Advanced sports nutrition

One of the most defining features of an athlete or bodybuilder is generally their very well toned and muscular bodies. However, although much revered, it does take a significant amount of hard work as well as commitment to be able to achieve the sculpted look that many of them have attained. Most people have a tendency to fall into the trap of consuming fast foods such s hamburgers and hot dogs primarily because it fits into the convenience of our very hectic lifestyles. However, you will never see an athlete or bodybuilder eat the same kind of foods because they provide absolutely no nutrition for the body in addition to containing nothing more than empty carbs that do little more than weight gain. It is only over the last few decades that sports nutrition, just as with sports medicine and sports psychology, have come into being widely accepted as methods of being able to get the best out of an athlete.

Advanced sports nutrition is primarily focused on the type and quantity of fluids and food being consumed by the athlete, including the level of intake of minerals, vitamins and carbohydrates including fat and proteins. While it is obviously a very prevalent and important component of most sports, it plays an even more significant role in strength sports such as weightlifting and bodybuilding; and endurance sports such as cycling, a triathlon and cross country running. The way in which advanced sports nutrition optimizes an athletes performance is by improving body composition, thereby increasing speed, mobility, quickness and strength. Moreover, advanced sports nutrition also plays a very important role in speeding up recovery from a certain injury or muscle stress – thereby substantially increasing the athlete’s capacity for practice as well as competition. A well planned and counseled diet will also enhance the levels of immunity of the individual, thereby preventing him or her from illness to a significant level.

Given that advanced sports nutrition is growing as a science on an almost daily basis, a number of advanced sports nutrition products have also flooded the consumer markets – citing the increased genera focus on leading a healthier life as an opportunity. Moreover, a number of athletes also consider taking a few of the best sports nutrition supplements in their hunt for the magic ingredient that will optimize their performance within legal boundaries. Outside the confines of what is legal, a number of bodybuilders and other athletes will also turn to performance enhancing supplements such as anabolic steroids which help build mass and strength extremely quickly. There are also a number of high energy drinks that fall into the bracket of being components of advanced sports nutrition as they tend to increase the epinephrine and non epinephrine levels in the body. Caffeine is another beverage that falls into the advanced sports nutrition category primarily because of the fact that it helps mask fatigue to a significant degree. However, on studies that have compared the effects of plain water and sports drinks, results have shown that chocolate milk is more effective than either of the previous two in being able to replace any body fluids that are lost through sweat. Drinking a glass of chocolate milk after any exercise induced dehydration will boost the fluid content of the body as much as 2 percent higher than any other beverage.

When talking about advanced sports nutrition, there are a few basic important steps that one should keep in mind. Fr example, it is advisable that that one consumes food by way of a full meal or light snack just before, during or after an exercise session as it helps control the glucose levels in the body.

Submitted on January 16, 2014