Husband-wife nutrition experts integral to skaters’ performance by NEAL REID
For Dan and Robin Benardot, nutrition isn’t just a passing fad, it’s a way of life. Te husband-and-wife pair have dedicated
their careers to helping people and athletes use nutrition to maximize their potential. When it comes to elite athletes and nutrition, the Benar- dots are the unrivaled authorities. Te Atlanta, Ga.-based tandem has worked
with U.S. Figure Skating athletes for nearly a decade, helping top skaters of all ages and their coaches build tailor-made nutrition plans to take their performances to the next level. Dan, director of the Laboratory for Elite Athlete Performance at Georgia State University, previously worked with Olympic teams for USA Gymnastics and USA Track and Field (marathon) before gravitating to figure skating.
As the skating world began to see the bene- fits of enlisting his services, Dan asked his wife, Robin, also a registered dietitian nutritionist, to help him with U.S. Figure Skating’s athletes. Helping skaters achieve their best is the Benar- dots’ chief aim. “Our goal is pretty simple: to help the skat- ers understand that the right food, eaten at the right time and in the right amounts will make them leaner, stronger, enhance endurance, will also help them lower disease risks and, important- ly, will help them perform better,” said Dan, who also is a professor of nutrition and professor of kinesiology and health at GSU. “We want these skaters to understand how to do it right so they can both look great and perform great.” No matter what type of athlete, the right nu- trition plan is one key to success. “Good nutrition is critical for performance and should be considered an integral part of training,” Dan said. “We have never seen a poorly nourished athlete perform up to his or her condi- tioned ability.” Te Benardots have worked with the govern-
ing body’s best and brightest, and their expertise has translated into elevated performances for the
20 JUNE/JULY 2014
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Dan Benardot gets ready for the action at the 2013 U.S. Championships in Omaha, Neb.
athletes. Every skater is different, so streamlining a plan for each individual is a puzzle the Benar- dots must constantly figure out. “Once the skater understands the underly- ing physiological realities, then we tailor every person’s nutrition plan based on several factors that are different for each person, so ‘canned di- ets’ are not possible,” Dan said. “Weight, height, body fat percentage, duration and intensity of training, when the training occurs, and goals (lose fat, gain muscle, stay the same, etc.) are all factors. So two skaters of the same age training at the same rink will have two completely different nutrition plans.” Part of the Benardots’ challenge is assisting
athletes, parents and coaches in filtering and sift- ing through the mountain of information regard- ing nutrition that has permeated our health-con-
The Benardots visit with two-time U.S. bronze medalist Agnes Zawadzki at the 2012 U.S. Championships.
scious society. Tat is usually a difficult task, especially since high-level skaters are often ac- tively pursuing nutrition enhancements on their own.
“Te Internet is full of a lot of garbage infor-
mation,” said Robin, a clinical dietitian-oncology specialist at Northside Hospital Cancer Institute in Atlanta. “It’s hard at times for the skaters to know what’s right and what isn’t. Tere is a lot of incorrect information skaters could carry with them, and so they’re on the wrong path with nu- trition.
“Te first thing we try to sound out when
we’re talking with athletes is: What do they know, and is it reliable information? I think that, be- cause they’re always looking for ways to improve performance, they’re more inclined to be seeking information.” In addition to the type of diet an athlete im- plements into the training regimen, timing can be everything, according to Dan. “When the skater trains makes a huge differ- ence in when and what the athlete needs to eat,” he said. “For instance, one skater may have the most intense practice at 7 in the morning, while another has the most intense practice at 11 a.m. Both like to get together to eat at 10 a.m. Howev- er, if that’s the first meal for the skater who trains at 7 a.m., he or she will be training on an emp- ty tank, lowering muscle mass, increasing stress hormone, lowering bone density, increasing the proportion of weight that is fat and getting little benefit out of the training. “It’s a bit like asking your car to take you
from New York to San Francisco and telling the car, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll give you all the gas you needed for the trip once we get to San Francisco.’ It doesn’t work for your car and doesn’t work for the skater, either.” If the timing of a skater’s diet is off, the re- sults can be just as profound as if the athlete had missed the mark in a jump. “Often, little nutrition mistakes translate
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