Fueling and Maintaining Your “Machine”

Take care of the external “machine”, and work to take care of your “internals” as well.

In order to maintain peak performance you must: properly fuel the machine and properly maintain the machine. What and when you eat, missing nutrients, or lack of rest all affect performance and recovery.

Fuel Your Body with Proper Nutrition – When you have blood work done, and meet with your dietician, you will discover what supplements you will need (if any) and an eating plan.

Maintaining Your Body with Rest and Sleep – Maintenance is part of the fueling process but also consists of Proper sleep which helps with recovery, Proper rest and mediation which helps the the mental state and controlling and recognizing stress which when negative can effect training which will effect performance

To improve your score on this factor, here are some key steps you can take to make progress in this area:

1. Proper sleep is a vital factor in the maintenance of you the machine. Try these:
   a) Going to bed at a ideal time to get the proper sleep you need.
   b) Avoid caffeine before bed time cause it may interfere with proper sleep.
   c) Avoid negative stress before bedtime: this can also interfere with proper sleep.
   d) Learn meditation techniques to slow down a racing mind can also help you to get proper sleep.
2. Sitting down with a nutritionist or registered dietician can help you create a suitable diet that addresses your specific needs. Good nutrition helps you get proper sleep and proper recovery from exercise and playing.
3. When you do an initial physical exam you should have sports panel blood work done. That blood work will show if you have and mineral deficiency that needs to be addressed with MLB approved supplementation.
4. Getting proper rest is different from getting proper sleep. Getting proper rest is taking the time when possible to do nothing. Relax and clear your mind; get a massage read and study your body; get in tune with yourself.