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The Plus Ultra Effects of Nutrition

In April 1982, the first series of articles were published in The National Strength and Conditioning Association Journal (NSCAJ), written by William Kraemer called, “An Introduction to Research: Reading and Understanding,” which informed readers that the series was intended to help their “membership gain insight into the reading and understanding of research papers” (Shurley et al., 2017). The articles explained what a scientific report should look like and they contained a discussion section at the end describing findings, applicability, and future research. The articles taught readers the difference between validity and reliability, how to develop a hypothesis, and they discussed sampling methods. The first generation of modern strength coaches wanted to take the practice of strength training for sport and turn it into a scientifically based and reputable profession. The 1970’s was a time of limited scientific knowledge about strength and sports in the U.S., therefore those desiring to attain greater knowledge in strength and conditioning were left without a guide until the NSCA published professional journals. In 1978 the National Strength Coaches Association held their first meeting where members were mostly college educated and selected to be strength coaches. After the first meeting a 16 page news-letter was sent out to the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and more than 8,000 colleges and high schools. The first 16 page Newsletter generated interest in the organization and is shown below.

The phrase “Bridging the Gap” had become popular in the 1980’s and was the NSCA's motto as well as its mission. The NSCAJ then began a very important educational series written by Bruce Algra which demonstrated which muscles are involved in various movements, covering good and bad techniques, with the front cover of Volume 4, Number 5, displaying a photograph of an anatomical drawing that shows how certain muscles are used while a person is on the bench press. Coaches began to put these articles on their bulletin boards, weight trainers used them for their course packets, and every issue in the NSCAJ had covers illustrating the breakdown of individual elements of sports which taught coaches basics of anatomy, programming, and biomechanics. The “Sport Performance Series” is one of the most important contributions to the quest to make strength coaching a science-based profession” (Shurley et al., 2017). The next issue featured an Algra-drawn cover which displayed a male basketball player about to make a 2-handed dunk. The article included a training program and discussed which exercises were useful for strengthening muscles. Below is a copy of Volume 4, Number 5 which became a hallmark of the journal in the 1990’s.

Ron Smith and Scott McQuilkin, sports historians, concluded in 1995 that “if there had been no other accomplishment by the NSCA, the development of a knowledgeable journal for strength and conditioning professionals made the NSCA venture worthwhile” (Shurley et al., 2017). Fast forward two decades and the NSCA and JSCR transformed the world of strength and conditioning. At this time, the JSCR had changed its name and also had attracted more attention. The NSCAJ is now called the Strength and Conditioning Journal: The Professional Journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (SCJ) which contains articles of applied nature and practical applications. The forerunner of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research was the first issue of The Journal of Applied Sport Science Research that appeared in the February of 1987 issue in the NSCA Journal and cover which is shown below.

There has been a major shift from professionals relying on anecdotal evidence, pitchmen for strength training equipment companies, and muscle magazines for references regarding strength and conditioning since the 1970s. To date, more than 400 published articles are backed by a vast amount of research in the field of Strength and Conditioning. The NSCA was able to demonstrate which training techniques actually improved performance by publishing experimental research. There are few peer-reviewed resources that “assess the wide scope of AF and guide scientific support for staff, coaches and practitioners within the sport” of American Football (AF) although it is one of the most wealthiest and popular sports in the world with extensive resources dedicated to professional and collegiate levels (Fullargar et al., 2017 ). Although there has been growth for AF economically and scientifically since previous reviews, there has been a need for an updated evaluation of the applied physiology of collegiate AF. AF is now played and broadcasted in other countries, expanding its global brand and giving it a wider exposure than previous years. Scientific studies on collegiate AF have grown exponentially since the first paper in 1969.

Studies have recently shown that there is a wide range of body compositions among players which have been influenced by level of play, position, training history, time of season, and programming. Demands of the game of football involve upper/lower body strength and power production, positive and negative rapid acceleration, high-running speed, change of direction, repetitive and high intensity collisions, and muscular strength endurance. All of the demands mentioned above may be affected by coaching style and the timing of plays. American Football injuries seem to be caused by many factors including movement quality, time of season, surface type, strength, playing position, training load, and previous injury. Also, performance is at a disadvantage because players have limited nutrition and hydration practices. Due to the inherently aggressive and intense physical demands of AF, injuries are an acknowledged part of the sport. The consequences of players becoming injured range from emotional and financial to long-term health concerns. From collegiate players’ perspective, injuries can ultimately have a negative impact on future earnings, considering their chances of making it to the NFL.

Strength and conditioning within AF has been classified as developing and improving the individual player for specific physical characteristics. Athletes' physical development is directed by day-to-day exercise, order of exercises, level of intensity, number of sets, and length of resting periods.The majority of research within AF is directed towards the importance of optimising physical training and performance outcomes. Specifically, there is a widely acknowledged importance for the development of strength, power, speed and conditioning for AF players to be both successful and resilient to injury. Since the physical demands of the sport place a wide variety of stressors on players’ bodies, physical attributes should be developed in order to enhance performance and increase the odds of athletes resiliency to injury. These findings have caused added pressure for strength and conditioning coaches because their primary goal is to improve physical performances of athletes.

Sports nutrition is a major component of any training program but is often overlooked by student-athletes. Football players need education on sport nutrition because they have been found to lack nutritional knowledge and basic knowledge about hydration. “The energy requirements across positions are estimated to be from 5200-6500 kilocalories daily depending on size and stature (Fullagar et al., 2017)”. Athletes have expressed their awareness of not having adequate consumption of the major food groups. Convenience and cost of food have been determinants for what athletes will eat. According to Fullagar at al., (2017) athletes have reported to eat out on average 23% of the time. Nutrition education programs should be provided for athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, and strength and conditioning specialists. Classes on nutrition should be integrated into the undergraduate or graduate programs of athletic trainers and strength and conditioning specialists to improve continuity of care. Common nutrition resources for athletes are strength and conditioning specialists (SCSs), athletic trainers (ATs), coaches, and registered dietitians. The problem with these dynamics are that SCSs, ATs, and coaches have limited nutrition information. In a study done by Torress McGee et al. (2012), ATs and SCSs had the highest nutrition scores, suggesting that they have enough nutrition knowledge to inform athletes with appropriate information, however, 28.6% of ATs had inadequate nutrition knowledge, compared with only 16.9% of SCSs. Findings from this study are similar to previous research.

According to Tauress-McGee et al., (2012), little research exists on sports nutrition for SCSs, ATs, coaches, or athletes and although ATs and SCSs have adequate sports nutrition knowledge, it was found that some professionals are overly confident in their incorrect answers. ATs and SCSs should be cautious when giving nutritional advice to athletes. When situations arise beyond the ATs' or SCSs' scope of practice, referral to an RD or expert in the field is beneficial professionally and imperative for the success and safety of athletes. Proper nutrition education among these staff members is critical because athletes have frequent contact with ATs and SCSs. Although ATs and SCSs are competent in sports nutrition knowledge, they should defer to an expert in the field, for example a registered dietitian, when situations are beyond their scopes of practice. Over the past 20 years, researchers have documented the benefits of nutrition related to exercise performance. According to Torress McGee et al. (2012), the American College of Sports Medicine, Dietitians of Canada, and American Dietetic Association reported that athlete physical activity, athletic performance, and recovery from exercise are enhanced by optimal nutrition. Athletes must have appropriate nutrition knowledge and easily accessible resources for nutrition guidance, but barriers may hinder healthful eating, including participation in excessive exercise, deficits in nutrition knowledge, or restricted dietary intake.

Sport performance stressors call for a collaboration of professionals to work toward optimizing nutrition because proper training and optimal energy availability are essential to maximize both health and performance. Demands of training and performance place athletes at greater risk for medical complications, psychological problems, suboptimal energy availability, and musculoskeletal injury. Access to nutrition resources might be limited for athletes and athletes often have been misinformed because information usually comes from multiple professional resources including ATs, RDs, SCSs, and coaches. Adequate sports nutrition knowledge can improve an AT's standard of care concerning prevention and rehabilitation. Nutrition programming should be integrated for both ATs and SCSs while they are continuing education. Few peer-reviewed resources have studied the wide dynamics of football, but the majority of research has reviewed the importance of physical training and performance outcomes for the success of athletes. Since studies have shown that there are many different types of body compositions and players can be influenced by position and level of play, it is important for athletes to develop strength, power, speed, and conditioning to be successful and resilient to injuries. Nutrition programs should be integrated into graduate and undergraduate programs to aid in meeting the physical demands of athletes and to ensure that athletic trainers and strength and conditioning specialists improve continuity of care for athletes. The physical demands of sports create stressors for players, therefore professionals should strive to enhance performance of athletes to decrease the odds of injuries and help them to develop a healthy lifestyle.

References

Fullagar, H.H., McCunn R., Murray, A. (2017). An Updated Review of the Applied Physiology of American Collegiate Football: The Physical Demands, Strength/Conditioning, Nutritional Considerations and Injury Characteristics of America’s Favourite Game. International Journal of Sport Physiology and Performance, 0(0).

Shurley, J.P., Todd, J., Todd, T.C. (2017). The Science of Strength Reflections on the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the Emergence of Research-Based Strength and Conditioning. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 31(2), 517-530.

Torres-McGehee, T.M, Pritchett, K.L., Zippel, D., Minton, D.M., Cellamare, A., Sibilia, M. (2012). Sports Nutrition Knowledge Among Collegiate Athletes, Coaches, Athletic Trainers, and Strength and Conditioning Specialists. Journal of Athletic Training, 47(2), 205-211.

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