|
(Belated)
Happy New Year and a fit 2002 to you all!
Here’s
hoping that you all got over-indulgence done with during
the holidays. I thought I’d pass on a few fitness tips
that I gleaned from various rugby magazines and websites
to help everyone arrive in peak condition for the spring
season. I hope they provide useful.
This
isn’t a “cure all” and requires a lot of
effort/will-power on your part. However it is a starting
point and hopefully will point you in the right
direction. However you should know 4 members of the
Society have lost over 100 pounds between them since the
Fall and they look and feel better for it.
And they are looking forward to performing better
on the field too!
Note:
If you want to progress as a referee and improve your
performance you should make time for improving your
fitness. However ALWAYS consult a fitness
expert/physician before undertaking strenuous exercise
or radical dieting, especially if you have had a history
of previous health issues.
- Conditioning
If you
have the time, you need 2-3 sessions of aerobic activity
a week (excluding your weekend game) of 45-60 minutes
each, including 10 minutes warm-up/warm down. Intensity
should match the games you are doing, but a good rule of
thumb is to be exercising at 75-85% of your maximum
heart rate.
Note: to calculate MHR: 220 - age; then multiply by 0.85
to get to the 85% level.
There
is a difference between reffing to stay fit and being
fit enough to referee well.
Bear in
mind that 2-3 sessions is the minimum you would need to
maintain enough fitness to do a good job on the pitch.
If you aspire to improve your game, then you
should do 3-4 sessions in addition to your Saturday
match. A
portion of one of these sessions should, if possible, be
devoted to anaerobic training.
While aerobic training will give you the ability
to function for an extended period, Anaerobic training
works on your ability to handle intensive activity in
short bursts. In
layman’s terms, anaerobic activity = sprinting,
aerobic activity = jogging
Good
forms of aerobic activity can include all or one of the
following: running, cycling, running on an elliptical
trainer. Anaerobic
activity is sprinting and should include a mix of long
(60+ yds), medium (20-50 yds) and short (0-20 yds)
distances. A
good basic sprint program is a set of 6X20, 4X35, 2X50.
You sprint 20, then walk back and sprint again.
To add some aerobic elements, work up to
sprinting one way and jogging back to the start.
You will double the distance you cover and will
be able to eat an extra donut…
There
are other physical activities that can supplement your
training and are great for fitness.
These are swimming, playing a sport like soccer
or basketball, rowing.
Mixing these activities on days when you are not
doing aerobic work can only help and help with variety
(= fun!)
If you
can’t get time for all of this (is 3 hours a week that
big a deal?), any exercise to raise your heart rate for
15-20 minutes each day is beneficial (use the
stairs/walk instead of drive etc). Exercising early in
the morning has (allegedly) better fat burning results,
but beware of not warming up/down and stretching
properly. You shouldn’t be having strenuous sessions
less than 2 days before a game.
- Diet
You
should be trying to exclude alcohol, fats and sugar from
your diet and include fresh fruit/vegetables; whole-meal
cereals/pasta/rice (complex carbohydrates); low fat
protein (chicken/white fish/soya/tofu); low fat cheese.
In case
you didn’t notice this includes most
“natural”/home-cooked foods, but excludes many
processed foods.
Here is
a table of some common good/bad/indifferent foods to
include in your diet – unfortunately it completely
blows out of the water our modern day diet!!!!
|
Food
type
|
Good
or bad
|
Comment
|
|
Pizza
|
Bad
|
Cut
out the cheese (high fat)
|
|
Coke/Pepsi
etc/Sodas in general
|
Bad
|
Too
much sugar, and caffeine is a diuretic
|
|
Alcohol
|
Bad
|
Dehydrates,
high calorie. Numbs the brain!
|
|
Burgers
|
Bad
|
Too
much fat; low nutritional value, except for
carbohydrate
|
|
Hotdogs
|
Bad
|
Do
you really want to know what goes into
hotdogs……
|
|
Water
|
Excellent
|
At
least 4-5 pints a day, more if you exercise,
drink tea/coffee or alcohol. (Gatorade is great
too)
|
|
Fruit
juice
|
Good
|
Unsweetened.
|
|
Milk
|
Good
|
So
long as you use a reduced fat variety (2%)
|
|
Cereals
|
Good
|
Unsweetened,
whole cereals
|
|
Vegetables
|
Good
|
Leafy
green types preferable, but don’t neglect root
vegetables
|
|
Fruit
|
Good
|
Plenty
of citrus and other fruits. Bananas are
excellent too
|
|
Coke
(Diet)
|
So
so
|
Better
than regular, but you’d be better off with
water or fruit juice
|
|
Chicken/white
meat/white fish
|
Good
|
Not
the chicken skins. Discard any other fatty
elements. Don’t neglect protein in favor of
carbohydrates if you are trying to build some
muscle.
|
|
Bagels
|
Good
|
Complex
carbohydrate. Not bad!
|
|
Salads
|
Good,
but…
|
The
basic green leafy stuff is OK, but watch what
you put on it.
Too much high fat dressing and things
like croutons and bacon bits are like putting
cookies in your gas tank.
|
|
Pasta
|
Good,
but…
|
Good
if served with basic red sauce, but not so good
if served with lots of high fat meat (beef,
sausage, etc.).
Creamy sauces (alfredo) aren’t too good
either.
|
|
Fries
|
So
so
|
Depends
on how they’ve been processed ie fat content.
Generally they fall into the high fat category
and should be avoided.
|
|
Eggs
|
OK
|
Unless
you’re cholesterol vulnerable, they’re a
good source of protein.
|
|
Soya/tofu
|
Good
|
Good
source of non-animal protein
|
|
Chocolate
|
Definite
no, but…….
|
Unless
you’re consoling yourself with comfort food
after a bad game. But extremely beneficial if
given to the wife, consort, or significant other
for missing another Saturday to referee J
|
Rugby
Referee Society of New York
- Match
day routine.
Have a
light meal several hours before the game. Make sure
warm-up/warm-down and stretching routines are adhered
to. Continue hydrating using water/Gatorade up
to/half-time/after the game, but especially after and
when it is very hot. Avoid alcohol for 1-2 hours after
the game and ensure you “carbo-load” straight away
(some bananas/energy bars etc within 45 minutes of the
final whistle).
The day
after a game is a good rest day (for a few treats and
time off your exercising), but light exercise to loosen
up after a strenuous match is not a bad idea.
Never,
ever train on an injury!
Good luck!
|
