Resources for Better Health in Sports (01)

OneResult.com
OneResult.com is a huge source of health information and offers nutritional supplements. The site is for everyone who wants to improve their health, including high school and college athletes, and therefore only sells NCAA-legal supplements. But more than being a simple online store, it also features workouts and physical training exercises. Most of them come with tutorial videos. One article explains some workout routines that don't require equipment such as barbells and dumbbells. In addition, you can read some nutritional tips and browse their healthy recipes and snacks. You can also join their forum and learn some advice from nutrition experts.

Inside the Golfer's Mind by Bob Rotella
According to Jack Nicklaus, golf is 80% mental, 10% ability and 10% luck. While not everyone agrees with this statement, there is some truth to it. Golf is a mind game, and if a golfer is to succeed, then he must get his mind into gear. In this article, sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella lists down ten things a golfer must do to perform optimally. These tips include playing to be great, loving the challenges that come during the game, fully believing in oneself, being decisive and committed, visualizing where one wants the ball to go, and being fully present in the game.

Fueling for Tomorrow: The 3 R’s to Recovery
This article on BonkBreaker.com blog discusses the chemical reactions in ones body that interact and tells what to do to stay at optimal performance. Bonking, as commonly referred to by runners, swimmers and bicyclists, is when you start to lose the ability to concentrate and ultimately feel disoriented and overly fatigued. It occurs when energy intake does not meet the expenditure and glycogen storage plummets to an extremely low level. To combat bonking, try to take in 1-2 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight per hour. This can be accomplished by drinking 4-8 ounces of a 6-9 percent carbohydrate solution every 15 minutes and eating energy bars or gels. Sodium is another important factor that triathletes should be keen on. The balance between water and salt in the body is altered when salt is lost through perspiration. Salt levels in the body are diluted when we hydrate to compensate for the loss of water, which happens while exercising, but not for loss of electrolytes, by drinking plain water or a carbohydrate/ electrolyte energy drink without a high enough concentration of sodium.

The Science Behind Bonking
This article in Runner's World explains the science of bonking during a triathlon race, or any high-endurance sport. It states that proteins, fats, and carbohydrates must be ingested to avoid bonking. Eating cinnabons, for example as it cites, is like plutonium on the body. Some carbs provoke bigger spikes,and more fat-packing, than others--they have what's known as a high-glycemic index. No matter where the extra calories come from, the average person totes enough fat to fuel a month's running at a pace slow enough for the oxygen necessary to burn it near-exclusively. It says to avoid "pasta parties," and to use proper timing when eating, always mixing protein and carbs.

Myths About Sports Psychology
Everybody knows that sport is a physical activity, but it is also a mind game. Without mental toughness, one cannot reach performance success. This write-up lists 32 misconceptions about sport as a mind game and aims to erase the stigma behind sports psychology. One of the myths included in the list is that all kinds of sports have the same psychological demands on individuals. Some sports, such as golf and tennis, are more mentally taxing than others, such as weight-lifting. Another fallacy mentioned in the list is that sports psychology is only for the mentally weak. Many strong athletes go for sport psychological counseling and direction because they want to improve their mental toughness and be more successful in their field.