Off-Season and Mid-Season Nutrition Guidelines

By Georgetown Volleyball Research Team

Hard working athletes need good nourishment. This is because, if they don’t eat properly, they won’t be able to function properly. They always want to do their best at a game. That said, eating well is a prerequisite. In volleyball and most sports, there are two seasons. They are off-season and mid-season. Off-season is while there are no major events going on for the team and they are just training. Mid-season is when all their practice comes to play and they go against other teams.

 

There are many different things you can do during each season. However, in this article you will learn about the nutrition guidelines in both of these seasons and how they differ. You will also learn some terminology. Both these seasons consist of two very different diets so if you want to learn more, continue reading.

Off-Season

Off-season is the time before a major event/ tournament also known as mid-season and also after. After season can also be called postseason,  but since they are practically the same in terms of play time, we will only discuss what the off-season diet should be. In the off-season, you can get the most out of strength training since your skill training is down. Volleyball is a power-strength sport so this is important. Strength training should be at its peak.

Before finding out what your diet should be, you should ask yourself some questions. For example, what are your goals? You can find this out by talking to your volleyball coach, or if you have a strength coach, ask them. You will want to become for knowledgable in your body composition. From your body composition, you or your coach will have a simpler time deciding your nutrition plans.

Body composition is the tissues that make up your body. For example, skin, fat, bones, muscles and organs. Rather than traditional methods, this element of fitness describes your weight and overall health in more detail. An analysis of body composition can show your changes in mass in fat, muscles and more. It also has to do with what you consume. For example the healthy and unhealthy things and you keeping track. You could create a schedule for yourself to see what are the things you should reduce or add more in your diet by checking out Canada’s Food Guide. Having a good body composition allows your body to move more freely, allowing you to burn off more calories. Also, it reduces your chances of getting heart disease, type 2 diabetes and more. To put it simple, you need to find out your calorie levels.

A recommended approach if you are serious about this is something known as recomposition. Recomposition is the process of gaining muscle while losing body fat at the same time. However, you should only do this if you are six to seven pounds within your ideal weight. For example, if you are 192 pounds and need to get to 194 pounds, a recomposition approach would be wise. You will want to have high amounts of protein.

You will want to have 1.4 grams of protein per pound of body weight which is way more than it seems. Don’t overdo yourself. You should start off with small amounts so you can be comfortable with this. Protein has a thermic effect that uses twenty to thirty percent of calories from protein. If you are taking eight-hundred calories of protein, your body is only using about five-hundred to six-hundred. Proteins are a vital part of every body cell building block of all tissues. They help build and maintain tissues such as muscle, bone, connective tissue. Proteins are made from building blocks called amino acids. They should make up 10-15 % of the daily diet. Similarly to carbohydrates, 1 gram of protein = 4 calories of energy. Good examples of protein are as follows: Low fat beef, low fat pork, skinless chicken, all beans, low fat cheese, cod and walnuts, peanuts, pecans, cashews, almonds and peanut butter. Unhealthy examples of protein are as follows: Pork with fat, chicken with skin, ice cream, fried meat, cold cuts.

After your feet are in place, you will want to work your way up on perfecting the stance your upper body is in. Firstly, bend your knees and lean forward. This is so the ball will be aimed at an angle that isn’t too high or low. Similarly, your shoulders should be in front of your body so the ball lands forwards and not upwards. Therefore, you should make sure your shoulders are in front of your knees. Also, your arms should be under your shoulders. Remember to keep your entire body relaxed. If you are too stiff, you won’t be able to move fast.

Mid-Season

Mid season is while you are playing in some sort of tournament or when all your practice comes to play. In this time, some people may get to play more than others. If you are playing more, then you will need more carbohydrates. Carbohydrates also known as carbs are the primary source of energy for all activities.However, before the body can use the carbohydrates it must convert it to glucose. What is glucose?, you may wonder. Glucose is stored in the liver and muscles in the form of glycogen. Carbohydrates should make up 55-60 % of our daily diet. For volleyball, this can change depending per player. For example, if you need to gain some weight, more carbohydrates would be better, but if you need to lose some weight, less is better. This is because, 1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories.

If you are not playing as often, then body composition can be focused on more as opposed to your performance. The two different athletes need two different needs. If you don’t play as much, at least twenty minutes of compound activities should be done. This is because you don’t want to de-condition yourself. You may want to eat more protein. If you reach 1.4 grams, you should go down from there and eat more carbohydrates.

When it is competition day, make sure to eat the same foods you have been eating everyday. This is because, if you eat different foods, you don’t know how your body may react. For example, if you eat white rice and vegetables everyday, on your competition day, don’t eat a bowl of macaroni. You may feel queasy the next day. Similarly to training, if you do four reps of an exercise a day, don’t do four more on the competition day. This is because it will throw off your neuromuscular coordination which may lead to an injury.

Thank you so much for reading this article. We hope that learning these diets according to each season and terminology will help in your volleyball journey. Remember that each part should feel right to you. Best of luck!