How To Perform Your Best, Avoid Injury During Summer Two-A-Day Practices

Long days of practices can be hard on an athlete’s body. Follow these tips from UH sports medicine experts to come out of your training ready to take on the season.

Hydration and Nutrition Rules of Thumb

• Go into each day hydrated: Drink 80 oz. or half of your body weight in ounces (whichever is higher).
• Avoid high-fat and fried foods.
• Fuel your body for intense exercise by pairing a carbohydrate with a protein like the examples below:
  • Whole-grain cereal and low-fat milk or calcium-fortified almond, soy or rice milk
  • Fresh fruit and nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, pecans, cashews)
  • Whole-grain crackers and 2 tablespoons of nut butter
  • Dried fruit and dried coconut, sunflower seeds, sliced almonds
  • Berries and non-fat Greek yogurt
  • Raw vegetables and hummus

Continue your strength training and schedule it to complement each day’s practice.

Warm Up and Cool Down

Teams should always warm up and cool down together but get to practice early to make sure you feel warm before you start. Stay a few minutes late to make sure you recover after each session.

• Before practice, always do an active or dynamic warm up:
  • Foam roll to help relieve soreness and break up lactic acid
  • 8 – 10 moving stretches
  • Work on light standing and running mechanics
• After practice cool-down:
  • Light cardio
  • Gentle static stretching for the muscle groups you used most throughout practice.

Recover

• Sleep is the best thing you can do for recovery. Studies suggest that 9–10 hours of sleep is the best for athletes.
• Have a salty snack and 16 – 20 ounces of water before bed to help with hydration the next day.
• Apply ice or compression to help control inflammation and decrease soreness.

Monitor your weight during two-a-days. If body weight is down two percent or more from the day before, you should not practice.

Avoid sweat-wicking clothing. Sweat naturally cools the body down, and the sweat-absorbing material counters your body’s effort to do this. Wear loose-fitting cotton and the extra hot days.

Notify your athletic trainers about medications you’re taking. Drugs like ADHD medication can affect the body’s metabolism and thermoregulation.

Have a training-related injury or need to see a University Hospitals Sports Medicine specialist?

Make an appointment at a location close to home by calling 216-983-PLAY (7529) or visiting UHSports.org.