Athletes
do runners overhydrate on race day?
About half of you and your clients may be drinking too much fluid during running races, say results of a recent survey by Loyola University Health System researchers, published in the June 2011 issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The survey revealed the following about runners:
Extended Sleep = Improved Athletic Performance
While this equation may not be a surprise to conscientious fitness professionals, it can be helpful in encouraging athletes—professional or otherwise—to get more shuteye. A study in the July issue of SLEEP (doi: 10.5665/sleep.1132) draws a strong correlation between sleep extension and athletic performance.
Dynamic Warm-Up Best for Golfers
Are your golf clients determined to lower their handicap? According to researchers from Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, golfers’ fairway performance was best after a dynamic warm-up and no static stretching. The study appeared in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (2010; 24 [12], 3326–33) and included nine “young” male golfers.
Sprints Yield Fat Loss
Time-crunched individuals interested in fat loss may want to cut running workouts short. Results from a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2011; 43 [1], 115–22) suggest that repeated maximal-intensity sprints yield greater fat loss than longer-duration, moderate-intensity running. The 20 study participants were split into two groups: sprinters and runners. Each group ran three times per week for 6 weeks. The first group performed all-out sprints, 30 seconds in duration, six times per session. They were given a 4-minute rest between sprints.
Pre-Run Stretch Hampers Endurance
Here’s another entry in a growing list of studies that suggest that pre-exercise static stretching may hamper athletic performance. This current study, published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (2010; 24 [9], 2274–79), included 10 male collegiate athletes who participated in a 60-minute treadmill run on two occasions. One run took place after 16 minutes of static stretching of the major lower-body muscles; before the other run, participants simply sat quietly for 16 minutes.
Fueling Athletes for Training and Competition
Some of the questions most frequently asked of sports dietitians deal with food and fluid consumption before, during and after exercise. Indeed, athletes are bombarded with nutrition misinformation, resulting in confusion about what they should eat or drink during training or, more crucially, during competition. This article provides science-based guidelines on food and beverage choices that are easy to understand and adopt and that allow athletes to maximize their potential.
Inexperienced Female Endurance Athletes at Risk
Endurance events such as marathons and triathlons are gaining popularity as more people recognize the benefits of physical activity. However, physicians at Loyola University Health System have issued a warning for inexperienced female endurance athletes. The physicians are concerned that many women athletes are ill-prepared for these events, which they say can lead to serious health risks like menstrual irregularity, fertility issues, stress fractures and osteoporosis.
protein needs of women athletes
In 2008, David Rowlands, PhD, senior lecturer with the Institute of Food, Nutrition, and Human Health at Massey University in New Zealand, published a study showing that male cyclists who ingested protein and carbohydrates between intense training bouts gained distinct performance and postexercise recovery advantages over men who fueled only with carbohydrates (Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 33 [1], 39–51).
Team Sports Good for Girls, Bad for Boys?
Many parents encourage their children to engage in sports to help improve physical activity levels. However, a recent study suggests that playing on a team may incite poor behavior among boys. The study was presented at the American Public Health Association’s 137th Annual Meeting & Exposition in Philadelphia. The researchers surveyed more than 13,000 U.S. high-school students on topics that included sports participation and risky behaviors. According to the results, team sports participation by boys correlated with higher rates of fighting, drinking and binge drinking.
Athletes and Protein
As an athlete, you want to make sure you fuel your body in a way that supports performance in your sport—and life. How much and what kind of protein is best?
Natalie Digate Muth, MD, MPH, RD, a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, a registered dietitian and an American Council on Exercise master trainer, offers practical tips on how to choose protein sources.
Wrestling, Football, Most Injurious High-School Sports
Engaging in team sports may help high-school students lead more active lifestyles. But depending on the sport, your teen may also be at greater risk for injury. Of all high-school sports, football and wrestling are the most injurious, according to recent
research. In a first-of-its-kind study, published in the
September issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine (2009;
37 [9], 1798–1805), scientists examined severe injuries among students from 2005 to 2007.
Short-Burst Training
When you’re a sports fan, it doesn’t matter if you prefer the NBA, figure skating or the Olympics—you’re sure to admire the performances of athletes who work inconceivably hard to achieve greatness. It’s practically impossible to watch without feeling compelled to hit the gym and try some new training method, hoping to achieve your own gold-medal performance. So what’s the latest buzz in the training room?
Training Tips for Vegetarian Athletes
What exactly is a “balanced, varied and adequate” vegetarian diet, and how hard would it be to follow and maintain such a pattern of eating?
Marathon Training 101
In 490 BC the ancient Greek hero Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greeks’ victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon. When the modern Olympic Games began in Athens in 1896, a running race named after the Greek town of Marathon was introduced to commemorate Pheidippides’ legendary run. Now there are more than 300 marathons just in the United States each year, with hundreds of thousands of people running them. Chances are that one or two of your clients want to do one. So how do you train them for a marathon?
Plyometric Progressions for Athletes
Sport mimics life in that both are dynamic and ever-changing. Athletes are always preparing to meet the demands of their sport while also working to elevate their performance thresholds to new levels. In sports, as in most things in life, athletes need the ability to read and react in an
environment of organized chaos.
Sports Nutrition for Young Athletes
Young athletes are often grossly misinformed about sports nutrition practices and easily influenced by outsiders, especially their peers. Without a proper diet, these athletes may not have enough energy to compete in sports and may have deficiencies that can lead to illness or fatigue.
Learn what these competitors need to perform at their optimal levels from Pamela M. Nisevich, MS, RD, LD, a clinical dietitian at Dayton Children’s Medical Center in Ohio, where she specializes
in pediatric clinical nutrition, and the founder of Nutrition for the Long Run.
Look Before You Jump!
Clients—sports-minded and otherwise—can reap the benefits of a plyometrics program. Plyometric exercise is one of the most efficient ways to train and has “arguably the greatest transfer to sport application”…
Conditioning for Golf
Want to cut a few strokes off your golf game? Or thinking about trying golf for the first time? Whether you’re new or experienced on the greens, a sport-specific conditioning program can give you an edge. Even if a training program doesn’t help your score, it could keep you on the course rather than on the sidelines with a nagging injury, says Dawn Norman, MA, ACT, athletic trainer and golfer.
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Tips to Avoid Golf-Related Wrist Injuries
As
the summer temperature rises, so does the number of people hitting the links
for a bit of friendly (or not) competition. But poor form and inappropriate
training methods can keep eager golfers from participating in their outdoor
activity of choice. According to IDEA author Catherine Logan, MSPT, simple
adjustments to swing and a proactive attitude will allow for …
Eating Disorders Among Athletes
Almost everyone wants to lose weight and drop that extra 5 or 10 pounds. But some people take that desire to extreme measures and will literally starve themselves to be thinner. While we usually associate eating disorders with sedentary clients, the truth is that more and more elite athletes are falling prey to unhealthy eating and e…