NEW INTERNATIONAL TOUR,AVP ?’S, & NUTRITION
Saturday morning, volleyballworld.com released a new international pro tour called the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. The article stated that the new tour would replace the FIVB tour. I would try and summarize the article, but why do that when I can just provide you with the link for you to go read all the information directly from the source. New International Tour It is a very short and easy read. It does not really provide much information which leaves Taryn and I wondering how this will affect us… Will we even be able to play in these tournaments? Maybe this helps us or maybe it hurts us? Do we start out on the “Futures” part of the tour? Just so many initial questions. We are currently in the midst of trying to figure those out, and if we find out any additional information, we will pass it along. Volleyballmag.com also released an article about the news drop. VolleyballMag Article They also have some of the same questions as us. Only time will tell the answers so for now, we wait on that.
As far as the places on the schedule, they look very intriguing. I mean who would not want to go travel to Spain or Australia to play a sport that you love. Not many people can say they get to do this for a living, so on those long training days or during those grueling workouts we look back and are like we get to play a sport that we love for a living. What more could you ask for. Also, as an added advantage to the whole process, you get to do it with one of your best friends. Again, what more could you ask for? We are very very blessed, and we do often bring that up. Sorry for that short little tangent. Just thankful!
Anyways, back to the volleyball talk… so we have uncertainties with the international side of things and also with the domestic AVP tour. If you are not aware, this past year the AVP was taken over by a new corporation (the first time the AVP has been owned by a corporation), Bally’s. Yet again, so many questions as to how this would affect us… Will there be more AVP Tour stops? Maybe in areas where there are Bally’s casinos? Will the prize money be more making beach volleyball a more lucrative career? Will Bally’s give beach volleyball more TV coverage to show off our fantastic and entertaining sport? Will beach volleyball become a new fund betting experience? The list of questions could go on and on, but just like the international seen, we are forced to wait. Wait and see what our futures will look like.
So in the meantime we train, workout, train, workout and the process just keeps repeating itself. This is the time to get stronger, faster, more explosive and leaner. It is pretty much our grind time and also our off time. Those two different times are sometimes where we struggle, it is our time to get better, but also our time to enjoy our lives and have fun. We struggle with finding that balance. Right now we are trying to lean out, aka we are trying to lose weight and gain muscle. To lose weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit. Which as Drew likes to say, “you need to put the fork down.” What do most people our age do on weekends… go get drinks and eat. Those weekend calories add up FAST. So you’re left in a tough spot, go have fun on the weekends and ultimately take a step back in your gym goals or stay at home and fix food and keep striving towards our ultimate goal that we have been dreaming about for many years. What would you do?
I don’t want this to come across as being a poor us article because like I have mentioned we are VERY thankful and blessed! There are just some sacrifices that you do have to make when trying to accomplish a dream. You just have to pick and chose when you want to have a little more fun and when it is best to just stay in. For example, many of you may have seen us last weekend at the Saints game. Maybe even saw us on TV enjoying a hotdog and a beer. Did we have a great time? Yes, 100%. Funny thing though, we split the hotdog. While being slightly buzzed, I was still thinking how can we limit some of our calories because again, you don’t want the work that you put in during the week to just go to crap on the weekends. We are just trying to figure out that healthy balance.
A challenge for all of you! Right now, Taryn and I probably aim to eat around 1500-1700 calories a day. This is on our workout, practice and coaching days. So the challenge… this week, try and just keep a mental note of how many calories you are consuming in a day. The amount each person needs is way different for everyone. Taryn is almost a foot taller than me but somehow, we still consume the same number of calories. This may be eye opening to you or not at all! A tip though, always check the labels and make sure you do not let them deceive you. ALWAYS check the serving size. That is where they get you.
Also, if you have not noticed I like food a lot. Being in a calorie deficit does not mean you just can’t eat. You just have to eat a little more strategically and know the right things to eat. I know you have seen food chronicles. The healthy ones are always a ton of food on the plate but probably for the most part under 500-600 calories. You can eat a lot of food even in a calorie deficit. I mean shoot, we eat ice cream for dessert sometimes. By ice cream, I mean protein ice cream but still delicious.
So I’m not sure how this turned into a nutrition talk but it did. This is something I wish I would have done or known about as a younger athlete. It was probably not until my real senior year (2 years ago) in college that I actually started to pay attention to this and it has really changed my game. If there is anyone out there with more questions about all of it, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask! Would love to talk about it because I know the affect it could have.
Another week down, and another week ahead to get better. We will back in the gym this Monday working to get better with the thought of Paris 2024 always on the mind.
By: Kristen Nuss
