Back to back games

dabeechman

Registered User
Sep 12, 2006
4,856
144
Hey guys, what do you do to prepare for back to back games? I have a couple games coming up where they are separated by only 2 to 3 hours. I know to drink lots of water, but what about snacks in between and things of that nature?
 

1manband

Registered User
Mar 28, 2008
261
0
England
ive had 2 games in gold league literally back to back, 10 mins part!! That followed another game in the morning! needless to say I slept good that night!!!!!!


anyway......

- First up I would say stretch well before both games, and maybe a cool down stretch after???
- Drink some gatorade/ powerade in between to replace some sugars, as well as water (not too much though)
- As for food, Eat some pasta/ toast 2-3 hours before your frist game, drink 2 glasses of water as well
- snacks in between, cereal bars??? something with oats in it basically!!!







p.s. live in england but played in america a lot, Icetown Riverside and Anaheim Ice!!
 

Thepandamancan

Registered User
Jun 6, 2010
234
2
Definitely drink some gatorade/water to stay hydrated. I recently discovered this drink called vitacoco that I drink after every game. It's just coconut juice but it's loaded with potassium and other vitamins and it helps with the muscle cramping, etc. It's a tiny juice box so it doesn't fill you up.

If you have that much time in between, you could probably eat an energy bar or something an hour before. I take a couple bites of a snickers or cliff bar before I played the second game.

The most important thing to remember is, ease into the second game. You can do all the preparation in the world but if you go balls to the wall to start, you'll be dead by the end. I've played games back to back with only the warm up as an intermission and taking it easy on the first couple shifts allowed me to use the adrenaline and momentum of the game to carry me at the end.
 

budster

Schoolyard Puck
Yeah you're biggest concern will be staying hydrated and replacing calories. Gatorade and PBJ sandwiches are my personal favorites. Granola bars are good too. There's also something so good about a juicy orange when you hit the bench.
 

Thepandamancan

Registered User
Jun 6, 2010
234
2
Yeah you're biggest concern will be staying hydrated and replacing calories. Gatorade and PBJ sandwiches are my personal favorites. Granola bars are good too. There's also something so good about a juicy orange when you hit the bench.

Oranges are good to have too. One team I played started chowing down on some during an intermission. We all laughed at them and made little league mom/youth soccer jokes. We then got our ***** kicked...
 

densetsu

Registered User
To be honest... unless you're playing top-level hockey, or your team is ridiculously short benched, two games of hockey with a 2 - 3 hour break between won't put that much of a strain on the body of someone with a moderate level of fitness (that is, exercising at least 2 - 3 times a week). With that said...

If you're eating a meal, you don't need Gatorade or any other sports drink. Water is fine; you'll likely get sufficient electrolytes from your food. It can't hurt to have a bottle of Gatorade, but really, the Gatorade will just be empty calories.

I always keep a stash of Clif bars in my hockey and gym bag for a quick meal before exercise, just in case a wrench is thrown into my plans and I miss a meal or something. They have a good combination of fibre, protein, and electrolytes. (Check the sodium, potassium, and magnesium content of a Clif bar -- there's more electrolytes in 1 bar than in a bottle of Gatorade.) However, if you have 2 - 3 hours between games, you can probably have a regular meal and be OK. Go out and grab a sandwich, or better yet, grab a cold sub from Subway beforehand so it's on hand.

But in the end, you know your body best. You know your fitness level, and how much stress your body can take. You know what your stomach is like, and if a meal 90 minutes before a game will upset it or not. Maybe you have certain fitness goals (e.g. fat loss, muscle growth) and want to modify your diet to take these into account. Take all these replies in stride, but choose what you feel is best for *your* body.
 

dabeechman

Registered User
Sep 12, 2006
4,856
144
My fitness level isn't that great, which is why I asked what would help me make it through that second game...:laugh:

I made it through the second game well actually. I was a little surprised that I wasn't more tired.
 

kingscourt26

Registered User
Jul 19, 2010
269
0
Yeah you're biggest concern will be staying hydrated and replacing calories. Gatorade and PBJ sandwiches are my personal favorites. Granola bars are good too. There's also something so good about a juicy orange when you hit the bench.

Peanut butter sandwich here too. PB has a lot of protein and is great before a game. I stick to a high protein diet so I don't like pasta much. It will stay with you during your game unless you eat it the night before.

Also, have some honey. It's great right before a game, in fact many times I'll put it on my PB sandwich.

Gatorade for hydration during the game is great but another thing I do is have Muscle Milk Light either before or after a game. It repairs your muscles much faster, has a high protein count and has little sugar and fats along with under 200 calories.
 

Trevor3

Registered User
Nov 16, 2010
219
0
Stephenville - YJT
When I played in Midget our trainer always had a couple trays of sliced oranges ready for us at the 2nd intermission. There isn't much more important than keeping your energy up towards the later stages of a game. You get tired, you get sloppy, you take bad penalties or end up putting your head down and get hurt as your awareness falls.

Other than oranges, drink lots of water, personally I avoided Gatorade because it always made me want to throw up and ended up slowing me down when I got back on the ice. In between games, the main thing is to keep it fairly light, like the peanut butter sandwich, gatorade, water, oranges etc..., bottom line is you can't go wrong with most fruit.

I remember one time my team played 3 games straight with just 30 minutes in between each, so we had to stay in our gear pretty much the whole time. We started 10 in the morning and didn't finish until around 4. Needless to say, that was tough, our dressing room smelled just lovely the next day as you can imagine.
 

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