Game Day Nutrition for Athletes

Today I just did a training for the top 30 basketball players here in Michigan. We broke down my Clutch Day protocol, learning what to be eating on game days, tournament days, camp showcases. It's going to help you feel good, play better so that you can actually become the player you want to be and have all of the hard work pay off on these clutch days. So there's one goal that I have for you guys today. I'm not going to do like some health class stuff. I'm not going to do food pyramid crap. Like, one goal is I want to help you guys play better. Who here, who here wants to play college ball? Who here wants to play in the NBA? So we want to play better. Yeah, that's the only way we're going to get to college ball or NBA. Who here has offers already? Who here is in talks and hoping to get offers soon? Right. We got to play better if we're going to do that. And there's different ways that we have to do that. Okay. So I want you to think of your career like this. So Xavier's already told me about, like, the type of players you all are. And so I think of it like this. Okay, so this is who you were. These are the kids who didn't get invited to this camp. Kind of sad, right? Like, they're not as good as you are. This is where you are. You're good. You got invited to Xavier Tillman Elite Camp. Like, that's amazing. But this is who the version of you and who you want to be as a player. This is the one who gets the scholarship, the one who gets drafted one day, the one who has longevity that Xavier's talking to you guys about. This is the one that has all of your dreams and your goals. But we're right here, so we got to figure out how to level that up. But first, what has gotten you from where you were, or maybe less good players, to where you are now? I want you guys to just start throwing them out, list them out. What's gotten you there? What have you— what work have you already put in? What's the separators? Consistency. Okay. Who's lifting? Okay. Who's going to camps? Y'all are here, right? I saw a lot of you doing rolling out and recovering. We doing recovery. We focusing on that. What am I missing, guys? If a little 8-year-old came to you and said, how do I be as good as you one day? What would you say? Working out, getting shots up, handles. Cool. So this is what has gotten you this far. What do we think is going to get us there? What's going to get us to the NBA? What's going to get us to Division I scholarships? What do we think? What's missing? I'll give you a huge one. The first step is going to be this nutrition. Okay, that's the next step to help you play better and to help you get this dream up here. Okay, so Xavier— I'm from Utah, guys. He flew me out here just to spend this 30 minutes with you because he believes that this is such a game changer in your game. Like, this is what he wants to give you guys. To get you to where you want to be, which is really frickin' cool. Because the thing is, is Xavier's telling me he was— he was your guys' age like 10 years ago. He's like, I'm breaking habits that I made when I was 16. He's now in the pros and he's like, oh, now I got to figure this out. So we don't want to make it so you have to backtrack and be like, oh frick, I got to break habits now. We want to just create the healthy habits now that are going to actually help you play good and help you get to the goals you want to get to. Raise your hand if we want that. Yeah, cool. So the way we're going to do that, number one, guys, food is fuel. Okay? That's all I got to think. You put crap in, you get crap out. And a lot of athletes say, well, yeah, I'm playing fine though. Like, I'm dominating. Like, I, I'm the best in my high school. I'm getting scholarships and I'm slamming down Taco Bell right before. It's like, cool. Imagine what you're going to be doing when you fuel your body right, or when you eat enough food, or when you eat the right types of food. Okay. So we want to make sure we're doing this. And the way we do this, and the one thing, the one thing I want to help you guys do today again is I want you guys to play better. So we're going to do what I call Clutch Day Protocol. Okay? This is going to give you guys something super simple and super easy to take with you and to know how to fuel on what I call clutch days. So clutch days, I've named them that because you have game days, you have tournaments, you have showcases, you have games where college scouts are coming to watch you. Who here experiences clutch days? Every single one of you should be raising your hand. Any time where the lights are on, you get to finally, like, have your hard work pay off. It's going to help you get to the big dream that you have right here. So that's really important. We want to fuel on clutch day. I had an athlete, started working with him offseason, and he had some big goals and some big plans, and he was training. And so he was locked in on his training. He was seeing gains. He was doing really well. And we're like, This is going to be a good season. So we get to the games, and I lived nearby, so I went to a few. I was sitting up in the stands. First quarter, he was crushing it. Second and third, he was doing awesome. And then fourth quarter came, it's like a new player stepped onto the court. He couldn't hit the shots. He was shorting shots. He was getting beat off the dribble when he never got beat off the dribble. Defense was like his game. And so that was like super weird and frustrating. I was like, well, what did you eat before the game? One of the games he showed me, I think he had McDonald's for lunch that day. And then like ate nothing a couple of hours before. And then he played like crap. And then the other day he had like Goldfish and it was just like the random Takis and Goldfish and he's like nothing that actually would fuel his body. And I was like, dude, I could have told you we're going to have off games just by what you showed me putting— that you were putting in your body. A lot of us aren't realizing that there's a direct correlation with what you put in your body and how you play. Who here has had an off game before? Has anyone ever hit like that fourth quarter wall where you're like, I'm running through concrete? Okay, that is by just what you're putting in your body. So imagine if you never have to experience that fourth quarter fatigue, that you can outplay your opponents, that you can actually play well in the fourth quarter in the moments that matter most. Who here wants that? Just by being intentional about what you're putting in your body, that goes away. All of a sudden you can show up in clutch moments. All of a sudden you can fuel your body with what you need most. All of a sudden you can actually have all this work you're putting in offseason pay off to get you to this big goal. That's the big goal. Play better. Okay, so Clutch Day Protocol, there's two different kinds that I want to show you. It's— there's a normal game day, so kind of in-season games where you have one game a day. And then I call it like our run and gun days, days like today, tournament days. You might be playing 3, 4, 5 hours a day and it's just a lot. Okay, you got a lot going on. But before we do that, I need to make sure that you guys get on the same page with me about a few things. I need you guys to understand a few things about food in order to understand how it's going to actually help you on these clutch days. Okay, so we have 5 things that you kind of just need to know what they are and why they do what they do. Okay, so we have carbs, we have fats, we have protein, we have water, and we have electrolytes. Carbs are gas in your body. They're going to be really great carbs. And there can be not so great carbs, the potato chips, and the cookies, and the candy, and the Skittles, and the M&M's. They're fine to eat occasionally, but do we think that that's going to fuel our body? If you think of the difference between a Toyota and an F1 race car, do you guys think that they're putting the crappiest fuel in an F1 race car? What are they putting in the F1 race car? The best fuel possible, right? They're fueling often. They're refueling and they're putting the best fuel possible in the F1 race car. Whereas the Toyota is an average car, so it gets average results and it needs average fuel. You guys are not average athletes. You want to be elite athletes. You want to have goals to be where Xavier is one day. Therefore, you have to fuel to be elite. Okay? So carbs, carbs are gas in your fuel tank. Okay? Good sources of carbs, that's like the rice that you guys have been eating. It can be rice, it can be potatoes, it can be any fruit, it can be whole wheat bread. Carbs are really important because it's the gas in your tank. That's all I need to remember. Carbs are my gas. If you feel like you're hitting a wall, you don't have enough of these. Say yes if we understand that. All right, guys, I get it. This is very information heavy. You might feel a little overwhelmed. So here's what I'm going to do for you. I recorded an in-depth mini course so that you can apply everything that you're learning in this video to your game starting today. It is absolutely free of charge. All you have to do is click the link in the description to get access to the course. Perfect. Okay. Then we have fats. Anyone ever built a fire before? You know, at the very end of the fire where you're like, oh, I just need to have this get down to the coals so I can roast a good s'mores or whatever over it. So the fats in your body are like the coals that burn long. So it's long-lasting energy is what fats give you. This isn't the type of fats that we're getting from French fries. This is the type of fats that you're getting from nuts, from olive oil, from avocados, from cheese, from like just good sources. And there's not so good fats. And I have a whole resource that I'm going to send you guys that you guys— it'll show you like, here's some good sources of fats to be doing. And I'll teach you guys that at the very end. And then we have protein. It builds and repairs muscle. That's all you got to know. And then water. Every living thing needs water. And so I promise you, you elite basketball players need water. You need fluids. Okay? It's every living thing. And then electrolytes. Has anyone ever experienced a cramp in the middle of the game? I used to get them all the time when I was playing. Sucks. Takes you out of your game. It's like uncontrollable is what it feels like. But actually you control it really easy if we have enough electrolytes. If you sweat a lot, Gatorade is not enough for your electrolytes. Okay, so this is what we're looking at is we're looking at your salt. If you've ever tasted your sweat before, it's salty, right? The more you sweat, the more salt you lose, the more prone you are to cramping. Say yes if that makes sense. Okay, so the more you sweat, the more salt we need. And so we had Xavier get like some electrolyte powders and different things for you guys to try out. So I would say an electrolyte powder over just like a Gatorade. So this is kind of the key that we're going to go off of. Now we're going to work backwards and use this for what I call a performance plate. And then we're going to finish off with our clutch day. So performance plates are what you could just build your meals around every day. It's super simple. So if I were to like literally build a plate here, I want— if you guys are in heavy training season, How many hours a day are we all training most days? 2? Keep your hand up if you're training at least 2 hours a day. 3? 4? Okay, about 3, about 3 hours a day. Then this is perfect. So we want half your plate carbs, potatoes, rice, anything like that. And then a fourth of your plate will be protein. So that's going to come from like any meat. It can be steak, it can be beef, it can be chicken, fish, turkey, whatever you like. You can do Greek yogurt. I've got options that I'll show you guys later. And then we wanna kind of split this in half. Fats are gonna be, I don't care, you can just cook your protein in olive oil. You can add some avocado or some nuts on the side. And then the rest we wanna do, I just say 2 colors, 1 fruit of your choice, and 1 cup of vegetables of your choice. That is a performance plate. We've got carbs, we've got protein, we've got color, we've got fat. Say yes if you understand this. It looks pretty easy, right? Like if you're just thinking, I've got, I've got guides and examples that I'll send to you after this. But if you fuel like this breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I promise you your game is going to transform. Your training is going to be better. Your games are going to be better. The way you feel is going to be better. You're not going to be as sore. You're going to recover quicker. I hope that I'm selling this to you guys. Okay, so now that we have done the performance play, we are going to bounce back and finish off our Clutch Day Protocol. And I'm going to do it in red. So there's 3 villains that come in our way on game days, and that is— I hope you appreciate these names, by the way, because I think they're very clever. We have Wallace Payne, we have Charlie Horseman, we have Charlie Horseman, and we have Dr. Frickin' Drain. Okay, so these are the 3 game day villains that are going to keep you guys from your potential and from playing the way that you guys deserve to play with all the work that you're putting in in the offseason. So that Wallace Payne, Who here has hit the wall? We've talked about this. Who here has hit the wall midway through the game and you're like, oh frick, what is going on? This must just be an off game. Okay, that's from not fueling right before the game. Okay. Who here? We've already asked. Who here has had cramps or felt brain fog or felt like your game's just off because mentally you're not there? You're just dehydrated. Okay. That is Charlie Horseman. And then Dr. Drain. Who here is like, you play— it's kind of what happened to my athlete Luke. You play good first, second, third quarter, and then fourth quarter you just fade. Fourth quarter, you just can't hit clutch shots. You can't do clutch things. Okay, that's Dr. Drain and that's not fueling well in the game. Okay, so the way we do that, the way we figure that out is you start 4 hours out. So that'd be around 3 PM, probably when you guys get out of school, you're going to do a performance plate. This is the performance plate. Remember this? You're going to do a performance plate. Okay, that's what you're eating. You're like, I got to eat a meal when I get home from school. Yes, you got to eat a meal when you get home from school. I promise it's going to make you play better. Okay. And then 2 hours out. So this is going to help us fight off this wallis pain, guys. So you're not hitting the wall midway through the game. 2 hours out, we've got— I call it our top-off snack. And I've got examples for these for you guys, too. But this is just basically an extra carbohydrate snack. So examples of that could be like applesauce, granola bars, any type of fruit, fruit leather. And then 1 hour out, this is where hydration comes in. So we're going to do about 16 ounces of fluids plus like a liquid IV. That's like, that's where we're like looking at the salt here. That's what this is important to be. So you're not hitting Charlie Horseman and you're not cramping up or being dehydrated in the middle of the game, which would suck. And then zero, it means game time. And then we talk about game time. I call it flash fuel. You guys playing most of the game? 90% of the games? Yeah. Most of us probably aren't sitting on the bench. If you're sitting on the bench, then you might not need the Flash Fuel, but if you're playing 75% of the game, you're for sure gonna need this. And this is just fast carbs. So that's gonna be bananas, applesauce, any type of fruit, dried mangoes. Even if you hate, 'cause I get athletes all the time, they're like, "Dude, I hate eating in the game. I feel sick, I'm gonna throw up, I can't do it." Sports drinks are fine, okay? Sports drinks with the sugar in them, those are quick carbs. So like a Gatorade, and then we can add an extra electrolyte powder to it. So that's the 4-2-1-0 and how we're gonna fuel on these days. I have a whole guide that you guys can take home so you're not having to forget this. You don't have to screenshot it or anything, but athletes always ask me, "Well, what about my clutch days like tournament days or showcases or big long things that I've got?" So the biggest thing we're gonna do there is it's gonna be very similar, but just a little different. So I call these our run and gun days. So days like today are gonna be our run and gun day. So when it comes to run and gun, you're here at 8:00 AM. I'm not going to make you get up at 4 AM. That's going to be like, that's stupid. I'm not going to make you do that. So we're going to do our 2-1-0 instead. So 2 hours before your game or when you need to play, you're going to do what's like half of a performance plate and then you're going to just do like an extra fruit on the side. Okay. That's going to give you good carbs. It's still going to give you good fuel. It's going to help you stay fueled for the game. And so you're being able to show up, but you don't feel like you're going to puke when you get there. And then 1. We're going to do what's called FFE here is basically where we're just taking our fuel for carbs, fluids, and electrolytes. Okay. Whenever I say FFE, that's what I'm referring to because we need to keep this guy out and we need to keep this guy out and we need to keep this guy out on clutch days. Yeah. Can we agree with that? So when I say FFE, I need you to brand that into your brains. FFE, fuel, fluid, electrolytes. If you guys do that, you will never hit these guys ever again. Fuel, fluid, electrolytes. But it's just basically going to be like a Liquid IV, like 16 ounces of fluid with that Liquid IV. And then you just do like an applesauce here or a granola bar or something simple like that, which I'll give you options. And then the zero, you're going to do the FFE per hour. If you guys are going for 4 hours, by 1 PM today, you're going to be feeling pretty fatigued, especially if you guys are going hard and you're laying it all out on the court there. So we want to make sure that you're keeping your gas tanks high. It's going to help you recover better. It's going to help you show up and play better. It's going to help you hit your shots better. It's going to help you not get beat off the dribble. This is going to be really important. So FFE, fuel, fluids, electrolytes. So a good option here would be like just a Gatorade plus a little bit of extra salt, especially if you hate eating. If you don't mind eating, we could do like an applesauce plus an element packet plus fluids. Okay. It can be, it can be like, it doesn't have to be perfect or exact, but if you just remember fuel, so carbs, fluid, and then electrolytes, I promise you these guys aren't showing up and you're going to be able to play so much better. Okay. So I started talking to you guys today with one goal in mind. What was that goal? Play better. The only way that this is going to help you play better is if you actually do it, if you actually try it. So the one thing I'm asking you to do today I know there's like the 4-2-1 and the 2-1-0 and there's different things for you to learn. I'm going to give you guys all those resources. But today, can we commit to FFE, fuel fluid electrolytes? Say yes if you commit. What? Yes. Thank you. Okay. The last thing I'll say here. Here's where you were. Here's where you are. Here's where we want to be. Okay. The first step to getting there, I promise you, a huge step is everything Xavier is teaching you here. And one of those things is nutrition. Okay, this is what— it's the tide that raises all boats. It's the thing that's going to take the training you're doing in the strength training and the plyos and all of these other crazy things that you're doing and all the time and effort you're pouring into this work. Without it, it's like you're pouring time and effort and hours and shots and camps all into this bucket. Without it, we have a hole in our bucket that's dripping out. My goal is to help you guys fill that hole. So that you can get to where you want to be up here. And I have a lot of athletes who say, well, I'm playing fine, I'm playing good, whatever. It's like, cool. Imagine how much better you can play with that fuel in your body. Yeah. So last thing here is if we kind of put this on a graph and we said training and then nutrition, you guys are training 3 hours a day. You told me you're putting in shots up, you're going to these camps, you're going to AAU tournaments, you're doing all of this extra stuff. Your training is going off the charts here. Like you're, you're, you're wildly training and then your nutrition is probably down here. And so we're wondering why we're not making progress. That's called a plateau. That's why we're not making progress. If you wanna see your game actually go to the next level and you actually will have NBA goals, if you actually have big Division I goals and you out and you actually wanna play at the Division I level, I promise you this is going to be the thing that not very many athletes are willing to do that will separate you. And help you finally start seeing progress to where you want to go. And that's to play better. And that's big goals that you guys have. Guys, you have all the information. If you want to learn how to apply it to yourself and to your game, click the link in the description and it will take you to the mini course.