How do we prepare for our match nights? Big Sunday Roast, Big Mac and Fries? Watching Love Island? Listening to Cliff Richard? This week we’ll take a look at how the pro’s prepare for a match, competition or a key training session, to try and give themselves the edge over their competitors. Maybe we could do the same ? 🤔
Music
It won’t improve your first touch or give you instant Messi-like abilities but some studies suggest that listening to music before a game can improve performance. It has the ability to reduce tiredness, calm nerves or get you psyched up before a match.
For example, Michael Phelps-the most successful Olympian of all time with 19 gold medals was well known for using headphones. Wearing them at poolside he listened to Eminem and Skrillex to help him relax and get in the zone.
Nutrition
KFC, McDonalds and BurgerKing, although tasty are all sadly not great pre-match meals. Instead try eating some wholegrain cereals, bananas, baked beans on toast and pasta, preferably not all in one meal, as don’t want to have to hose down the Astro afterwards!.
According to his trainer, Anthony Joshua eats between 4,000-5,000 calories a day when in preparation for a fight. Before an early morning training session, he’ll have a large smoothie with yoghurt, fruit, porridge oats and milk.
Sleep
Probably one of the hardest to do, as we know a lot of you have young kids, but 8 hours of sleep before a game can reduce the chance of injury and illness, improve concentration and quicken recovery.
Serena Williams has an early bedtime of 7pm! And LeBron James of the NBA sleeps for an incredible 12 hours a night!
We don’t really care how we prepare for our games. Great nutrition and sleep are ideal but very rarely possible with a hectic lifestyle. So just turning up and doing exercise can have a positive impact and make us all happier and healthier. See you at this weeks match nights!
