METRICS IN MOTION MONITORING NUTRITION


By Anne Rollins Registered Dieti ti an


A


nthropometrics, the measurement of the human individual for the purposes of understanding human


physical variati on, can be excellent tools for athletes to help achieve a sport-specifi c body compositi on. Individual sports may have opti mal metrics so that strength is not a limiter or present in excess and either ulti mately hamper the athletes’ performance, not enhance it. Body fat percentage and body mass


index (BMI) used in conjuncti on combine to produce an eff ecti ve sport specifi c metric, the sum being more insightf ul than the two parts by themselves. Based on age and gender, we can determine appropriate parameters for opti mal body fat percent and then by sport-specifi c categorizati ons, opti mal BMI. However, the road to a goal weight for an event that is eight months away is not a straight one. For triathlon, training for an event may


begin in January at 10 pounds over goal weight for an Ironman in June. There are


several risks for the athlete arriving in June under or over goal that translate to compromised training and/or race-day performance. Illness, injury, subopti mal training and early fati gue are common issues that may be decreased signifi cantly by fueling properly from beginning to end and maintaining recommended “healthy” weights throughout the training and racing season. Training for most athletes begins with


strength work to maximize muscle building and durability. Here, additi onal calories and/or protein are prudent to support the necessary anabolic environment for muscle growth. Commonly, athletes are hurried to pull off extra pounds from the off season, missing a vital opportunity to support muscle growth. As training becomes more sport-specifi c, and volume begins to grow in durati on and intensity, the increase of carbohydrates is necessary to provide protein-sparing calories for increased acti vity. Typically,


this is easily achieved, and more oft en, overachieved by athletes over-consuming carbohydrates. Once carbohydrate-based workout fuels and recovery aids are tallied with the amount of wholesome food carbohydrates, athletes may fi nd they have overshot their recommended intakes and have subsequently failed to meet their recommended weight for a parti cular phase of the “A-race” buildup. Conversely, as training volume increases and the athlete fails to increase caloric intake, weight loss becomes evident leaving the athlete underweight without proper fat stores and lean body mass to realize full potenti al during training. Compromised training translates to compromised performance. The fi rst step in determining how to


proceed to avoid common pitf alls is to determine your athlete’s current body fat percent and BMI, then set personal goal BMI and body fat for the sport. Choose their A-race, making note of any important key races and training sessions along the way


(continued on next page) PERFORMANCECOACHING | page 3


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