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There are five key aspects to increase athletic output. Nutrition is the major influence for the outcome and enhancement of these aspects.
To explain this concept I must first discuss fatigue. Fatigue is very complex. Fatigue in its simplest definition is the depletion of energy or the decrease of energy production. It depends upon the intensity and duration of the activity. With the proper amount of training and nutritional intake, the onset of fatigue can be delayed. This is the main objective of training. Your nutritional habit is what controls intensity and duration of an activity. To perform at a higher level, the body needs energy. As your nutritional habits become more efficient, so does your athletic performance. Delaying the onset of fatigue makes you a better athlete.
The body has three types of energy production systems. The first one is ATP-PC energy system. This system is only used for 1-10 seconds, with a very explosive output of energy. The second type of energy system used is the anaerobic or lactic acid system. This system is used for 1-3 minutes at high intensity levels during a race. The last type of energy system used is the aerobic or oxygen system. This energy system is used for swim practice.
For all three energy systems to work at the highest levels, your diet should be high in carbohydrates before and after exercise or competition. The more you exercise, the longer you delay the onset of fatigue. With the delay of fatigue comes the increase of athletic performance.
The third aspect of increased athletic performance is recovery time. After any type of activity, your body needs to recover. There is some type of muscular damage that occurs with exercise. This muscular damage also triggers the onset of fatigue. Muscular damage is something you have experienced many times in the past and is something you will experience in the future. Muscular damage is the pain or discomfort felt the day after you start exercising again, or after an especially hard workout. The trained athletes experience less pain and discomfort. But muscular damage still occurs. Exercise and training condition the muscles to withstand the demands placed on them during training or competition. To help decrease recovery time and be ready for the next practice or competition, you must provide the body every opportunity to recover.
Your body is functioning at the highest efficiency levels during and soon after training. The sooner you eat after training, the more you take advantage of this increased efficiency level. To help the muscle recover, it needs food. Many studies have shown that recovery time can be cut to less than 24 hours when carbohydrates are consumed within one hour of activity. When there is a delay of carbohydrate intake of an hour or more, the time of recovery may be as long as 48 hours. The type of energy used by the muscle is called glycogen (another form of carbohydrate). Glycogen helps repair the damaged muscle. The rate of synthesis, or the making of glycogen, is at its highest levels the moment training is completed. The sooner you eat, the better repaired and prepared the body becomes. You have now decreased recovery time and you are now ready for the next workout.
The fourth and fifth aspects to improving athletic performance are the most important. The ability to concentrate not only determines the outcome of an athletic performance, but also helps prevent injuries. Most injuries occur at the end of training. When the end of a workout draws near, most athletes want to finish strong and overstep their limits. As fatigue and dehydration increase, the ability to concentrate decreases. The decrease of concentration may lead to an injury.
Proper nutritional habit is what ultimately controls the five key aspects of improved athletic performance.
For information on how to improve your personal nutritional
habits contact Jerry Frentsos, R.D.,
Web: www.nutritionintuition.com
(410) 992-0786.
