According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), at least 77% of Americans are vitamin D deficient.  This is especially true in the northern states, where exposure to sunshine can be scarce during the winter season (the sun plays a vital role in your body’s natural vitamin D production).

You can boost your vitamin D by increasing your consumption of whole foods like fatty fish (mackerel, salmon, and tuna), milk (and other fortified dairy products), eggs, and oatmeal (and other fortified cereals).

You can also improve your vitamin D level by adding a supplement to your daily diet.  Aim for 600 IU per day.

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Low energy, muscle weakness, and fatigue have long been associated with iron deficiency anemia. However, a study published in the British Medical Journal suggests that these symptoms may start well before low iron leads to anemia.

Low iron can result in a lack of energy, so athletes should eat plenty of foods that provide a healthy dose of this essential nutrient to ensure that energy levels remain high. Broccoli, spinach, kale, and other dark, leafy green vegetables are excellent sources of iron. Additionally, because these foods all contain vitamin C, they provide a healthy dose of antioxidants that will help you to stay strong and healthy which can also have a positive effect on your energy levels. It’s easy to fit these foods into your meals by adding them to pastas, salads, soups, and casseroles.

Try adding a handful of spinach into a blender with your usual protein shake ingredients.  You won’t even taste it.

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I must admit, once again, my thoughts and observations are based on watching another one of my daughter’s — and our high school girls varsity basketball team’s — scrimmages, several years ago.  And my comments don’t just apply to our team.  To some extent, I saw this in each and every one of the five teams that participated in that night’s scrimmage.

Some of the pre-game warm-up activity was just awful.  I’m not referring to the drills, themselves, but rather the effort with which the drills were performed.  Many of the players’ focus and intensity level was variable, at best.  Some of them didn’t even look like they took it seriously — half-hearted passing, shooting, and overall execution.  Moving through the drills at half-speed.  Laughing, joking, and fooling around.  Do you really believe there’s no carry-over into the game?  I’m not suggesting that the student-athlete experience shouldn’t be enjoyable.  But once you lace them up and step on the court, it’s time to focus your attention and effort on the task at hand.

Representing your high school on the basketball court is a privilege… not an entitlement!  Same goes for any other sport at any other level.  Show that you respect the game, your teammates, your coaches — and yourself — by taking your decision and commitment to play a little more seriously.

The same principle applies to school, work… and life.  How do you study for your upcoming exam?  How do you prepare for your business presentation?  Are you setting yourself up for success, or sabotaging your own efforts?

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Several years ago, I watched our high school girls varsity basketball team — including my daughter — play their first scrimmage of the season.  We did some things well and, of course, there were some areas that will require improvement.

One of our areas for improvement must start at practice.  Much of what we did, especially offensively, looked hurried to the point that it adversely affected our execution.  It looked like the speed of the game made us (think we had to) rush our shooting — jump shots and layups — as well as our offense in general.

My point is this: Finishing a layup, when you’re moving at full-speed, in “traffic,” is a tough thing to do.  If, when you practice layups, your drives to the basket are done at about 75% speed and uncontested, it’s unlikely you’ll develop the focus and muscle memory to control your body and shoot with the proper “touch” when you’re driving to the basket, full-speed, in a game situation.  It’s essential to practice like you play… at game speed.

The same principle applies to your speed and agility training.  When you perform your exercises and drills, it’s important to get yourself moving at full speed.  If you practice and train at less than full speed, what do you expect to happen in game situations?

If you’re a coach or trainer, here’s a speed and agility training tip:  You must allow adequate time for full recovery between exercises and drills.  If we want athletes to perform these drills at 100% effort, allowing for full recovery is necessary.  Otherwise, what we’re doing is conditioning.  There’s nothing wrong with conditioning, if that’s your goal, but it’s different from speed and agility training.

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But, as important as speed is (and it is important), very few sports require only straight-line speed. Change of speed and direction, and the ability to react quickly, are critical to athletic performance, and as important as — if not more important than — linear speed.

Quickness (agility) is the ability to react and change speed — accelerate (speed-up) and decelerate (slow-down) — and change direction quickly and effectively. Agility is a skill that can be developed through a variety of drills, which should reflect the demands and movement patterns of the sport. Since most sports require reaction and agility, an athlete’s training plan should incorporate some type of agility training.

• Agility training should involve movement in all directions, and require the athlete to alternate among forward running, backpedaling, and lateral shuffling.
• Drills that require the athlete to alternate between acceleration and deceleration should be a component part of agility training.
• Agility training should also incorporate an element of reaction, with the athlete being required to react to a verbal or visual command, or mimic/mirror the movement patterns of a training partner (reflective drills).

There are lots of great resources for agility training. I like Developing Agility and Quickness, part of the NSCA’s Sport Performance Series, by Dawes and Roozen.

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Yes and no, according to research. It appears that caffeine is responsible for virtually all the benefits of these energy drinks, including increased alertness and energy level. When caffeine is removed, the drinks’ other ingredients have little impact, say researchers.

Caffeine’s benefits are well-documented, and include:

• Increased alertness and energy level
• Improved cognitive function
• A mild, mood-boosting effect
• Improved exercise capacity

Ultimately, caffeine may help you think faster, exercise harder, and live longer. The next time you want a little caffeine-inspired jolt, stick with coffee. You’ll also benefit from its high levels of healthy antioxidants. If it’s got to be an energy drink, at least stay away from those that are loaded with sugar.

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The term “isometric” actually comes from two Greek words meaning “equal measure.”  There are a number of ways to define the word isometric but, basically, an isometric exercise is one in which there is muscle contraction without movement (muscle length does not change during contraction).

Here are some examples of isometric exercises:

• Holding a pushup in the “down” position for some pre-determined period of time (or, as long as possible)
• Holding a squat in the “down” position
• Holding a chinup/pullup in the “up” position

Isometric exercises may also involve a pause (shorter hold) between the eccentric and concentric (up and down, or push and pull) phases of the exercise.  You can increase the intensity level of isometric exercises by adding time to the “hold,” or adding weight to the exercise.

How can athletes benefit from isometric exercises?

Every athlete wants to be able to generate a lot of explosive force.  Isometric exercises, when added to a training regimen, have been shown to help athletes produce more power.

Isometric exercises can help athletes improve their ability to absorb impact and resist force.

Isometric exercises are useful in helping athletes build muscle and joint stability.

Because of the “mental toughness” required to hold an isometric exercise for as long as possible, athletes can learn to improve mental focus and overcome fatigue.

Beginners may benefit from isometric exercises when they are unable to perform an exercise (like a pushup or chinup) with technical correctness through a full range-of-motion.  The strength built, over time, by doing the isometric version of the exercise can improve their ability to perform the traditional exercise.

When performing isometric exercises, athletes should strive for perfect form and posture.

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For an effective, safe alternative to the barbell back squat, try the Goblet Squat.  I like this exercise, especially for novices and youngsters, once we have mastered and move beyond body-weight squats.

To perform the goblet squat exercise, hold a dumbbell (or kettlebell) “goblet-style” (pictured), vertically and at chest level, with the heels of both hands cupping the dumbbell’s upper head, as if it’s a large goblet.  This provides counter-balance, helping you avoid the upper-body forward lean that can be a problem with the barbell back squat, enables better form and technique, and makes the exercise easier to perform.

Start with at least a 25-pound dumbbell (although you can go even lighter), performing the exercise as you would any other squat-type exercise, and challenge yourself by increasing weight and/or repetitions as you are able.

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But that doesn’t happen by accident.  It takes a lot of practice and preparation to put yourself in the position to perform well in a pressure situation (heck, it takes a lot of practice and preparation to perform well in normal game conditions).  That means, if you’re a basketball player with a desire to excel, you should be practicing ball-handling and shooting, or doing something to improve your strength, speed, agility, and athleticism… EVERY DAY!

And that, I think, is where there is a disconnect.  It’s one thing to express a desire to play well.  Anyone can do that… that’s just talk.  It’s quite another to do what’s necessary to play well.  That takes time and effort and commitment and dedication and focus and purpose and motivation and persistence and perseverance and… well, I think you get the point.

And, while this all may seem somewhat overwhelming, it doesn’t take a 24/7/365 commitment.  Focus on the quality and consistency of your efforts, and not necessarily the quantity.  If you’ve got 10-15 minutes to practice your ball-handling, make it purposeful and give it the best 10-15 minutes you’ve got.  Know and understand your areas for improvement and direct your efforts, accordingly.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking that, since you only have limited time, improving your physical or sport-specific skills is not worth the effort.  Trust me, the cumulative effect of quality repetition will steadily improve your game.

Devote yourself, daily, to self-improvement.  Make it happen.

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Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 lb. ground turkey breast
• 2 cans (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with jalapeno peppers
• 1 can (10.5 oz.) each chickpeas, black beans, and kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp each salt, cumin, and cinnamon
• 4 tsp chili powder
• hot sauce to taste

Preparation

In a pot, heat the oil on medium-low.  Add the garlic and onion, and sauté until the onion is soft (about 3-5 minutes).  Add the turkey, and brown for about 5 minutes.  Add the diced tomatoes with juice, chickpeas, beans, crushed tomatoes, and spices.  Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Makes 6-8 generous servings (freeze the leftovers and save $5 by eating them for lunch).

Nutrition Information (per serving)

• 300 calories
• 30 grams (g) protein
• 30 g carbohydrates
• 5 g fat (0 g saturated)
• 10 g fiber
• 700 mg sodium

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