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Factors Related to Performance & Injury That are in Your Control
Eric Belliveau • Dec 12, 2018

If you read my last blog, it covered the factors that are out of your control related to performance and injury (such as travel, stress, sleep, and past injuries). In this blog, I’m going to piggyback off the last blog and talk about factors that you can certainly control, and once those factors are addressed and controlled, it will only positively impact your overall performance and decrease your risk of injury. These controllable factors include Nutrition/Hydration, Mobility/Stability, Body Composition.

Nutrition/Hydration

Proper nutrition and hydration are the key factors that will be the game changer in your performance and everyday lift. Food is what supplies our body with energy and helps the body fully recover. Whatever it is that you do for exercise or sport, it puts stress on the body. Continuing this stressor progressively on the body, the body will adapt and that’s where you see progress in your performance. When performance declines, that is where nutrition and hydration come in.

Training and competitions require a large amount of energy. So, whether you’re a runner, someone who lifts, plays sports, whatever it may be… the more you train, the more stress, fatigue and metabolic waste you will leave accumulating in your body. Fuel source of energy comes from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in the body, these are your macronutrients. If you are not consuming a proper amount of these, depending on what your sport/exercise of choice is, recovery is not possible. When recovery is not possible, performance declines as well as increase injury risk.

...at the end of the day, no matter how many excuses you can come up with, you are in control of what goes in your mouth, how much, and how often.

It is important to know what energy system your sport/exercises lie within. Each energy system relies on a specific fuel source to sustain the level of intensity you need to perform at a peak level. To make this less complicated, just know that strength training and short bursts of intensity relies primarily on carbohydrates for energy. More endurance-based exercises, and long distances consumes mostly fats and carbohydrates. It’s hard for me to tell you right now how much of either you’ll need before competition and after, since it depends on what exactly you’re doing and the intensity of the sport. But know that there is a requirement that you need to be making and there are PLENTY of sources out there (including us coaches at CPC) that you can refer to, to help you find your own specific dietary needs.

Hydration is SO critical in not only performance and recovery, but in every aspect of human function. Water is a building block, a solvent for chemical reactions, and transports materials for nutrients and wastes. Water helps maintain blood volume and circulation, helps regulate body temperature, and is a shock absorber for our joints and brain. During exercise, our body uses up a lot of water, so staying hydrated before, during and after exercises helps the body to maintain its functions. If you are properly hydrated it can reduce fatigue, improves endurance, lowers your max heart rate, as well as reduces muscle soreness. Water has also proven to enhance in weight loss, boost moods, boost cognitive performance, as well as protects against disease. Now how much should you drink? A good number to remember is half your body weight in ounces. For example, if you weigh 160 lbs, you divide 160 by 2 which equals 80. If I know I use a 16-ounce water body every day, I take 80 and divide by 16, it will equal 5. So, I should drink 5, 16-ounce water bottles every day. Make sure you take into consideration how much you’re sweating. If you’re exercising and losing a considerable amount of sweat, you should weigh yourself before exercise and after. For every 1 pound lost, you should drink 16 ounces of water.

This is all in your control to make sure you’re properly consuming the right nutrients and water. It’s pretty cut and dry...at the end of the day, no matter how many excuses you can come up with, you are in control of what goes in your mouth, how much, and how often. There are so many books and articles to be able to refer to for further educating yourself. Properly planning your meals, the week ahead, as well as budgeting your expenses so that finances won’t be negatively impacted. It’s the matter of prioritizing your body and goals.

The Meat Hangover

By Eric Belliveau • 07 Oct, 2020
When it comes to taking meat out of your diet, some people have the idea that they will only see positive changes immediately following this choice. While those positive changes are definitely part of the deal, so is an adjustment period for your body.

We're Trying

By Eric Belliveau • 23 Sep, 2020
We were all thrown on this crazy ride together. Emotions were running high but so were patience, empathy, inclusion, and respect. Most of us could rally behind the #WeAreInThisTogether manta. We wanted to do right by each other - donate to charities, lend a hand, check-in on one another. Do our part. As the days turn to weeks and the weeks into months these dispositions decayed rapidly. I know that this Quarantine order has been going on for a long time. I know that a great number of us do not agree on the why. I know an even greater number of us are “over it”. I am painfully aware of the difference of opinions surrounding the pandemic. It is impossible to NOT be aware of this. This leads us all to frustration, anger, resentment, and the feeling that you are not being heard. Very real and very human emotions! It is okay to feel this way. I am not only writing this from the perspective of a fellow struggling human. I do find myself struggling with everything I mentioned above. Not just daily but multiple times a day. My ability to focus has been challenged by my worry. My ability to create time for myself and focus on self-care has been derailed for fear of other things becoming more pressing. I work on this every day. I am not only writing this from the perspective of one of the business owners who were never given a playbook for this. For weeks on end I thought WTF happened to the business and how would our model need to change and remain viable, how each business owner had to either weather a period in which we were completely shut down or allowed to operate under capacity restrictions, etc. The unknown of what the timeline would bring and whether we would be able to continue our dreams or make an extremely difficult decision of not continuing. This still haunts every one of us daily. I AM very much writing this as a service provider! I am writing this as an impassioned human who genuinely loves what I do for a living. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to have built a career surrounding something I get excited about every day. I am making a stand for all of us that make their living in the service industry. To the receptionist, hostess, waiter, cook, dry cleaner, teacher, technician, barista, utility worker, automobile service technician… It is truly impossible to be inclusive of everyone here.  No one human mentioned above asked for this ‘situation’ we are in. We are sure as hell trying to provide a level of normalcy, service, care, and happiness to the lives in which we choose to serve. With added restrictions, added expense decreased capacity and the fear of being fined or shut down for doing it incorrectly, everyday.

The Meat Hangover

By Eric Belliveau • 07 Oct, 2020
When it comes to taking meat out of your diet, some people have the idea that they will only see positive changes immediately following this choice. While those positive changes are definitely part of the deal, so is an adjustment period for your body.

We're Trying

By Eric Belliveau • 23 Sep, 2020
We were all thrown on this crazy ride together. Emotions were running high but so were patience, empathy, inclusion, and respect. Most of us could rally behind the #WeAreInThisTogether manta. We wanted to do right by each other - donate to charities, lend a hand, check-in on one another. Do our part. As the days turn to weeks and the weeks into months these dispositions decayed rapidly. I know that this Quarantine order has been going on for a long time. I know that a great number of us do not agree on the why. I know an even greater number of us are “over it”. I am painfully aware of the difference of opinions surrounding the pandemic. It is impossible to NOT be aware of this. This leads us all to frustration, anger, resentment, and the feeling that you are not being heard. Very real and very human emotions! It is okay to feel this way. I am not only writing this from the perspective of a fellow struggling human. I do find myself struggling with everything I mentioned above. Not just daily but multiple times a day. My ability to focus has been challenged by my worry. My ability to create time for myself and focus on self-care has been derailed for fear of other things becoming more pressing. I work on this every day. I am not only writing this from the perspective of one of the business owners who were never given a playbook for this. For weeks on end I thought WTF happened to the business and how would our model need to change and remain viable, how each business owner had to either weather a period in which we were completely shut down or allowed to operate under capacity restrictions, etc. The unknown of what the timeline would bring and whether we would be able to continue our dreams or make an extremely difficult decision of not continuing. This still haunts every one of us daily. I AM very much writing this as a service provider! I am writing this as an impassioned human who genuinely loves what I do for a living. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to have built a career surrounding something I get excited about every day. I am making a stand for all of us that make their living in the service industry. To the receptionist, hostess, waiter, cook, dry cleaner, teacher, technician, barista, utility worker, automobile service technician… It is truly impossible to be inclusive of everyone here.  No one human mentioned above asked for this ‘situation’ we are in. We are sure as hell trying to provide a level of normalcy, service, care, and happiness to the lives in which we choose to serve. With added restrictions, added expense decreased capacity and the fear of being fined or shut down for doing it incorrectly, everyday.
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