Fueling the race car

"The sports car doesn't run well on cheap gas." Sitting in the athletic training lab at the Saurwein Health and Wellness Center at Heidelberg University, a lot of student athletes at the Division III school hear this phrase during classes. The majority of those are taught by Dr. Morgan Kocher, department chair of the Exercise Science and Sports Studies program at Heidelberg. His credentials include graduating from Linfield College in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training. He then earned his masters and PhD at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. He started teaching at HU in the fall of 2018 in the exercise science department. His expertise in the area has been sought after in the community as he is the go-to guy for nutrition for Tiffin-area college athletes. If an athlete isn't able to fuel their body properly, then they can't reach their peak performance on the field, where it matters the most on game day. In-sport training is only one factor in a student-athlete's 24-hour preparation. "You not only have to focus on your nutrition," Kocher said. "You also have to focus on recovery, hydration, and sleep as well. All of these components are what helps an athlete reach and achieve active peak performance." For high-intensity exercise, the carbohydrates are where the energy comes from. Timing is crucial. "If you think of the energy pathways," Kocher said. "You have to have enough power in what you are requiring your body to do, or otherwise, you won't be able to do it and get the results you want." Before practice is when athletes should be putting in carbohydrates. The recommended types of carbs are those that are complex. Complex carbs are ones that fill up an athlete sooner as it takes longer to break down into glucose, which allows the body to use it for energy. Timing is just as important because what goes up, must come down. That includes blood sugar levels. "If an athlete times it wrong then we see the crashes happen, where an athlete won't have the energy for the match, in case of wrestlers. Exercise brings blood sugar levels down as well," he said. The recommended time that an athlete should eat those complex carbs is one to four hours prior, depending upon the sport. Eating a plate of spaghetti an hour prior to a sport is not recommended though but something simple as a whole wheat peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a piece of fruit is. Other suggestions include a smoothie that has a mix of peanut butter, protein powder, greek yogurt and fruit, or even an omelet with a turkey bagel and a Tropicana 50, according to University Hospitals. Blood sugar levels begin to crash about two to three hours from the time an athlete starts competing. "Think of a marathon," Kocher said. "What usually occurs around mile 20 or 22? What do the runners often complain about? Hitting a wall. Why did they hit the wall? They ran out of carbs." So the body turns to fat to burn for energy, though that doesn't come as quickly. "Elite marathon runners have their bodies trained to run fast," Kocher said. "Because they are able to burn fat quickly enough to keep going. Sure, most of it is still carbs, but they don't run out before they finish the race." Once the work out is complete, what must an athlete do to get through the rest of the day? Restock the shelves so to speak. The number range varies, but roughly 20 grams of carbs and add some protein into that as well. Chocolate milk is a good recovery drink that is available at student dining for those students not going to store to buy food. Chocolate milk isn't just a Dr. Kocher recommendation. It's also a recommendation from Gatorade, who has a Sports Science Institute that puts on a conference every year nationally. Chocolate milk has a four to one ratio when it comes to carbs to protein. His suggestion: don't start a low-carbohydrate diet during exam week because what else runs off of carbs? Your brain. "It takes about a week to ramp up the other processes that your body calls on for carbs and energy boost, and we see a lot of foggy brain while that transition happens." Kocher said. Another component of the peak athletic performance is hydration. When it comes to hydration, it's vital to avoid dehydration at all costs, especially if an athlete is in an explosive sport, such as volleyball.The hot and humid summers don't help. "When it's 50% humidity outside your body has a hard time losing heat, as it loses it through sweat. Above 75% humidity and your body can't sweat effectively, and instead of the body switching gears, it decides to sweat harder," he said. Eventually, once the body has no more to sweat, it then keeps whatever water remaining to keep the heart pumping. It becomes a problem when a person can't sweat and it leads to heat illnesses, such as heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and in rare cases, death."Staying hydrated will help avoid a medical situation," Kocher said. When an athlete is thirsty, it's already lost two to three percent of body water, and results in a 14% lower body explosiveness loss. "Volleyball is a great example of what happens when you lose explosiveness," Kocher said. "Jumping to be able to spike and or block is really important. If you can't jump high enough, the other team will continue to score and if you are the one in the front row and responsible for defense, it's not going to end well." So what is the time table for proper hydration? An hour or two before practice and or game time, drinking 10-18 ounces of water is the recommended guideline. This to prevent dehydration prior to the game. During the practice or game, an athlete should drink eight to 10 ounces every 15 to 20 minutes for up to an hour. Once an hour has passed, an athlete will then need to drink some sort of sports drink, regardless if its Gatorade, Powerade, Body Armor, or even Liquid IV, which is an electrolyte powder that can be mixed into water. Repeat steps two to three until the end of practice or game. Once the practice and or game is done, an athlete then should drink another 16 to 24 ounces for every pound lost in order to replace the electrolytes that were lost through sweating. According to University Hospitals, there has been a rise in the popularity of the use of creatine and Liquid IV for rapid rehydration in high school athletes. While the Liquid IV is more of a convenient rehydration packet, creatine is one that has been around for a long time. "Creatine has been studied since the 1970's," Kocher said. "It's mostly known for energy recovery post work out and can be found in things such as protein powders and red meat." But recently, other studies on creatine have noted an increase in muscle growth for those of the elderly population, who tends to lose muscle as the population ages and can aid in possible increased cognitive functioning. More research is needed, but points that as long as a person is getting it, in diet, most will not need it in supplement form. Then there is the weight gain vs weight loss debate. "If you are trying to build muscle, you need roughly 500 extra calories a day," Kocher said. "You want to shoot for a half a pound or a pound a week. Any more than that is considered rapid weight gain and it's usually fat, the squishy kind." It also goes the other way too; if an athlete is trying to lose weight, then they need to decrease caloric intake by 500 to a 1,000 calories. Again about a half a pound to a pound a week. Resistance training and upping protein intake is what will prevent muscle mass from being lost, because if an athlete does caloric deficit alone, they lose 50% fat, 50% muscle. Also knowing the basal metabolic rate (what does it take for simple tasks, such as getting out of bed) is two-thirds of what calories in the body is spent on.The biggest collegiate athlete population to convince: incoming freshman wrestlers. "You can't cut weight in October when you need to make weight," Kocher said. "You need to do it gradually so you are losing it the right way and not losing muscle mass." At the end of the day, Kocher's advice for most athletes is something simple. "You have to find what works for you," Kocher said. "Every athlete has to find ways to be able to sustain their nutrition and performance. It takes roughly six weeks for small changes to take effect. Don't go big all at once or otherwise you will fall off, and if life gets in the way, it's okay. Enjoy life, then get back on the wagon."