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NUTRITION EATING CARBS Carbs for breakfast


• Breads topped with avocado, egg or nut butter: whole grain bread, whole wheat pancakes, whole grain bagels.


• Cereals mixed with low-fat milk, Greek yogurt or kefir: oatmeal, oat bran, muesli, bran flakes, rice or corn flakes.


• Fruit as a topping or side: berries, apple slices, grapefruit, oranges, melons, peaches, tropical fruits – pick what’s in season!


• Smoothies made with milk, yogurt or protein powder and water as the base. To make it a meal, add greens (kale, spinach), fresh or frozen fruit, nut butter, ground flax or chia seeds or oats.


Jump into carbs


For volleyball players who need energy to train, compete and think quickly, carbohydrates are a necessary fuel by Shawn Hueglin


CARBOHYDRATES OFTEN RECEIVE NEGATIVE ATTENTION, but they are essential for volleyball players. Carbs help you jump higher, hit harder, land more efficiently, lift heavier weights, lift weights more quickly and strategize on and off the court. They also taste good and keep athletes happy! Let’s take a look at why. What makes carbs important for volleyball athletes? Skeletal mus- cles use carbohydrates as the primary energy source to contract. Carbs are typically stored in the muscle and liver as glycogen and they also circulate in the blood as glucose. Carbs are also the preferred fuel for the brain and nervous system. Adequate intake gives athletes the ability to make quick decisions and react to opponents rapidly.


What happens if athletes don’t eat enough carbohydrates? If an athlete doesn’t consume enough carbs to support the amount of daily training, glycogen storage and/or blood glucose can be significantly decreased. This will lead to poor muscular strength and endurance and an earlier onset of fatigue during practice and matches. This situation can also minimize the benefits of a strength session in the weight room. Reaction times are slower and mistakes are more frequent when athletes eat insufficient carbs to fuel the brain. Finally, low-carb intake for extended periods of time may compromise immune function and mood. On the other hand, consuming too much carbohydrate for dai- ly training isn’t beneficial either, so finding that balance is important.


Are there times when eating less carbohydrate is appropriate? It can be appropriate to train with low carbohydrate stores (for example, training in the morning without any breakfast or minimal carbs at a meal followed by a training session) if performing lower intensity training or striving for certain metabolic adaptations. This is because exercising at lower intensities favors the use of fat as fuel rather than carbs. However, this is not the best fueling approach when an athlete is trying to work at a high level of intensity or is learning a new skill that requires focus and attention.


How much carbohydrate is optimal for volleyball athletes? This question is highly individual and varies based on the training


68 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at usavolleyball.org/mag Carbs for lunch and dinner


• Grains: whole grain or brown rice pasta, brown or wild rice, couscous, quinoa, lentils.


• Breads topped with protein and veggies.


• Veggies can be a great source of carbohydrate in your meals and snacks. Some veggies to consider for higher carbohydrate content include: beets, artichokes, green beans, onions, pumpkin, carrots, tomatoes, asparagus and broccoli. Some veggies with more starch include: white, red, sweet or purple potatoes, corn, butternut squash, artichokes, green beans, pumpkins, broccoli, beets.


Carbs surrounding training


• Sport drinks, sport bars, sport gummies, sport gels: all can be homemade or commercially purchased.


• Fruit: fresh, pureed, leathers, twists.


session that day, which includes the surface (court or sand), pur- pose (skill work versus scrimmage or match), intensity (regeneration day or high intensity), duration (amount of time muscles are contracting) and position (setter versus outside). In addition, an athlete’s muscle mass impacts the amount of glycogen storage capacity. More muscle, more storage. Finally, an athlete’s individual goals dictate carbohydrate needs and


may vary during times of altering body composition. In general, most meals and snacks should contain at least one serving of carbs (e.g. ½ cup oatmeal, one cup milk, one piece of fruit, ½ potato, ½ cup rice or quinoa, one cup sport drink or three sport gummies). For athletes with higher amounts of muscle mass who are training for multiple hours in a day or playing in a tournament, that could equal as much as 25 servings of carbs for the day in their meals, snacks and during training. Keep in mind, carbs contribute to lots of sport and physiological functions. Choose a variety of healthy sources, replace them after a lot of muscle contraction (or hard training sessions) and decrease the amount you eat per day when your daily training is lower or you take the day off.


Shawn Hueglin, PhD, RD, CSSD is a sport dietitian with the


United States Olympic Committee. She works primarily with team sports based in the Los Angeles area and the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista.


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