Good Sources Of Fat

Salmon
Mackerel
Herring
Anchovies
Sardines
Scallops
Halibut
Fish oil supplements (It's one of the only supplements I use and fully recommend. I explain why here: Fish Oil Supplements.)
Peanuts
Almonds
Walnuts
Cashews
Natural peanut butter
Olive oil (extra-virgin)
Flax seeds
Flax seed oil
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds

Good Sources Of Carbs

Brown Rice
100% whole wheat bread
100% whole wheat bagels
100% whole wheat pita bread
Whole wheat/whole grain pasta
Sweet potatoes
Yams
Oatmeal
Buckwheat
Bulgur
Bran cereals
Garbanzo beans (aka chick peas)
Kidney beans
Black beans
Lentils
Navy beans
Pinto beans
Lima Beans

(Fruits And Vegetables)

Apple
Orange
Plum
Banana
Grapes
Strawberries
Peaches
Pears
Cantaloupe
Pineapple
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Asparagus
Spinach
Lettuce
Romaine lettuce
Avocado
Cucumber
Eggplant
Tomato
Cauliflower
Celery
Turnip
Bok choy
Mushrooms
Peppers
Green peas

Good Sources Of Protein

Chicken (without skin)
Turkey (without skin)
Lean cuts of beef
Lean cuts of pork
Lean cuts of lamb
Lean cuts of veal
Eggs
Egg whites
Tuna fish
Salmon
Shrimp
Lobster
Flounder
Sardines
Snapper
Swordfish
Trout
Crab
Clams
Scallops
Milk (2% or skim)
Cottage cheese (low fat/non fat)
Yogurt (low fat/non fat)
Tofu
Black beans
Garbanzo beans (aka chick peas)
Kidney beans
Lentils
Lima beans
Navy beans
Pinto beans
Miso
Soybeans
Peanuts
Almonds
Cashews
Hazelnuts
Pecans
Pistachio nuts
Natural peanut butter
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Protein powder, protein shakes and protein bars.

Sports Nutrition

There's nothing like the subject of nutrition to stir debate. It seems like the experts change their minds almost daily about what we should and shouldn't eat. In truth, scientific nutrition hasn't changed much at all in the last fifteen years.
It's the constant and never-ending emergence of fad diets and weight loss programs that adds to the confusion. It appears everyone has differing opinions...
Fortunately, scientific sports nutrition is a little less contested. There are some very well-researched, well-practised dietary strategies that have been used by athletes for many years. They are applicable to most sports. In fact, they are more than applicable - they are a pre-requisite to peak performance.

Elements of a Strength Training Program

Hypertrophy
Synonymous with most people's perception of strength training, hypertrophy refers to increased muscle bulk and size. This is only one aspect of a sport-specific strength training program and one that should be included for only a select group of athletes. Football and rugby players require significant bulk to withstand very aggressive body contact. For most athletes however, too much muscle bulk is a hindrance. And remember that a larger muscle is not necessarily a stronger muscle.
Maximal Strength
Maximal strength is the highest level of force an athlete can possibly generate. Its importance will vary between sports but this relates more to the length of the maximal strength training phase than whether it should be included or not (1). The greater an athlete's maximal strength to begin with, the more of it can be converted into sport-specific strength endurance or explosive power.
Maximal strength training can improve exercise economy and endurance performance (2,3). Interestingly, it does not appear to lead to a significant increase in muscle hypertrophy (4).
Explosive Power
Rarely is an athlete required to produce a singular maximal effort in their sport. With the exception of powerlifting, most sports require movements that are much more rapid and demand a higher power output than is generated during maximal lifts (5,6). So while maximal strength training lays an important foundation increasing the potential for additional power development, if there is no conversion of this strength into sport-specific power, the program as a whole is much less effective.
An athlete can be exceptionally strong but lack substantial power due to an inability to contract muscle quickly. Power training is used to improve the rate of force production and a range of methods such as plyometrics can be employed to convert maximal strength into explosive power.
Strength Endurance
Explosive power is not always the predominant goal of the strength training program. For events such as distance running, cycling, swimming and rowing, strength endurance is a major limiting factor. Again, the greater amount of starting maximal strength, the more of it can be maintained for a prolonged period.
Strength endurance can be developed through circuit training or the use of low weights and high repetitions. However, many strength endurance programs are inadequate for endurance-based sports - a set of 15-20 repetitions for example does not condition the neuromuscular system in the same way as a long distance event.
Periodization
The concept of periodization is key to sport-specific strength training. Dividing the overall training plan into succinct phases or periods, each with a specific outcome, allows sport-specific strength to peak at the right times, whilst minimizing the risk of over-training.
It also allows more specific elements of strength to be built on a solid and more general fitness foundation. Athletes cannot progress week-in week-out indefinitely so periodization permits variations in intensity and volume to promote performance enhancements for as long as possible.

Strength training

Strength training is an essential element of fitness for virtually every sports man and woman. Long gone are the days when coaches believed resistance exercises only added unnecessary bulk to the athlete, hindering their ability to execute skill.
The benefits of strength training to athletic performance are enormous and many. Not only is it an integral conditioning component for power athletes such as football and rugby players, performance in the pure endurance events can be improved with a well-structured strength routine.
However, aside from perhaps bodybuilders, sport-specific resistance training requires a more refined approach than simply lifting heavy weights to complete exhaustion. A physiological analysis of any game or event will confirm that most athletes require explosive power, muscular endurance, maximal strength or some combination of all three in order to excel. Rarely is pure muscle bulk the primary concern and when it is, other elements of strength are equally as important.

Abdominal Training

The abdominal training programs and exercises within this section will help you build a powerful, well-defined midsetion.
For Sport:
The type of abdominal exercises you choose and the way you set your training program up will differ depending on your primary goal.
If you want to improve your performance in a sport then you'd choose exercises that allow you perform athletic movements rapidly or with great control (and you'd focus on other core muscles additional to your abs).
One of the most important criteria for an athlete is that the exercises they select mimic the movements of their sport. A golfer, for example, would benefit much more from rotational-type core exercises than crunches.
For Aesthetics (i.e. A Six Pack)
If, on the other hand, you're after that classic 6-pack look, function becomes less important than form. You'd choose exercises and a type of training set up that will best define your rectus abdominus muscle.
There are two common misconceptions when it comes to getting washboard abs...
Firstly, lots of sit ups or crunches alone WON'T tone a flabby belly - or at least not effectively. If you have too much body fat that hides your already-existing abdominal muscles (and everyone, regardless of weight has them), you need to reduce that with an effective fat loss program.
The second misconception is that all you need to do for a 6-pack is reduce your body fat stores. In other words, the above idea that sit ups or crunches alone are ineffective is taken too far by many people - and they don't do any form of abdominal training.
To get that head-turning, Men's Health cover model look you need to do both: reduce your body fat stores AND build up your abdominal muscles.

Types of Flexibility and Stretching

1. Dynamic flexibility -- the ability to perform dynamic movements within the full range of motion in the joint. Common examples include twisting from side to side or kicking an imaginary ball. Dynamic flexibility is generally more sport-specific than other forms of mobility.
2. Static Active flexibility -- this refers to the ability to stretch an antagonist muscle using only the tension in the agonist muscle. An example is holding one leg out in front of you as high as possible. The hamstring (antagonist) is being stretched while the quadriceps and hip flexors (agonists) are holding the leg up.
3. Static Passive flexibility -- the ability to hold a stretch using body weight or some other external force. Using the example above, holding your leg out in font of you and resting it on a chair. The quadriceps are not required to hold the extended position.
A flexibility training program can be made up of different types of stretching:
1. Dynamic stretching

2. Ballistic stretching

3. Static Active stretching

4. Static Passive stretching

5. Isometric stretching

6. PNF stretching

Which type of flexibility training is best?
It depends on the sport and the athlete's outcomes - something which will be examined more closely in the articles below. As a general rule, dynamic stretches are used as part of a warm up and static stretches or PNF flexibility training is used for increasing range of motion.

The Benefits of Flexibility Training

By increasing this joint range of motion, performance may be enhanced and the risk of injury reduced (3,4). The rationale for this is that a limb can move further before an injury occurs.
Tight neck muscles for example, may restrict how far you can turn your head. If, during a tackle, your head is forced beyond this range of movement it places strain on the neck muscles and tendons.
Ironically, static stretching just prior an event may actually be detrimental to performance and offer no protection from injury (5,6). The emphasis is on "may" however, as a closer examination of the scientific literature shows that effects are often minimal and by no means conclusive.
Muscle tightness, which has been associated with an increased risk of muscle tears (7,8), can be reduced before training or competing with dynamic stretching. For this reason many coaches now favor dynamic stretches over static stretches as part of the warm up.
Competitive sport can have quite an unbalancing effect on the body (9,10). Take racket sports for example. The same arm is used to hit thousands of shots over and over again. One side of the body is placed under different types and levels of stress compared to the other. The same is true for sports like soccer and Australian rules football where one kicking foot usually predominates. A flexibility training program can help to correct these disparities preventing chronic, over-use injury.
Of course, a more flexible athlete is a more mobile athlete. It allows enhanced movement around the court or field with greater ease and dexterity. Some other benefits may include an increase in body awareness and a promotion of relaxation in the muscle groups stretched - both of which may have positive implications for skill acquisition and performance.

Flexibility lo-down

Flexibility: training is perhaps the most undervalued component of conditioning. While recent and ongoing debate questions its role in injury prevention, athletes can still gain much from a stretching regime.
From a volleyball spike to a rugby drop kick, flexibility of the bodys muscles and joints play an integral part in many athletic movements.
In general terms, flexibility has been defined as the range of motion about a joint and its surrounding muscles during a passive movement (1,2). Passive in this context simple means no active muscle involvement is required to hold the stretch. Instead gravity or a partner provides the force for the stretch.