Coach\'s Guide to Training Room Strategies

Provide optimal fuel and fluid for your players
by: Leslie Bonci, M.P.H., R.D.
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As coaches, you certainly want athletes who can give it their all day after day. Training camp is a high stress time for you as well as for your players. Not only can this experience be mentally trying, but it is physically demanding as well. Everyone is well aware of the heat-related deaths that received national attention last summer. The bad news is that summers aren’t going to be any cooler, training camp takes place during these hot and humid months, and part of your job needs to be to educate athletes to keep them safe.

Gatorade, the National Athletic Trainers Association and the AFCA have collaborated to develop a program (H.E.A.T.) to educate athletes about the signs of heat related illness and prevention to minimize the dangers of exercise in the heat.

Contributors to heat-related illnesses

• Weather - Heat and humidity are definitely factors for increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses, and due to the timing of the football season, exercising in these conditions is going to be unavoidable.

• Deconditioned athletes - The athlete who has not done much exercise over the summer, or has gained weight from the season will not be able to jump into the rigors of training camp without potentially stressing his body

• Pads - Practice in full pads increases heat production which can lead to heat illness, so pads should be used prudently

• “Rookies” - First-time training camp attendees are not always prepared for the physical demands of training camp, and do not always adjust food and fluid upwards to compensate

• Poor eating habits - Athletes who eat sporadically, or who focus on protein to the exclusion of all else will not consume enough electrolytes, or be in good fluid balance and are more susceptible to heat-related illnesses.

• Inadequate fluid - The player who starts practice in a dehydrated state is going to feel worse as practice goes on, and will not be able to give 100 percent. Being slightly dehydrated can decrease strength, speed, and stamina by 8-10 percent.

• Being overweight - Excess weight is physically taxing to the body, and stresses the body more in hot and humid weather.

• Supplement use - Ephedra, guarana, mate and kola nut are all stimulants and are also diuretics. Cascara and senna are herbal laxatives found in many weight loss products and can cause fluid and electrolyte loss.

• Medications - Appetite suppressants, asthma medications, Ritalin can increase heat production and predispose the athlete to heat-related illness

• Pressure - If I stop, the coach, or other players might think I’m weak.

• The martyr attitude - it’s OK, I can play through discomfort.

While most coaches think of training camp as a time to work on drills to prepare the team for a long season, training camp applies not only to drills, but also to eating and drinking.

• Athletes need to acclimate
• Athletes need to train their guts
• Athletes need to know that;

1) You think it is important for them to eat well.
2) You won’t penalize them for taking fluid breaks.
3) You reward (verbally) athletes who do a good job at fueling
and hydrating.
4) You encourage players to be forthcoming if they don’t feel well.

STRATEGIES THAT WORK

• Send a letter to athletes 1 month before training camp to encourage them to start conditioning in the heat 2 weeks before the start of training camp to help them to acclimate to the heat by increasing sweat production sooner.
• Try to avoid workouts if it is unusually hot. Either scale back the workout or move it to a cooler time of day, or inside.
• Build rest breaks into the schedule. Not only to stop activity, but to get out of the sun and INTO the shade
• Keep an eye on at risk players.
• Educate players on the signs and symptoms of heat illness.
• Use pads sensibly, and encourage players to wear loose fitting, cotton blend clothing.
• May need to cool at risk players in ice water tubs.
• Do be prepared for an emergency. Have the number of the local hospital, ice, and ice towels available and accessible.

FROM THE NUTRITION SIDE:

• Make optimal eating and hydration a team priority by having a team meeting at the start of training camp.

• Have athletes establish individual fluid goals and have them monitor this information.

• Encourage players to start hydrating at the beginning of the day and remind them that they should drink a water-bottle size amount of water or sports drink 2 to 3 hours before practice, and another half 10 to 20 minutes prior to practice.

• Remind your players that it is their responsibility to optimally fuel and hydrate.

• Have players keep a log in their playbook.

• Post charts in the bathroom for players to keep track of the color of their urine – lighter is better.

• Make players accountable- Need to show up for meals.

• Allow players to drink and perhaps even eat during meetings. After a morning practice in the heat, athletes may not have much of an appetite for lunch, but may get hungry in afternoon meetings. Let your players know that it is OK for them to eat during the meetings.

• Players who don’t fuel before exercise don’t practice.

• Schedule fluid breaks and make sure that players drink- A good gauge is 7 to 10 good sized gulps at every break. Sports drinks provide fuel and electrolytes that may help to keep players from cramping. Fruit juices, soda, high carbohydrate beverages, and caffeine containing fluids are not the best choice during exercise. Gently remind them that spitting fluid and pouring it on one’s head are not effective strategies for hydrating.

• Adopt a weigh in/weigh out protocol for players to monitor fluid losses- The goal is to drink at least 20 ounces of fluid for every pound lost during exercise.

• Make sure that there is accessible and available fluid at all times.

• Consider larger cups to encourage players to drink more.

• Have fluids immediately available in the locker room after practices and positioned as the first thing the players see when they enter the dining hall.

• For the Steelers, we have large cups with various juices, cut up fruit, popsicles for quick and tasty rehydration and refueling.

• Work with the food service director to ensure that there are lots of carbohdyrate-containing foods at every meal. Carbs encourage better fluid balance. Protein and carb combinations are better; ie. fajitas, subs, kebabs over rice, pasta with meat sauce to help the athlete to eat more carbs instead of selectively opting for protein

• To encourage improved refueling after hot practices, consider cold, easy to eat foods such as pasta salads, sandwiches, wraps, instead of always hot meals which may seem too heavy on a 90 degree day

• Ask the players what some of their favorite foods are and try to incorporate those into the training camp menu. Obviously not lobster every night, but at the beginning of camp, encourage each player to list 3-5 of his favorite foods, and try to put these on the menu

• If blenders are available, ask food service to put out chilled milk, yogurt, cut up fruit, nonfat dry milk powder, for the players to make smoothies. This goes down easily on a hot day, and is a great source of protein and carbohydrate without the extra expense and additives in the protein powders.

• When it comes to supplements, do talk to the athletes, or have the ATC or sports nutritionist talk about supplements that can contribute to heat-related illnesses: Ephedra
Caffeine
Senna
Cascara
Energy drinks (some contain caffeine)
Alcohol

• Encourage athletes not to be stingy with salt intake. Some players will lose tremendous amounts of sodium during practice, and if they drink only water and use very little sodium, they run the risk of developing hyponatremia or low blood sodium levels.

• For overweight athletes, special precautions need to be taken, because excess body fat in and of itself can contribute to increased susceptibility to heat related illness. Practices used for weight loss can be the problem, ie. high protein diets, or weight loss supplements, or skipping meals, which usually results in inadequate fluid intake.

* Ephedra, also know as Ma Huang, sida cordifolia, and epitonin is a component of many “ energy” and fat -burning products. As of July 1,2002, the NFL will become the first professional sports league to test for ephedra. The NCAA has had ephedra on the banned list for a while. The over-the-counter form of ephedra in these products has been associated with over 1000 adverse events, including 81 deaths. Ephedra is a very potent central nervous system stimulant, causing the athlete to breathe more shallowly as well as increasing blood pressure and heart rate. Couple these effects with exercise, heat and humidity and you have a disaster waiting to happen. The best advice you can offer your players is to get off of it, or don’t start.

** Caffeine does not affect body fat loss, but can have both a diuretic and laxative effect resulting in fluid loss. The herbal forms of caffeine such as guarana, mate and kola nut are very concentrated and can also interfere with mineral absorption. Caffeine in combination with ephedra increases the stimulatory effects.

*** and senna are very potent herbal laxatives that cause fluid and electrolyte loss which can predispose the athlete to dehydration and cramping.

BOTTOM LINE

There are some things not worth skimping on in the budget. Adequate food and fluid is more important to the health and well-being of your players, than the most costly uniform. Make the case to your AD for a proper training table including fresh fruits and vegetables, sports drinks, yogurt, popsicles, and tasty, fuel rich foods. The benefits to performance both on and off the field can’t be beat.

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