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Linda Rodriguez's
Training Table
Professional Nutrition Advice for Boxers
Recipe for a world champion:
Discipline & self-respect
Discipline:
1.
Mental self-control used in
directing or changing behavior, learning something, or training for
something. 2.
Training expected to produce
a specific character or pattern of behavior.
It is amazing to me when I see these young,
up-and-coming boxers with some good talent and not enough discipline
to carry them through.
They seem to be only looking for the
“good life” without a clue how to get there -- and, even more, how
to keep their standing.
I’ve been in the boxing world for 10
years now and there are two things, besides talent, you need to be a
world champion.
One is discipline and the other is
self-respect.
If
you want to be successful, you MUST have discipline.
Being involved in this sport for this
long has given me the opportunity to meet some of the nicest boxers
I’ve ever met.
BUT, I’ve also seen some
characteristics in several of them that lead me to write about the
importance of “discipline.”
Many boxers don’t have a lot of education.
They come with a lot of street
experience, but sometimes that street stuff doesn’t fly in a
professional sport like boxing.
Let me be more specific.
On the street, you say whatever it
takes to get what you want.
In the world of boxing, someone at
some point will hold your feet to the fire.
If you’re suppose to run 10 miles and
you stop after 3 or 4 miles because no one is watching, you are not
just cheating yourself, you’re cheating your team.
They depend on you to do what you’re
told. That’s
your job.
That’s also showing no self-respect.
You have a job and it’s up to you to
do the very best you can every single day.
I think you learn that kind of
discipline/behavior as a child.
If you don’t do what you’re supposed
to do, it’s only a matter of time before it’s going to show in the
ring.
Self-discipline is a very mature
quality.
Everybody on the team wins when the
boxer does what he’s supposed to.
As a boxer, you should believe in your
trainer/coach, therefore following his instructions.
He shouldn’t have to be on your case
all the time to do the expected.
If you don’t have that faith in your
trainer/coach, you should find someone you believe in.
It’s that simple.
Discipline carries over to how you should be
eating. You
CANNOT gain a lot of weight between fights and expect to be at your
best. When you come down to your fighting weight, you may lose some
muscle, strength, and stamina.
Then,
everybody loses.
No one ever said boxing is an easy sport.
It takes a lifestyle, a team, a lot of
support and self-respect.
You never want to get in the ring with
less than 100% effort in your training.
You want to get in there and give it
your “all.”
Now, I get to brag a little.
The one thing I love about being a
member of Garcia Boxing is that we are the “whole package.”
We’ve got the best training and
support in the world:
Max Garcia, Dean Familton, and Sam
Garcia, trainers; Kathy Garcia, manager; and Linda Rodriguez,
Nutritionist.
What a team this is!
We’re all
looking ahead to January 30 at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas to watch our
boy “Eloy (the Prince) Perez” get his 16th win and
impress the hell out of all you boxing fans.
He’s recently been ranked number 7
within the WBO.
Watch out for this kid!
You’ll be hearing a lot more about him
next year.
Boxing
is a lifestyle
Good
judgment, planning crucial for boxers
-
Vernon Forrest — a classy guy, a great boxer
— gone!
The boxing world was saddened to hear
the passing of Vernon Forrest.
Killing
him was a stupid act.
Let’s
hope they catch the fool that shot him and have the law deal with
him.
I know this was something that just
happened, through no fault of Mr. Forrest.
It does say something about our
society.
For some people, if they want
something, they just take it.
THIS IS JUST WRONG!
Then, there’s Arturo Gatti, dead with his
wife as the number one suspect.
He met her when she was a stripper.
They
had a tumultuous relationship were extremely jealous of each other
and had outrageous tempers.
I met Mr. Gatti in 2001 at Madison
Square Garden and was a big fan of his.
And lesser known, a bodybuilder named Denis
Sarychev, 25 years old, died after trying to make weight for a
contest.
Too much protein and not enough water.
It killed his kidneys.
TOO
BAD!!!
There really is nothing connecting these men,
except they were athletes, and athletes absolutely have to be very
careful what they do inside and outside of the ring.
If they’re not, it can cause their
demise.
If you’re a boxer good judgment and planning
in your life beyond boxing is extremely important.
GARCIA BOXING, (Salinas, California),
incorporates teaching their boxers how to manage money, and how to
behave in and out of the ring.
We had a boxer several years ago who
did not even know how to order food in a restaurant.
He was unable to maneuver through
life.
Some parents don’t do their job.
They don’t get their children ready
for life.
Some of those kids grow up feeling
“less than,” and end up in boxing, not knowing who to trust or who
to believe.
All they want to do is make big money.
They have no idea how to do it and how
to keep it.
They think they can party big time and
be the “big honcho” at parties.
They love the celebrity life and don’t
know how to take care of themselves.
They are tipping the scale.
We, at GARCIA BOXING teach these individuals
to be functioning citizens of their community and this country.
Our boxers go into the school systems
and tell the kids to stay in school, stay out of gangs, do their
homework, and to mind their parents.
We really do have to work together.
And if kids want to look up to
someone, that someone had better be telling them the right things.
That’s what GARCIA BOXING is all
about.
Aside from eating properly and drinking
enough fluids, taking care of your body, mind and spirit is all part
of the package.
You can’t eat junk food and expect
your body to perform the way you want it to.
You can’t get 5-6 hours of sleep and
expect your body to react the way you want it to.
This is a very trying sport.
In order to last in the boxing world,
you have to take care of yourself.
You’ve got to line yourself up with good
people.
There are some wonderful people in
boxing. I’m
proud to say that some of the nicest, kindest, most polite people
I’ve met in my life have been people in boxing.
So, my message to you is to box your heart out, take good care of
yourself, and have a plan for you and your family after your boxing
days are over.
Don’t forget to take care of all your aches
and pains and inflammation to prevent problems in your future.
My tip for you this blog is how L-Carnitine
can help you.
Some of the benefits of this amino
acid are:
•
increase in fat burning
•
increase in energy levels
•
lowering of cholesterol & triglycerides
•
promotes health
•
increases more energy to exercise
•
speeds up recovery time
•
increases endurance & performance
•
reduces food cravings
•
promotes healthy circulation
•
and very importantly promotes liver health
The proper dosage of L-Carnitine for 130 lbs. would be 2000 mg.
twice daily; for 150 lbs, take 2500 mg twice daily; for 170 lbs,
take 3000 twice daily; and for anyone at 190 lbs or above, you can
take 4000 mg. twice daily.
L-Carnitine should be taken on an empty stomach.
That means as soon as you wake up ½ hour before breakfast and
then again about 45 minutes to an hour before lunch.
Do not take L-Carnitine after
3:00 p.m.
as it will probably keep you awake.
Make sure you get L-Carnitine without anything else in it.
Stay tuned for more info in my next blog.
Linda Rodriguez of Functional NUTRITION has been in private
practice in Carmel, California for 15 years. She is available for
private consultations and for speaking engagements throughout the
country. For more information on this and other subjects please
visit her website at
www.functionalnutrition.com.
-
Truths about your
body and your diet
-
To
be a champion, or a contender, or
any other kind of successful boxer, you must live, eat and drink for good health.
This applies to most people, but to boxers especially. Boxers are supreme
athletes -- or should be, anyway. They work and train hard, and need to feed their
bodies the foods that will support that training.
The
motion of boxing can be very explosive, and boxers require a solid aerobic base
to perform over the entire duration of a bout. If you’re a boxer,
this is why it’s so important to feed your body the proper nutrients. This way
your body will be there for you when you need it.
You
need to drink copious amounts of water. Hydration is extremely important for
all bodily functions. Your footwork and punches will
be easier to execute and you’ll feel more fluidity in your movements.
Some
boxers may use extensive dehydration to lower body weight prior to competition.
This is just plain dumb. Excessive dehydration can adversely affect performance
and increase the risk of heat stress.
Effects of dehydration on a boxer’s performance depends on the fitness level of
the athlete, and it’s only a matter of time before the body will stop performing
for you without the right amount of fluids. You can’t fool Mother Nature, at
least for any length of time.
All food eaten
should be for performance. That means good amounts of protein, carbs, fats and
fiber. You should have about .8 grams of protein for every pound of muscle you
have. If you don’t know how much muscle you have, find out. Any personal
trainer worth his beans should know how to find out what your muscle mass is.
You also need lots and lots of vegetables. You get so many fantastic nutrients
from vegetables. Dark leafy green, and all colorful vegetables keep you healthy
and at the top of your game. You should have vegetables every single day. And
they should be steamed, sautéed, roasted, grilled or eaten raw. You get no
nutritional value in canned vegetables, so stay away from those. Frozen is okay
as long as there is no cream or other sauce involved. A small amount of a whole
grain is ideal while you’re in training. You’ll get plenty of fiber from the
vegetables and whole grain. Whole grains include brown rice, millet, quinoa,
etc.
As far as the
fats, the best way to assure you’re getting good fats is to eat lean proteins,
and to supplement with Omega-3’s—that’s fish oil. Make sure you get it at a
health food store, because many times the fish oil is contaminated with mercury
and other harmful toxins. Purchased at a health food store, they’ll keep you
safer from those harmful toxins.
Almost as
important as eating the right things is what to stay away from. Never, never,
never, and I mean never eat:
-
All sodas, regular
or diet
-
Fast foods
-
Fried foods
-
High fructose corn
syrup (look at ingredients of all food)
-
Sugar, sweets,
desserts
-
Trans fats
(hydrogenated fats/oils) (look at ingredients of all food)
-
Processed foods
-
Splenda, Nutri-Sweet,
Equal
They just do you no
good and are harmful as well. You don’t want to
get in the ring and have a doubt that you didn’t do every single thing possible
to get you to your peak performance. You should step into the ring with
confidence, knowing that you are at your peak.
Sleep is most
valuable when you are beating your body up every day. You need 7-8 hours of
sleep every night. This is absolutely necessary. Your own human growth hormone
is released after about 2 hours of good deep sleep. It travels throughout your
body healing and repairing all the damage that has been done to it in the last
24 hours. If you don’t get the right amount of sleep, you are not able to
repair and you are always playing catch-up. This is not good! To help with
your own human growth hormone, you supplement with L-Glutamine. This amino acid
can be used for several things depending on how and when you take it. To assist
with your human growth hormone, take 2-3 grams just before bedtime. You might
even feel more energy in the morning.
Being the
nutritionist for Garcia Boxing for the last 8 years has been a great experience
for me. We’ve had our highs and lows with our boxers, but we know that we have
done every thing possible for them to get them to be world class boxers. Our
next fight is March 7, 2009 at HP Pavillion in San Jose. We will have our
shining example of a boxer, Eloy Perez, fighting that night on the undercard of
World Featherweight Champion, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero. I have no doubt that
Eloy will continue to show the world what we’re all about. Go ELOY!!
Linda
Rodriguez of Functional Nutrition has been in private practice in Carmel,
California for 15 years. She is available for speaking engagements throughout
the country. For more information on this and other subjects please visit her
website at
www.functionalnutrition.com
-
Truths about your
body and your diet
-
by
LINDA RODRIGUEZ
-
-
To
be a champion, or a contender, or
any other kind of successful boxer, you must live, eat and drink for good health.
This applies to most people, but to boxers especially. Boxers are supreme
athletes -- or should be, anyway. They work and train hard, and need to feed their
bodies the foods that will support that training.
The
motion of boxing can be very explosive, and boxers require a solid aerobic base
to perform over the entire duration of a bout. If you’re a boxer,
this is why it’s so important to feed your body the proper nutrients. This way
your body will be there for you when you need it.
You
need to drink copious amounts of water. Hydration is extremely important for
all bodily functions. Your footwork and punches will
be easier to execute and you’ll feel more fluidity in your movements.
Some
boxers may use extensive dehydration to lower body weight prior to competition.
This is just plain dumb. Excessive dehydration can adversely affect performance
and increase the risk of heat stress.
Effects of dehydration on a boxer’s performance depends on the fitness level of
the athlete, and it’s only a matter of time before the body will stop performing
for you without the right amount of fluids. You can’t fool Mother Nature, at
least for any length of time.
All food eaten
should be for performance. That means good amounts of protein, carbs, fats and
fiber. You should have about .8 grams of protein for every pound of muscle you
have. If you don’t know how much muscle you have, find out. Any personal
trainer worth his beans should know how to find out what your muscle mass is.
You also need lots and lots of vegetables. You get so many fantastic nutrients
from vegetables. Dark leafy green, and all colorful vegetables keep you healthy
and at the top of your game. You should have vegetables every single day. And
they should be steamed, sautéed, roasted, grilled or eaten raw. You get no
nutritional value in canned vegetables, so stay away from those. Frozen is okay
as long as there is no cream or other sauce involved. A small amount of a whole
grain is ideal while you’re in training. You’ll get plenty of fiber from the
vegetables and whole grain. Whole grains include brown rice, millet, quinoa,
etc.
As far as the
fats, the best way to assure you’re getting good fats is to eat lean proteins,
and to supplement with Omega-3’s—that’s fish oil. Make sure you get it at a
health food store, because many times the fish oil is contaminated with mercury
and other harmful toxins. Purchased at a health food store, they’ll keep you
safer from those harmful toxins.
Almost as
important as eating the right things is what to stay away from. Never, never,
never, and I mean never eat:
-
-
All sodas, regular
or diet
-
Fast foods
-
Fried foods
-
High fructose corn
syrup (look at ingredients of all food)
-
Sugar, sweets,
desserts
-
Trans fats
(hydrogenated fats/oils) (look at ingredients of all food)
-
Processed foods
-
Splenda, Nutri-Sweet,
Equal
They just do you no
good and are harmful as well. You don’t want to
get in the ring and have a doubt that you didn’t do every single thing possible
to get you to your peak performance. You should step into the ring with
confidence, knowing that you are at your peak.
Sleep is most
valuable when you are beating your body up every day. You need 7-8 hours of
sleep every night. This is absolutely necessary. Your own human growth hormone
is released after about 2 hours of good deep sleep. It travels throughout your
body healing and repairing all the damage that has been done to it in the last
24 hours. If you don’t get the right amount of sleep, you are not able to
repair and you are always playing catch-up. This is not good! To help with
your own human growth hormone, you supplement with L-Glutamine. This amino acid
can be used for several things depending on how and when you take it. To assist
with your human growth hormone, take 2-3 grams just before bedtime. You might
even feel more energy in the morning.
Being the
nutritionist for Garcia Boxing for the last 8 years has been a great experience
for me. We’ve had our highs and lows with our boxers, but we know that we have
done every thing possible for them to get them to be world class boxers. Our
next fight is March 7, 2009 at HP Pavillion in San Jose. We will have our
shining example of a boxer, Eloy Perez, fighting that night on the undercard of
World Featherweight Champion, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero. I have no doubt that
Eloy will continue to show the world what we’re all about. Go ELOY!!
Linda
Rodriguez of Functional Nutrition has been in private practice in Carmel,
California for 15 years. She is available for speaking engagements throughout
the country. For more information on this and other subjects please visit her
website at
www.functionalnutrition.com
-
Live like a champ
if you plan to become one
-
If you consider yourself a serious boxer with the goal of a good
career, good money and possibly a world championship, then you had
better develop a lifestyle of a champ. A solid champion doesn¹t go
up and down with his weight or deprive himself/herself of fluids
just to make weight. If you do that, don¹t expect your body to
perform the way you want it to in the ring.Your body might comply
when you're young, but don¹t count on it to continue for very long.
Your body needs specific nutrients to perform. The human body loves
routine. It likes to get up at the same time and go bed at the same
time every day. It works best with good, wholesome meals. Just
because you¹ve trained for three months for a fight, that doesn't
mean that you can go hog-wild with your eating and partying
afterward. That's going to catch up with you real soon, no matter
what your age. And the worst part
is, if word gets around that you don¹t have good habits, your
credibility goes downhill real fast. No one will want to take you
seriously. It happens all the time.
A sterling example is "Sugar" Shane Mosley. He stays in shape all
the time because (1) he is an athlete, (2) he is a competitor, and
(3) he loves staying in shape. He¹s active all the time and he
enjoys all sports. He is what you call a "natural athlete." Both his
mom and dad are "natural athletes" (Clemmy was a swimmer, Jack was a
gymnast and amateur boxer) and he is making good use of his genes.
Boxers who walk around more than 15 pounds over their fight weight
are considered yo-yo dieters. This is extremely hard on the heart.
If they continue this way of life, the older they get, the harder it
will be for them to drop weight. They will have to go to extreme
measures to get the weight off -- and there will be consequences to
their health.
To stay close to your fight weight and get the most from your body,
you need to treat it really good. We all know you beat up your body
in the gym. So, lets take really good care of it.
-
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What does that mean?
-
Little or no alcohol
No smoking ... anything
No processed foods or fast foods
Regular sleep of 7-8 hours every night
No sodas
Coffee or tea with caffeine in moderation only
Encourage family and friends to become a part of your new lifestyle
Don¹t be macho, if something hurts, get it looked at by a medical
doctor
Inflammation is a big part of boxing. You are always getting
bruises, sore muscles, and headshots. I always protect my boxers
with an anti-inflammatory called Wobenzyme. This German
preparation of several enzymes actually eats up inflammation without
any side effects, which you get with Advil, Motrin and the other
over-the-counter remedies.
Wobenzyme helps break down proteins in the blood that cause
an inflammatory process without letting it get out of control.
Enzyme mixtures work by hindering or mitigating excessive
inflammatory reactions.
They have been shown to do the following things:
° Breakdown proteins in the blood that cause inflammation by
facilitating their removal via the blood steam and lymphatic system.
° Remove ³fibrin², the clotting material that prolongs
inflammation.
° Clear up edema (excess water) in the areas of inflammation.
° Counteract chronic, recurrent inflammation, a primary cause of
chronic degenerative joint disease.
This way athletes can train harder, longer and with fewer injuries.
When they are injured, they get back into the action faster.
Wobenzyme can be expensive, so the best place to purchase it
would be at www.vitacost.com. You can get a bottle of 800 for $89.
That¹s pretty inexpensive, considering some health food stores sell
a bottle of 100 for $50. And like I said, they have many studies on
this product, and final results is that there are no side effects.
If you¹re sparring or if you get cut, bruised, or twist your ankle,
take three tablets twice daily, about 1 hour before food.
In my future blogs, I will get into more detailed information on
nutrition, so stay tuned.
..................................................................................................................
Linda Rodriguez of Functional Nutrition has been in private
practice in
Carmel, California for 15 years. She is available for speaking
engagements
throughout the country.
For more information on this and other subjects please visit her
website at
www.functionalnutrition.com
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