As you probably know by now, www.richstoner.com is devoted to all aspects of basketball training.  This includes basketball skills training and strength and conditioning but by no means is it limited to that.  One of the most important aspects of being a top tier basketball player is nutrition.  However, for being so important, nutrition is probably one of the most overlooked aspects of basketball training as well.  My priority as a basketball trainer is to get my athletes to be in the best basketball shape that they can be.  In order to do this, I must make them all aware of the importance of nutrition.  My athletes know that training with me for basketball skills or strength and conditioning can only get you so far and that what they do at home or what they eat at home is just as important.  This is because I am constantly hammering this concept home with them. 

One of the first things I tell all my basketball players is that the body is like a car.  Most people look at me a little quizzically when I tell them this, but it really is true.  Imagine your body as a car and the food that you put in your body is  the fuel that you would put in your car.  If you try to run your car on bad gasoline, it will not run very well.  Even worse, if you try to run your car without any gasoline at all, then your car will not run at all.  Now take that scenario and apply it to your body.  If your eating habits are poor and you only eat “junk food” then your body will work like junk.  It will not have the nutrients and proper amount of good proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in order to run well.  Furthermore, if you start skipping meals (ie. putting no fuel in your body) you will not be able to function well either.  It would be like trying to run a car without gasoline.  You will feel sluggish, tired, and you will not want to do anything at all. 

So yes, your body is like a car.  Not only does it need the right fuel to run properly, but your body also needs to be filled up frequently enough to ensure that it will continue to run.  So remember if you want to be a top-shelf basketball player or even if you just want to stay in shape and feel energized, treat your body like a car and fill it up with the good stuff in order to keep it running well.