Staying healthy for athletes is very important, because when you take care of your body, you perform better during practice and games. It also helps prevent injuries and enables you to play for a longer period of time. Staying healthy is also significant to athletes’ mental health, so you have a clear head space, stay motivated, and have the ability to perform at your highest level. Maintaining your health teaches you to be more disciplined and find a way to balance managing your school work, also it helps with your social life.
Here’s how three John Jay athletes stay fit.
Gabby Grant, Track and Field
How do you warm up and cool down before and after exercise?
400m is a cool down and warm up.
How do you feel mentally and emotionally before and after games?
After games, I usually feel relieved and proud, reflecting on how I can improve next time.
What does a typical day of eating look like for you?
A shake in the morning and a sandwich then I will eat like a snack during the day then I would eat dinner.
What exercises do you do before practice?
Before track practice, I do dynamic stretches like lunges, butt kicks, and high knees to warm up my legs. I also do short accelerations or strides to get my body ready for sprinting.
Enzo Furlani, Track & Field
How do you warm up and cool down before and after exercise?
I do plyometrics warm-up and for cool-down, I usually do short explosive calisthenics.
How do you feel mentally and emotionally before and after games?
I try to mentally get in some sort of zone that gets rid of all distractions, almost a constant tension within. I enjoy that feeling of release after competition usually, and it’s very decompressing.
What does a typical day of eating look like for you?
I try to get a good source of energy in the morning effort practice usually, some berries and a waffle, light carbs and sugars but enough to get me to feel light. After lunch I really try to have a protein shake and some form of chicken. For dinner it’s usually steak and a carb.
What exercises do you do before practice?
A-skip, B-skip, walking lunges, quad pulls, side to side lunges with depth, jumping start into sprint.
Wade Middleton, Baseball & Indoor Track
What does a typical day of eating look like for you?
Usually a protein shake for breakfast, something light like a protein bar for lunch and then a dinner that includes a protein and a carb source.
How do you feel mentally and emotionally before and after games?
Definitely depends on how the game went and depends on my role in the game. If we lost and it was my fault, I would definitely feel differently then if I helped us win.
How do you feel mentally and emotionally before and after games?
Usually a jog or something to get the blood flowing before and after exercise.
