Surge Health Coaching was started to fill the gap between Personal Health and Athletic Performance

Guiding Principles

• Every-Body is Different

• The Human Body is Amazing

• There are no Magic Bullets

When professional athletes are asked, “If you could give your younger self some advice, what would it be?”, their answers typically fall into these categories:

• Take my nutrition more seriously

• Get more sleep

• Focus on mental performance

• Hit the weight room

There is an unlimited amounts of information available to athletes about health, but it isn’t personalized and it doesn’t come with an instruction manual. It often centers around “Magic Bullets” which are unattainable.

Eat more, Eat Better, Eat Less, Sleep More, Sleep Better, Stress Less, ………………..

But Why?………And How?

Athletes need to be educated in a way that is relevant to them by supporting their personal goals and developing tactics to aid in their success.

What does the process look like?

Start with a Free Health Evaluation

- Review the Health Form together and discuss their goals

Example Client - Jimmy

Goal: Play D1 Lacrosse at a high academic university on the East Coast

Varsity High School Athlete, 2023 Grad Year

• Primarily a Vegetarian

• Working with a Skill Coach & Physical Therapist

• Hip Pain

• Night Owl

During the FREE Health Consultation I uncover the following:

• Also a swimmer - non competitive

• Takes several AP classes

• Has 3 tutors

• Participates on 2 travel teams

• Takes Cello lessons

• Member of Honor Society with volunteer requirements

• Averages 6-7 hrs of sleep a night. Goes to bed late and gets up early.

• Wants to gain 10 lbs of muscle

• Picky Eater. Often doesn’t eat breakfast.

• Often used caffeine in the afternoon to get through practice and do homework.

• Spend up to an hour on his phone before bed

• Feels a lot of pressure to do it all to impress coaches and get into a high academic university

Jimmy is a typical, driven, High School Athlete with big goals.

He also needs help addressing many areas of his overall health in order to meet his goals, in a very short period of time.

Where do we start?

First, understand the status of his hip issue and any recommendations from orthopedic or PT.

Low Hanging Fruit

• Addressed his nutritional needs by documenting what he was eating over a one week period.

• Identified gaps and created a simple, initial plan to start addressing fueling needs for performance, recovery and muscle growth.

• Discuss macro nutrients and where he needs to shift his percentages.

• Discuss the importance of sleep for physical and mental performance. Tracking Sleep and Recovery with a Whoop band.

• Talk about ways to improve the time it takes to fall asleep and achieve deep sleep.

• Emphasize the benefits of immune health reached through proper sleep and nutrition.

• Focused attention on reducing fatigue to improve performance and lower injury risk.

A close third for priorities was to address was his time management.

While trying to do too much, he was constantly behind on his school work, always tired and skipping meals. He also found it difficult to fit PT appointments into his packed schedule.

• Documented his weekly schedule and found activities that didn’t support his goals

• Rearranged his schedule to make his day more efficient

• Started using his off period at school to do homework or do service hours to free up more time in the evening

We meet every other week for 40 - 50 minutes. I check in with him weekly to provide accountability and send quick message as encouragement when I know something is coming up that is important to him.

Results:

After 3 months and 7 sessions, Jimmy has already made some impactful progress

• Increased his protein intake by adding a fruit and protein smoothie in the morning, nut butter sandwich after his workout and added fish 2x per week

• His mother makes him a healthy breakfast and while he packs his own lunch and snacks

• Gained 6 lbs. and has more energy for afternoon practices and daily homework

• Reduced caffeine usage resulting in better sleep and lower sugar intake

• Increased sleep to 7-8 hrs per night and currently working to increase his deep sleep percentages

• Improved sleep made him more efficient with his time and now he keeps his phone in the kitchen when he goes to bed

• Prioritized PT and created a weekly schedule to address hip pain and overall injury prevention

• Increased confidence is his ability to control how he feels and properly fuel for all of his activities

• Attend showcases at some of his favorite colleges

• Parents are thrilled with his healthy habits and improved demeaner. They have adopted several of his new habits too.

Next Steps and Continued Work

• Expand Jimmy’s food pallet

• Review supplements and discuss NSF certification

• Suggest lab work to request at next doctor’s visit

• Address stress management techniques for better sleep and mental performance

• Learn to say “No” when it comes to adding new activities to his schedule

• Continue to set priorities and short term goals for continued success and confidence