The Circle of Derby Life, Part 1

So championships are over (Yay Gotham for bringing the Hydra back to the east!), and Philly's tryouts are coming up this Sunday. The circle of derby life comes back around to the beginning with a new class of fresh-faced fresh meat.

I've been with the league for two years now: as an NSO, a fresh meat skater, and an occasional assistant bench manager for the Dolls. I'll be meat again in 2012, as I have yet to graduate. But going into 2012, I have so much more of my shit together than when I started fresh meat a year ago. There's a lot to learn outside of the actual skills taught at practice. Proper habits regarding hydration, nutrition, strength training, and mental conditioning are absolutely vital. And a thorough understanding of your skates and their individual parts certainly doesn't hurt either.

Now, I'm not a nutritionist, and I'm not a veteran derby skater. But I do have firsthand experience as a fresh meat skater in PRG. This is one of the most competitive leagues in the world. Our All-Star team are regulars at WFTDA Championships every year. And that's reflected in our training as new skaters. At tryouts, the training staff is only looking for basic skills, ability to follow directions, and the willingness to try the things you're asked to do. But once you make tryouts and get into the fresh meat program, you will be pushed to (and beyond) your perceived limits. You'll find out you're capable of more than you realized. You'll become stronger than you knew you could be, and it will be awesome.

Now like I said, there's a lot to learn outside of the actual skills taught at practice. Keeping yourself well-conditioned outside of practice, and properly nourished before and after each practice, is key to succeeding/surviving in PRG. And with that in mind, I hope to share a number of the things I've learned and healthy habits I've developed to help prepare you, the PRG newbie, for this most excellent adventure. Here we go:


1) HYDRATE!

This seems so basic and common-sense. But it cannot be overstated. Drink lots of water, every day. Even on the days you don't have practice or anything. Just get in the habit of having a water bottle or something with you to sip from at all times.

As part of my hydrating habits, I also avoid things that will actively dehydrate me. Caffeine and alcohol, in particular. Now let's not get crazy, I still enjoy my Coke and my beer. But I'm particular about when I enjoy those things.

I'm 31 now. All through my 20s, I lived on Coca-Cola. I'm not a coffee drinker, so soda was my caffeine source. In the last few years, my soda intake has been reduced to one can a day at the most, usually in the morning. Now, I still need my caffeine, and one coke doesn't have half the caffeine of a cup of coffee. The problem is, drinking enough coke to get that much caffeine means not only am I getting a ton of caffeine, but I'm also drinking that much LESS water. So that's just a downward spiral of anti-hydration.

What I've taken to doing instead is this: I take a Vivarin in the morning instead of drinking anything caffeinated. Vivarin is simply 200 mg of caffeine, like a strong cup of coffee. But I spend no time drinking my caffeine instead of water. I start drinking water right off the bat. On non-practice days, I might also have one Coke, just 'cause I like Coke. But on practice days, I have no caffeine beyond my morning Vivarin.

As for alcohol, I don't drink at all the day before or the day of practice. But when I get home from practice on Mon or Wed night, I typically grab a beer before I even put my gear down ;) There's nothing like relaxing on the couch with a beer after 2-3 hours of hard skating.

Now your mileage may vary. This is just what works for me. And I developed my habits the hard way, *thinking* I was drinking "a lot" of water and then realizing mid-way through each practice that I really needed to hydrate even better. But I also sweat like a pig, as my derby sisters can attest.

(More to come in Part 2...)