I referee football matches and some weekends can do up to five games on the Saturday and three games on the Sunday.

The first couple of matches are great, but by the end of the day I am knackered and aching.

What can I take that is legal and not really in food form (I tend to throw up if I eat and run) which will help me maintain a high energy level and avoid cramps/muscle stiffness later in the day and next day. I usually drink those Powerade blue things diluted down with water....I can go through three of them a day not including the extra water and they are mainly to keep me hydrated.

Sunday is always the worst day, as my muscles are always aching and stiff from Saturday's games. :(

I have a wedge from my physio which I stand on in order to stretch my calves. I am also recovering from injury so training isn't really happening atm, my fitness level is suffering somewhat.
In the meantime I just want to gain some energy form somewhere and supplements that contain caffiene seem to be a feasible option.
Has anyone tried anything for training and can recommend me using?

Thanks in advance,

Michelle.

[Edited by Little Miss WRX - 20/06/2003 03:21:29]

When I used to compete I would eat a lot of pasta the day before to load up on my carbohydrates.
This gave me energy for the day but I also had "fuel booster" type drinks and water throughout the day of competition.
As for the muscles aching, stretch at the end of the day and between matches but have a good sports massage and see if that helps too.
Just suggestions.

Bananas to you! :p

No really, how about a few bananas and a sports drink like Gatorade.

That's what i used to take on bike rides and i could always force them down even with the worst hangover. :)

Roy.

[Edited by bros2 - 7/2/2003 2:46:23 PM]

'Chelle
Is Ephedrine legal in Aus ?. If it is Ephedrine, but drink loads of isotonic fluids with it.
If not you need to horse a lot of hi impact slow release cards into you, best is bananas, and pre load with pasta or rice the dat before.
As for the cramps and pains, lots of isotonic drinks and anti inflammatories is the best way.

I find the energy bars disgusting and much prefer some flapjack. The ones with Syrup are loaded with Cals for a quick hit.

I remember playing an American Football match one and the St. John's people attending made their own Lucozade Sport / Gatorade type drink from water and some strawberry glucose powder (IIRC). Was lovely stuff.

If you wan a home-made isotonic energy drink I can try and dig out the recipe we used. Was something like orange juice, water and salt.

I'd second the mention of bananas - good stuff.

[Edited by V5 - 20/06/2003 09:56:56]

'chelle,

You need to look at your whole diet, but just a day or two prior to the matches. I would increase your carb intake steadily from the start of the week right up to the Friday night. On the day, I would keep taking an isotonic drink to keep your hydration levels and energy levels constant. Don't worry about how much fluid your taking as you can never overdo this. If I'm on the hills, I usually take 3-4 litres with me to last 8-10hrs. 3 Powerade bottles doesn't sound a lot to me. If your body doesn't need it, you'll just pee a lot more. If you do pee, check it's colour (sorry to get personal), the darker it is the more dehydrated you are.

Sore muscles are usually from overexposure to lactic acid. I get this from long hard runs or hill races. The lactic acid usually overwhelmes the system because your body can't absorb or take in enough oxygen that your muscles are demanding. The muscles need the oxygen to function at their optimum level and flush the lactic acid out of them.

If you're really stiff and sore, then it's your fitness (and more specifically your oxygen uptake - VO2 max) that's holding you back.

The more you referee and the more you train on your fitness, the better your VO2 max will become and you'll start to make more efficient use of oxygen. Then you'll not be as stiff or sore after the matches.

One good training method for increasing your oxygen uptake is too perform some interval sessions. There's two types of exercise aerobic (with oxygen) and anerobic (without oxygen). The first, for example, would be a constant pace, nice and steady run where you're training your cardio system (heart and lungs). The second type is a full-speed 60m sprint where your body can't take in enough oxygen to meet the demand from your body. That's why you physically can't sprint at full pace for a very long time.

If you add some interval seesions, where you work anerobically for a short time, then rest (and repeat this for a set period) you'll get a much better result from just doing steady runs all the time.

Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs here, but I thought I would just share some of the things I've been told over the past couple of years that I've been training.

Stefan

http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/images/icons/icon14.gif to ozzy's post! Well written, chap! :)

you should carbo load approx 3 days in advance. Eat big pasta, potatoe etc meals, low fat. no caffeine at least 3 days in advance also, no booze etc. have a good breakfast b4, cereal, toast, no caffeine again, fruit juice, plenty of water....

I used to compete in triathlon, needless to say I had a very good diet and know what and what not to eat( you learn what your body does and doesnt like :D). If you still feel dead after this then ther are plenty of quickly digestable energy boost products, gels and also drinks. gels are easy to get down your neck quickly.

If you still have probs, then maybe, and Im not being funny here but you should look at how fit you really are? Do you seriously train for this? if not you may find being a little fitter will solve it. - oops sorry just read your'e injured/cant train. hmmm, tough then. I dont recomend caffeine, its a stimulant hit, not good.

[Edited by ADP - 20/06/2003 11:28:46]

Thanks v5.

I've been getting sick of working in IT recently and I find the whole sports science thing very interesting. Interesting enough that I might go back to College/Uni and go for a change of career.

Just to add to ADP's comments; you need to replace lost carbs within a few hours of stopping your exercise but this will probably apply more to your training in between matches.

Stefan

[Edited by ozzy - 20/06/2003 11:39:57]

Maybe try a creatine serum. 5ml 10 minutes before the match.
I find I don't ache so much after the gym (2.5-3 hours daily) if I've had 5ml of serum.
I'll ask in the gym today - I've just hired a Para as a personal trainer! :eek: He might have some tips.

why are you doing so many games? it's seems excessive to me. not having a go but just interested. Are they that short of Refs?

I agree with the earlier post, your doing too much, scale down your workload before you breakdown.

As for Stefans post, well lets just say your wasted in IT.

If Im feeling a bit drained before a workout I take Protein bars, Isotonic drinks, and mars bars believe it or not.

If I havent eaten properly through the day and Ive got a big workout(legs, or back). I find that half an hour or 40 mins through my workout I start feeling weak, and start to shake and tremble.
Not a nice feeling, and it ruins the workout.

Later Yoza

I find that Lucozade sport does the trick well when mountain-biking - half a bottle before a ride, and then plenty more to drink during the ride.

One thing I've been meaning to ask is what are cheaper alternatives? I get 12 bottles of Lucozade Sport from CostCo ;) for about £7, but I begrudge the fact that I'm probably paying about £3 for the water content. ;)

I've looked at some of the powdered energy drinks (SIS, etc), but they seem even more expensive - about £12 for 16 servings or something daft! So what's the best compromise for energy, taste and price, and are there any cheap places to buy the stuff online?

ScoobyWon't,

Tell your para trainer he's a big girls blouse and Marines are the real men ;):D

Hope you like lots of press-ups, burpees and 'b@stards' ;)

Stefan

Wow guys, thank you very much for the responses some good reading there. :D

Just a quick post - we do so many games because of the sheer shortage of referees and the vast amount of games to cover.
I am doing only four games this weekend thank goodness, but I am still recovering from shin splints. :(

Ozzy, you mention lactic acid - I am asthmatic and normally during a match I can suffer quite badly, obviously causing a shortage of oxygen to my muscles. Getting on top of my asthma is one key thing to reducing my muscle ache and also increasing my stamina which I will need to do over a period of time.

I wish I could remember what diet I used to follow when I was weight training seriously back when I was at college. :(

I'll do a more complete post later when I have had time to relax - only got back from the physio an hour or two ago. :)

Michelle. :)

Not so :eek: I read a recent article that drinking too much can wash away or dilute vital minerals and nutrients for the muscles. Apparently the 'drink plenty' type of campaigns at the Olympics, etc are being scrapped and the current advice it to drink enough to keep you well hydrated but not too much :)

If your pee becomes too clear you've got too much water in your system.

If anything I do need to take in more fluids as my pee tends to be not overly dark, but it isn't clear. :)
The problem is, as with eating, I tend to feel nauseaous if I am running with fluid in my stomach.

Quite often, there is no more than five minutes break between matches, sometimes you can be lucky anf grab ten, but rarely. So you are grabbing a drink, swigging as much as you can, then back out on the field again. :(

Just send lots of people off when you get too tired and then abondon the game when there aren't enough players ;)

I never understand why refs run around so much anyway? I mean, what difference does it make where a blind, inattentive idiot is on the pitch - (s)he's still not going to see what's going on. ;) :p

Saxo Boy, nice tactic, but teams grow wise to it and MarkO - look, we have to pretend to know what we are doing and running around helps - even if it is in an aimless chicken fashion. ;)

Kenny,

Not sure about the too much water thing. Like I said, if your body doesn't need the water, it just passes straight through your urinary system and won't be absorbed. The dark colour of urine usually indicates that there's too much minerals in the urine (hence the colour). If you're seriously dehydrated, urine is usually very dark and this indicates muscle proteins are breaking down and being passed - not good as it can cause kidney damage.

Logically, if you kept drinking gallons of the stuff for weeks on end, your urinary system couldn't keep up and it may be absorbed more. Women tend to store more water than men, but you'd have too be drinking extreme levels (and I literally means gallons) to have any ill effects.

'chelle, other than urine colour signs to look out for are light-headedness, headaches, lethargy. It's a personal thing, but I tend to start getting headaches if I'm dehydrated. The peculiar thing with dehydration is you don't actually feel any thirst.

Stefan

'chelle,

make sure you don't eat too much just before you start. It's better just to take very small amounts more regularly than large quantities of food/drink. If you've too much in your stomach all the jiggling around from running will give you that sick feeling; it can also give you a stitch.

I was always told it was better to feel slightly hungry before a race or hard exercise. Even a banana sandwich before a race will make me feel sick for the first 30mins or so and I can guarantee getting a stitch near the end of a race.

If you don't get much of a rest, I'd carry water in a belt (like those designed for runners) or even better invest in a camelbak. Some are designed to fit under tops, so it won't look daft and it means you can take small drinks throughout the day.

How's your training mid-week leading up to the games? are you doing enough?

Stefan

Just passing on what I read, I'm sure there will be more about the research in the coming months :)

Stefan,

I have been slowly building up my training, I have been dogged with injury at the moment, which you can imagine is very frustrating.
I have recently been diagnosed with flat footedness which has been the root of my shin splint and tendonitis issue. I will be seeign a podiatrist soon to get some proper footwear sorted.

Other than that, I need to find a trainer which is suitable for running on hard concrete - can you recommend one? My physio recommends Adidas, but they don't seem to sell well out here in Aus. :confused: I currently have a pair of Nike Air Max which are air cushioned front to rear and quite comfortable. Instead of the normal sole I have a temporary sports sole which is heat moulded to provide support to my arch.
I am aiming to eventually be able to do two to three good runs a week.
Monday to ensure I am not stiff. Tuesday full training run, Wednesday rest and lots of stretches, Thursday a full training run, Friday lots of stretches and a short exercise - Saturday and Sunday obviously games.

I will be getting a bike soon, so I can do some cycling to break up the boring routine of running - personally I hate it, which is why I find it hard to do. I much prefer weight training. ;)

In a word - motivation.

I've tried everything you could imagine, in terms of foods, drinks and other stuff. At the end of the day, it's a 99% mental thing. If you *want* to do a workout or whatever it is, you'll do it well. And vice versa. Mental programming, ie imagining yourself in the gym, lifting more than last week, can really help you focus on the job at hand.

Generally your body will always have enough energy to perform at a high level (except those following this flippin Atkins Schmatkins lark! :rolleyes:), it's just a case of honing in mentally to make it happen, in my opinion and experience.

Oh, and somebody to do it with is invaluable - two people together can achieve *much* more than two individuals on their own. Not to be under-estimated. :)

Avoiding aches etc is really only combatted with stretching and sufficient nutrients in the body. Have you tried Cod Liver Oil capsules? They work well.

[Edited by TelBoy - 20/06/2003 14:09:40]

Telboy, the trouble with refereeing is that you are out there on your own - when you are getting abuse from the sideline, the players are whinging, it is hard to remain motivated. :(

I think the message I need to be listening to is the one of that I am doing too much!!!! I need to listen to my body, there is obviously a damn good reason why I am suffering!

I asked for less games this weekend and my goodness was there some pressure on me - 'oh but we had you down for this and that'.....obviously they don't know what shin splints are. :rolleyes:
Still, I have less games this weekend and they are "easier games" for me.

That answer to that being "I do less games or in two weeks I do no games at all 'cos I can't walk".

Cool. Yup, overtraining is as bad, if not worse, than not doing enough. You *do* have all the classic symptoms it has to be said! Go easy for a while - let your body catch up. Or else you'll begin to resent refereeing, which would be the worst possible outcome...


[Edited by TelBoy - 20/06/2003 14:42:09]