Maintaining Athletic Performance: Diet and Nutrition
     
Home Page

Coaching Staff

Contact Page

Information

The Athletic Edge

Team Schedule

Guest Book

Roster

 

Achieving Maximum Performance
If you want to be ready for the next day's workout, you must replenish your carbohydrate reserves so that subsequent exercise performance is not impaired.

Optimal nutrition is attained with sound dietary practices that are applied on a continuing bases, not just a few hours before or during competition. Nutritional factors can conceivably influence performance at almost any stage during training or competition.



Pre-Exercise Fluids

*Drink lots of fluid 24-36 hours before exercise

*Drink at least 16 ounces of fluid 2 hours before exercise

*8-20 ounces water approximately 15 minutes before exercise

*Drink at least 4 to 8 ounces of fluid immediately before exercise



Nourishment Before Exercise
The body has to draw on the liver's supply of glycogen for energy. This supply eventually runs low if you skip breakfast and blood sugar decreases, giving you a hungry, tired feeling. The lowering of fuel supply to the brain can also have a negative effect on your mental power that can further hinder performance.

Pre excercies meals provide:

*Energy for working muscles

*Prevent low blood sugar and associated symptoms (light-headedness, blurred vision, fatigue, and indecisiveness)


Fluids During Exercise
*4-10 ounces water every 10-20 minutes

*Avoid concentrated beverages (soda pop, fruit juice, fruit drinks)
Nourishment During Exercise
Replenishing carbohydrate and fluid throughout exercise that lasts over an hour can postpone fatigue and prolong peak performance to ensure greater stamina.

After Exercise
Sports foods such as High-Carbohydrate Energy drinks, Sports Bars, Sport Shakes and Energy Gels can be consumed immediately after exercise and 1 hour intervals to deliver 1 gram carbohydrate/kilogram body weight


*Drink at least 8 to 16 oz of fluid after exercise

*1 pint water/pound body weight lost

*Replenish carbohydrate (glycogen) stores to maintain exercise performance on a day-to-day basis

*Carbohydrate needs:

*40-60 grams ASAP or within the first 30 minutes after exercise, and at 2 hour intervals up to 4 hours after exercise
*or 1.5 grams carbohydrate/kilogram body weight within the first 30 minutes after exercise, and at 2 hour intervals up to 4 hours after exercise


Enhancing Healthy Weight/Mass Gain

Athletes could possibly gain benefits by being able to train longer at a higher exercise intensity when using creatine supplements. Creatine is a powerful ergogenic aid that plays an important role in energizing the muscle and may be of greatest benefit to individuals involved in repeated short burst sprints.

Creatine is currently not listed as a banned substances by any international sporting federation and, because it is a naturally occurring constituent of a normal diet, it is unlikely to become a banned substance.

DIET TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

Performance Diet Guidelines

1. Energy intake that maintains desirable body weight

2. 6-10 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram body weight/day (about 60-70% of total calories)

3. 10-15% protein or 1.5-2.0 grams/kilogram body weight/day

4. 20-30% fat

5. Plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration

6. Sufficient amounts of vitamins and minerals



Creatine
The discovery of Creatine

A French scientist named Chevruel discovered Creatine in 1835. His experiment identified a naturally occurring substance found in meat, which he named Creatine after the Greek word for flesh. Later experiments by Leiberg, found that the substance could be consistently found in muscle tissue extracted from mammals. Additional studies by Leiberg found that levels of this Creatine substance were ten times higher in wild animals than in their captive counterparts, which lead Leiberg to conclude that the amount of Creatine was linked to the amount of exercise of the species. From these studies, scientists have drawn up several accepted conclusions, including that Creatine is present in animal tissue and the levels present are directly related to the amount of exercise. Since the discovery of these essential concepts, many more studies have been conducted to determine the exact effects of Creatine.

What is Creatine?

Creatine is produced naturally in the body by the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. On average, mammals produce two to three grams of Creatine per day. Creatine is made from three amino acids; glycine, arginine, and methionine, which when combined in a specific process, produce Creatine. Creatine can be found in two different forms; the free form, constituting approximately one third of all Creatine found in the body, and the phosphroylated form, which constitutes the remaining two thirds. Once formed, the substance is transferred to the muscle tissue via the bloodstream.

How is Creatine obtained?

In addition to synthesizing the substance, the body can obtain Creatine through two other methods. The first is through consuming foods that contain the substance. Fish, beef, and pork contain the highest amounts of Creatine but to receive the highest amount of the substance the meat must be eaten somewhat rare. The cooking process destroys most of the Creatine found in the tissue. The second method for obtaining Creatine is through Creatine supplementation, which has been the most popular and most successful method thus far. Creatine supplements are synthesized in a laboratory setting from elements found in plants and animals.

Is there an increase in consumption among athletes?

The answer to that question is yes. This natural substance, when taken in larger amounts, has been shown to have effects on the human body.

Athletes in the United Kingdom have been taking the substance since the early 1980's, but its effects became known world wide with the debut of it at the 1992 Olympics. In Barcelona, two British sprinters attributed their gold medals to the substance, and in 1996 at the Olympics in Atlanta, several United States sprinters also praised its benefits. Since that period there has been a steady increase in the number of top level athletes who regularly take the supplement. Today some of the most popular athletes including John Elway, Troy Aikman, Brady Anderson, Mark McGuire, and Sammy Sosa, claim that supplementing their normal exercise routine with Creatine has increased their performance to a level unaccomplishable through normal exercise.

How does Creatine benefit the body?

The first way is through Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) regeneration. ATP, the energy source for the body, gives muscles the ability to contract. Once used ATP turns into Adenosine diphosphate (ADP) which when combined with another phosphate becomes ATP again. This is where Creatine is so beneficial. The phosphorylated form of Creatine, Crphos, lends its phosphorus to ADP to regenerate into ATP. Having an increased amount of Creatine in the body aids in the regeneration of ATP.

Stated plainly, it helps muscles recuperate quickly from a period of use making it helpful to athletes who specialize in sprints and quick bursts of activity. It has not been shown to be helpful to endurance athletes. Sports such as swimming, sprinting, football, and weightlifting, where the athlete is called upon to gather their energy, use it quickly, and then stop, is where Creatine has been proven to be helpful. Athletes who take the substance are able to rest and perform again much more quickly due to the rapid regeneration of their energy source, ATP.

When is Creatine most beneficial?

Studies have shown that in conjunction with a continued exercise program an athlete who takes 20 grams of Creatine a day for five days followed by a maintenance schedule of five grams per day can have as much as a five percent increase in performance during maximal exercise. However, this might be due solely to an increase in effort while exercising. It is important to note that while supplementing one's diet with Creatine it is essential to increase the amount of water consumed to at least a gallon of water per day while loading. If an insufficient amount of water is consumed while taking the supplement it could lead to an increase of injuries because Creatine supplementation has been shown to deplete the muscles of their water.

What are the dangers of taking Creatine?

There is evidence to show that there is a link to the increase in muscle strains and pulls and the consumption of Creatine as a nutritional supplement. Several sports teams and governing bodies have banned their athletes from taking Creatine simply because if not taken properly Creatine can harm the athlete more than it can help them. The major concerns regarding the short-term use of creatine supplement are the dehydration and muscle dysfunction. Creatine draws fluid into the muscles, taking it away from the vital organs, athletes using creatine may dehydrate much more quickly than other athletes, predisposing them to serious heat illness. The combination of creatine supplementaion, high heat, and high humidity could be deadly!

The biggest problem with Creatine is that as a nutritional supplement it is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. This exempts it from all of the rules that govern food and drug products. As a result not much is known about Creatine and its potential side or long term effects. In addition, makers of the substance are not required to list the contents of the package on the label for distribution. This has resulted in a number of companies distributing impure Creatine, choosing to add other chemicals and substances. A potential buyer has no way of knowing whether the Creatine they are buying is actually 100% Creatine.

Besides not being able to tell if consumers are actually getting what they think they are getting, they run the risk of taking a substance which has not been proven to be safe for human consumption. Although many distributors of Creatine claim that there is plenty of evidence to show that it is safe to take regularly and over a long period of time there just isn't any evidence to support this. There has been evidence to show that Creatine can cause muscle cramps, strains, and pulls, in addition to dehydration, weight gain, and stomach discomfort. These are only the proven short term effects. Who knows if there are more short-term effects that have yet to be discovered? Also, Creatine has not been in use long enough to determine if it can be harmful after ten, twenty, or more years of use. Athletes who take the substance to increase their performance today may very well pay for it later. In the majority of professional sport teams' opinions this is a risk that they are not willing to take. Surveys show that over 85% of professional sport teams discourage their team members from taking Creatine, some going as far as prohibiting them from taking the substance. To them the limited benefits are not worth the risk of serious health problems at some point in the future.

Perhaps the biggest concern with Creatine consumption is that today an increasing number of high school athletes are supplementing their exercise routines with Creatine. Some say that it is because they see the top athletes taking it and succeeding, but what they don't realize is that there is so little known about Creatine that they are literally gambling with their health. Something that should be of concern is that there seems to be a trend of high school coaches recommending and distributing the supplement to their players even though the effects of it are unknown. What happens if Creatine is found to be harmful and high school athletes have received the substance from their coach? Could this open the school up to a new area of liability?

What is the Law?

Due to the uncertainty regarding its benefits and hazards, Creatine should not be distributed or encouraged for consumption by high school coaches to their athletes. A recent law passed in Texas, House Bill 3420, prohibits any public school employee from distributing, selling, or marketing any performance-enhancing compound to athletes ( See copy of bill on page 9). In addition, some people believe Creatine should be illegal and tested for, as are Steroids. If more was known about Creatine and it's potential benefits or side effects then perhaps we could take a different stand on the issue. However, since the FDA cannot recommend Creatine for human consumption and since there is no conclusive data to support positive arguments for the substance why gamble with your health and your future? The only possible benefit of Creatine is an increase in performance by a maximum of 5%. This 5% could be due to increased physical activity and not a result of Creatine itself.




Androstenedione

What is Androstenedione? Androstenedione, often called "andro" for short, is a nutritional supplement that can be purchased over-the-counter by anyone, of any age. It is a steroid compound also found naturally in the body. In the body Androstenedione is converted to the primary male sex hormone, testosterone, as well as to the primary female sex hormone, estrogens (estradiol and estrone).

What does Androstenedione do for the body?

Synthetically produced Androstenedione is classified as a steroid, although it has no muscle building effects on its own. However, when converted into testosterone by the liver, Androstenedione can raise the body's testosterone levels sixteen times higher than normal, allowing athletes to train harder and recover from exercise more quickly.

Why use Androstenedione?

The primary reason athletes use Androstenedione is to increase overall strength and/or the ability to do repetitive, intense, short-term work. Athletes in sports where strength, sprint speed, or the ability to do repeated and intense bouts of activity are the most likely to use this substance. Some of these sports might include football, hockey, and track and field events like the shot put, discus, javelin, and shorter sprints. Soccer and basketball players may also see benefits to increasing their size, strength, and ability to do repeated intense, short-term bursts of activity. Wrestlers may desire the increase in strength and ability to do intense, short-term bouts of activity, but not the increase in body mass. There are also some special risks of using these substances when trying to lose weight. Endurance sport athletes would probably benefit little or be hampered by increased body mass or strength. The added body mass could more than offset any increase in intense, short-term efforts.

What are the effects of using Androstenedione?

Since Androstenedione can be synthesized into testosterone, one can probably assume that the short-term and long-term risks are similar to other androgenic-anabolic steroids. Anabolic-androgenic steroid use can affect the liver and the cardiovascular system as well as the reproductive system. Liver function can be damaged, resulting in jaundice, blood-filled cysts, and tumors (including those that are cancerous). Blood cholesterol levels often increase because steroid use changes how sugars and fats are handled. This and increased blood pressure can lead to the early development of heart disease, which can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. For males, production of naturally occurring hormones, like testosterone, may be decreased. This may result in shrinking of the testes, low sperm counts, and infertility. Because anabolic-androgenic steroids are derivative of male hormones, female users may take on more male-like characteristics, such as broader backs, wider shoulders, thicker waists, flatter chests, more body and facial hair and deeper voices. Menstrual cycles may become irregular or stop. Steroids may also affect muscles and other parts of the musculoskeletal system. Tendons and ligaments may not strengthen at the same rate the muscle tissue develops. As a result, these tissues appear to be injured more often among steroid users. Also, for adolescent athletes, steroid use may cause the growth plates in long bones to close faster than usual, which can result in lower height. Oily skin and acne are also common among steroid users. Some users experience dramatic mood swings. Anxiety, irritability, aggressiveness, and impulsiveness may occur.

Androstenedione use is banned by the NCAA, NFL, and the International Olympic Committee because users risk the same long-term damage associated with anabolic steroids. The Association of Professional Physicians, an organization of team physicians from professional sport teams, has stated, " Despite how manufactures try to position androstenedione as a natural substance, it is still an anabolic steroid." Simply put, its chemical structure is that of a steroid.

 
   
 

Both a well balanced diet and fluid intake will
help reduce fatigue and improve overall performance