety of colors – orange, yellow, purple)
whole grain or sprouted grain bread products (bagels, breads, English muffins, pastas, waffles, wraps, etc.)
whole grain rice (black, brown, wild, etc.)

In general, women should have 1 cupped handful of starchy carbs or fruit at most meals, and men should have 2 cupped handfuls. Simple as that.

For the most part, this habit is just about getting most of your carbs from whole food sources, and eating them in reasonable amounts. However, this is just a starting point.

If you want to gain weight, or are really active, you should add another cupped handful of carbs to a few meals. And if you want to lose weight, or are only mildly active, you might want to remove a cupped handful of carbs from a few meals.

And remember, this is just a starting point. You should adjust your intake to best meet your: needs, hunger and fullness cues, energy levels, mood, training performance, body composition progress, and overall results.

Overall now you should be working on:

Being ready for change
Focusing on changing one habit at a time
Eating protein at every meal and most snacks (1-2 palms)
Eating veggies at every meal and most snacks (1-2 fists)
Eating carbs at most meals and snacks (1-2 cupped handfuls)

-Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD, CSCS, CISSN, PN1

P.S. For more information on how to get a copy of Brian’s incredible hockey nutrition manual, click here: Ultimate Hockey Transformation

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!

Get Ultimate Hockey Transformation Now!

Year-round age-specific hockey training programs complete with a comprehensive instructional video database!

Get access to your game-changing program now >> Ultimate Hockey Transformation

“Kevin Neeld is one of the top 5-6 strength and conditioning coaches in the ice hockey world.”
– Mike Boyle, Head S&C Coach, US Women’s Olympic Team

“…if you want to be the best, Kevin is the one you have to train with”
– Brijesh Patel, Head S&C Coach, Quinnipiac University