Scholar Athletics: August 2012

Friday, August 31, 2012

Basic Nutrition Guidelines for Female Athletes

Article by: Dr. Robert Truax

Nutrition for athletes has three purposes: 1) maximize initial performance; 2) sustain maximal performance; and 3) rapid recovery. For the female athlete, proper nutrition is also needed to maintain menstrual cycle and bone health.

The menstrual cycle is an additional energy user, so female athletes need to eat both for athletic performance and to maintain a normal menstrual cycle. Adequate nutrition also helps sustain normal levels of estrogen, a hormone needed not only to maintain normal menstrual cycle, but also to stimulate bone growth. Consequently, inadequate nutrition causes problems with athletic performance, the menstrual cycle—e.g., prolonged time between periods or complete cessation of periods—and bone health.

If a female athlete lacks adequate caloric intake, it will impact her athletic performance and her bone development, while also causing abnormal menstruation.

Calorie Guidelines

So, how should a female athlete eat to achieve all these goals? First, she needs to consume enough calories every day. Calories equal energy, not excess weight. This means eating more than 40 calories per kilogram of bodyweight per day, or 20 calories per pound. Thus, a female athlete who weighs 120 pounds needs more than 2,400 calories per day. This is the minimum amount of calories she needs to maintain health and good performance.

Because gaining weight is often a concern, the athlete needs first to ensure she is eating more than this amount daily and then watch her weight. If she finds herself gaining a few pounds, she should not worry! This just demonstrates that she was not eating enough previously. The extra calories will actually help to improve her performance, which is her ultimate goal.

To break it down further, all athletes need at least 6g of carbohydrates (sugars and starches) per kilogram per day, or 3 grams per pound, as well as 1.4 grams of protein per kilogram per day, or 0.7 grams per pound. So, a female athlete who weighs 120 pounds—needing more than 2,400 calories per day—should consume 360 grams of carbohydrates and 84 grams of protein per day. Since each gram of carbohydrate and protein delivers four calories, these amounts will actually equal not quite 1,800 calories. The rest can be filled with healthy fats, carbohydrates or protein.

A good example is a nut butter (peanut, soy, sunflower, etc.) and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread. This is an excellent athletic meal because of the carbohydrates—fast-acting sugars in the jelly and long-lasting starches in the bread—and the protein in the nut butter. In addition, the fats in the nut butter are "good" fats, ones the body actually needs. Meats are excellent sources of protein, and beans are a great source of both carbohydrate and protein. On the other hand, a piece of cake is not a good choice, because it has calories, carbohydrates and bad fats but virtually no protein.

Two final points: 1) vegetarians and vegans should consult a sports nutritionist to ensure an adequate diet; and 2) post-exercise meals should contain about 6g of carbohydrates/pound and 0.1g of protein/pound.

Many different combinations can be used, and each athlete should experiment with various foods to find the ones that work best. Eat well, perform well!

Summary

•Eat more than 20 calories per pound per day

•Eat more than 3g of carbohydrates per pound per day

•Eat more than 0.7g of protein per pound per day

•Eat some good fats—between 20 and 30 percent of total calories

•Eat carbohydrates and protein before and after exercising

•Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables (not juices), but do not include their calories in your overall intake. They provide a wealth of micronutrients athletes need but are too low in calories to make a difference

Photo: facebook.com

Dr. Robert Truax is a board-certified doctor in sports medicine, family medicine and osteopathic manipulative treatment at University Hospitals in Cleveland and an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine. Visit uhhospitals.org/SportsMedVideos to watch sports injury videos.

leg workout

Strength TrainingThe Four Best Leg Exercises for Women

Article by: Kermit Cannon

As a female athlete, you must strengthen your legs if you want to become better at your sport. But too often, women only use machine exercises, which do little for improving performance.

Think about some of the more common machines, like those for Hip Abduction, Hip Adduction, Leg Extension and Bicep Curls. When in sports do you ever open and close your hips, or flex and extend your knees from a fixed position? Never. (Find out what other machine exercises you should avoid.)

Instead, female athletes should focus on lower-body exercises that engage multiple muscle groups around the hips, knees and ankles. These exercises more closely mimic athletic movements, promoting larger improvements on the field. Also, since they engage multiple muscles, you can challenge more areas of your legs with fewer exercises. The result is increased overall lower-body strength. Plus, you will be pleasantly surprised with your appearance improvements!

Perform this lower-body workout three times per week to attain your leg strength and appearance goals. Perform each exercise for three sets of 10 reps.

Dumbbell Sumo Squat

•Assume athletic stance with feet six inches outside of shoulders and feet turned out slightly

•Grab top of heavy dumbbell and hold at hips with arms extended

•Bend at hips and knees; lower until thighs are parallel to ground

•Keep back straight and chest up

•Drive up out of Squat to return to start position

•Repeat for specified reps

Dumbbell Step-Up

•Assume athletic stance in front of knee high box, holding dumbbells at sides

•Step onto box with right foot

•Explosively extend right hip and knee to raise body onto box

•Drive up with left knee so thigh is parallel to floor; hold for two seconds

•Return left foot to ground

•Repeat for specified reps

Dumbbell RDL

•Assume athletic stance, holding dumbbells just above knees with palms facing body

•Keeping core tight, back flat and feet flat on floor, bend at waist and lower dumbbells in front of legs as far as flexibility allows

•Forcefully contract glutes to rise to start position

•Repeat for specified reps

Scissor Jumps

•Assume lunge position with left foot forward

•Explode upward for maximum height

•Switch leg position midair so you land in lunge position with right foot forward

•Immediately perform next rep; repeat for specified reps

Photo: buzzbox.com

Kermit Cannon is the owner of Youth Sports Training and the author of The Beast Factory, a nutrition and fitness book for athletes. For 19 years, he has been a strength and conditioning coach for Santa Monica High School, where he has trained hundreds of individuals and several championship teams. Many of his athletes have received college scholarships or have entered the professional ranks. Cannon is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations, Let’s Move!, the National Council of Youth Sports, the Sports Youth & Marketing Network and USA Track & Field. In 2011, he received the Community Leadership Award from the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition.