So you're now a roller girl: you've got the scuffed skates and stinky pads to prove it. You explain to anyone that'll listen that roller derby is really a sport; you tell them about all the grueling practices, the hard hits, the injuries. But there's more to being a roller girl than coming to practice and having a great bout-fit. Roller derby is a sport, which makes you an athlete. It's time to start acting like one!

Every engine needs good fuel
Yeah, I know this isn't new to you. If that's the case, why aren't you doing it?!? Your body uses up a lot of energy for roller derby, and like a high end car engine you need high end fuel to keep going.

There's a ton of information online on how to eat 'right', so I'm not going to bore you with that. Instead, I'll tell you what works for me: eat as many different foods and as many different colors as possible in a given meal. No, Fruit Loops don't count... Think of a salad bar, and getting as many different colors in your salad as possible (light green lettuce, dark green spinach, red tomatoes, purple cabbage, white cauliflower, beige garbonzo beans, a little orange cheese, etc.). If you're eating dinner and notice your plate is full of nothing but brown and beige, you're doing it wrong =)

Long story short: your body needs a little bit of everything to run properly. Carbs, protein, and fat all have their place in an athlete's diet and should be eaten together. If you're a vegetarian or vegan it can be harder to get enough protein and iron in your diet, so you might want to check out this article on Nutrition Tips for Vegetarian Athletes.

It's not just what you eat, it's when you eat it
The human body reacts to exercise in specific ways and eating the right foods at the right times will help your body perform better and recover faster.

The full meal you have before a workout should be balanced and include easily digestable complex carbohydrates. For me, this applies to the lunch I eat before an evening practice; if I skate on a stomach full of dinner I feel sluggish at best, and the urge to hurl at worst... Only you know what 'easily digestable' means for your body so you might have to experiment to find out.

Shortly before your workout, eat a small snack with some water (more on water below!). Trail mix, a piece of fruit, half an energy bar, something with some simple carbs that's not a candy bar. This will keep your tummy from feeling all growly and empty when you practice and the simple carbs are quickly digested. This is the food that gets you through warm-ups; the meal you ate earlier in the day is what gets you through endurance...

Perhaps the most important thing is what you eat after your workout. That's right: you need to eat a little somethin' somethin' after you get your skate on! There's a method to this madness, trust me. That two hour practice takes a lot out of your body: endurance training depletes the glycogen stores in your muscles and strength training causes miniscule tears in your muscles that have to be repaired (it's this muscle repair that causes your muscles to grow and get stronger). Your body needs some carbs and protein in order to start repairing itself, and studies show that athletes who eat a combination of carbs and protein after a workout can have up to twice the stored glycogen in their muscles than those who eat just carbohydrates. The current recommendation is to eat a small snack or meal within 2 hours of your workout where the ratio of carbs to protein is 4:1. Snack ideas include chocolate milk, yogurt, and fruit or crackers with peanut butter or cheese.

Drink water, all day, every day
The water in your bottle at practice isn't enough, your body needs water in its system before you even start your workout. Water is what keeps your body running: it transports nutrients, allows your cells to flush toxins better, cushions your joints, and more. Being dehydrated makes your heart work harder which means endurance training is harder. It also means your cells can't flush out toxins efficiently so you'll have cramps and soreness faster than normal.

The amount of water you need varies: your needs are probably going to be a little different than the person next to you so I can't really say "drink X many ounces a day". Helpful, right? Don't worry, my high school soccer coach has you covered: his advice was to drink as much water as it takes to make your pee almost clear. Yes, you heard me: look at your pee in the toilet. If the water in the bowl is anything more than faint yellow, you're not drinking enough water.

Practice isn't enough
Like it or not, the time you spend in the rink at practice isn't enough to keep you fit enough (or safe enough!) for roller derby. Athletes of every variety train outside of their normal practices in order to keep themselves strong and flexible. Doing this means practice can be used more efficiently for sport specific skills rather than general fitness.

The easy way to add extra training to your schedule is to pick three non-practice days during the week and assign a day for strength, endurance, and flexibility training; 30-60 minutes each day (including a warm up, stretch, and cool down). If you're pinched for time or need to ramp up to adding this much more physical activity, pick the area you need the most work in and add that day first.

There are some important things to take into consideration when you become this active. First of all: your body requires rest in order to repair and replenish its reserves. If you practice two times a week and exercise on your own three times a week, this leaves you with two days to rest your body. Consider scheduling your rest for the days before or after derby practice; which one works best will depend on your body. These rest days give your muscles time to repair and grow and your glycogen stores to normalize. Not to mention it gives those derby bumps and bruises some time to heal ;)

Another thing to remember: flexibility training is not the same thing as the streching you do before exercising. We all know that you should warm up a bit and stretch before exercising, right?!? Flexibility training is different, you hold the stretch about 30 seconds and repeat the same stretch 2-3 times before moving to a new one. Increasing your flexibility helps keep your muscles lean, but more importantly it can increase your range of motion which makes you less prone to injury if you fall awkwardly. You know best what your flexibility weak spots are (mine are groins and hamstrings), but if you're looking for more information and suggested stretches this guide for soccer flexibility training should be helpful.

And last but not least is strength training. Don't assume you have to hit the gym or own weights: all those exercises we do at practice (situps, pushups, planks, squats, etc.) strengthen specific muscle groups. Plyometrics are another type of strength training you can do without any special equipment. Best of all, they can help with your speed, balance, and agility in addition to your strength. There are a lot of resources on plyometrics online, including this one from Netfit that has suggested exercises for both beginners and conditioned athletes.
 
 

 
 
We have a new Facebook Fan Page and all the cool kids are 'Faning' us. Don't get left behind!

Join us here: http://bit.ly/5aI57V
 
Talking Big. 12/31/2009
 
Welcome to the new website, featuring our first blog.
OUR FIRST BLOG!
Woot Woot!

The purpose of this blog will be to share a little more information on our skaters, our events and whatever we want to throw at ya.

For example: you've been to the bouts. You sat in the audience jawin' it up with your friends. Talkin' big about how "I could do that." OH REALLY? Well, miss fancy pants we're throwin' down the gauntlet. To all the ladies who think they have what it takes to be a Derby Dame, we have two words, BRING IT! Bring your pretty little 'selves down to Skateland and strap on a pair of skates. Action is where courage lies, words are for the weak.

About now a little bit of rational fear may be setting in as you contemplate showing up at an upcoming practice. That's cool, but come. Come try it. No contact (which means massive hits) until you commit to the team and pass your assessments.  So do yourself a favor, back up those big words with action. It'll be one of the greatest decisions you've ever made!

See you at practice!

For more info, check out the flyer on our Facebook Page.
http://bit.ly/4XEAeR