Nutritional Guidelines for Athletic Performance: The Training Table PDF

Preface

The idea and origination of this project came during a phone conversation with Dr. Ira Wolinsky, who read a previous book chapter that I had authored. After a couple more conversations and e-mail exchanges, the idea for this book developed.

The concept of the "Training Table" became the primary interest and direction of this book for various reasons. The practice known as the "training table," which is defined as a table where athletes in a training program eat planned meals to help in their conditioning/training, leads ultimately to improved adaptation and enhanced performance.

Even though many factors contribute to athletic performance, the role of proper nutrition cannot be emphasized enough. The importance of proper daily nutrition has several implications on overall health and proper homeostatic functioning of the body, but that can be said for any person, whether sedentary or an elite-level athlete. We do know that when an individual goes from a sedentary to an active lifestyle, their daily nutrient needs change. If we extrapolate that to an elite athlete who is training a minimum of 15–20 hours per week, but in some cases as many as 40–60 hours per week, these nutrient requirements grow in proportion to this level of activity. Knowing this, it is vital for athletes and for the individuals who train these athletes to know the proper nutritional requirements that are appropriate for a particular sport, body size, gender, set of goals, etc.

This book addresses these needs for athletes on a comprehensive basis from a training table perspective and provides practical recommendations along the way to include the most significant parts of a training table. The book focuses on the key nutritional guidelines for the macronutrients, basic calorie needs, and macronutrientspecific needs for various types of athletes.

During the editorial process and upon reviewing all of the up-to-date research presented in the text, it became clear to me that knowing these basic requirements and combining them with proper training are the two most important factors in maximizing training adaptations and performance. The world of sports nutrition has evolved immensely over the last 10–15 years, and it will continue to evolve as the field moves forward. I hope this book will contribute to the field by presenting practical information based on up-to-date research.