Rethinking Exercise as a Source of Immediate Rewards

I was going to skip my daily swim the other morning. I had already walked three miles with a friend and taken my dog to the park for his exercise. I was really tired, my back was sore, I had a column to write and lots to do around the house.

But I knew from past experience that I would feel much better after 40 minutes of swimming laps. So in I went. And, yes, I did feel better — not just refreshed, but more energetic, clearheaded and better prepared than I would have been otherwise to tackle the day’s essentials.

Michelle Segar, who directs the Sport, Health and Activity Research and Policy Center at the University of Michigan, would say I had reframed my exercise experience, making it ever more likely that I would continue to swim — even on days when I didn’t feel like doing it — because I viewed it as a positive, restorative activity. Indeed, exercise is something I do, not because I have to or was told to, but because I know it makes me feel better.

Dr. Segar, a psychologist who specializes in helping people adopt and maintain regular exercise habits, is the author of “No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness.” Her research has shown that even people who say they hate to exercise or have repeatedly fallen off the exercise wagon can learn to enjoy it and stick with it.

Three years ago, I wrote about research by Dr. Segar and others showing that promoting physical activity to prevent or control disease, lose weight or sculpt one’s body, and prescribing doses as if exercise were medicine, wouldn’t get most people to do it and keep doing it.

“Health is not an optimal way to make physical activity relevant and compelling enough for most people to prioritize in their hectic lives,” Dr. Segar said in an interview.

Though it seems counterintuitive, studies have shown that people whose goals are weight loss and better health tend to spend the least amount of time exercising. That is true even for older adults, a study of 335 men and women ages 60 to 95 showed.

Rather, immediate rewards that enhance daily life — more energy, a better mood, less stress and more opportunity to connect with friends and family — offer far more motivation, Dr. Segar and others have found.

“I like to think of physical activity as a way to revitalize and renew ourselves, as fuel to better enjoy and succeed at what matters most,” she said.

In her new book, she describes strategies to get even the most sedentary people off their duffs, starting with ways to overcome past failures and negative feelings about exercise that make it feel more like punishment than pleasure.

Instead of the recommended half hour a day or 10-minute doses of moderate exercise three times a day on most days, Dr. Segar suggests focusing on the idea that “everything counts” — taking the stairs instead of the elevator, weeding the garden, dancing, even walking to the water cooler.

“We should count any and every opportunity to move that exists in the space of our lives as valid movement worth doing,” she wrote. She advocates adopting a food marketer’s approach to workouts: Enjoy “snacks” of exercise that can entice gradual increases in how much is “consumed.” And like the calories in food snacks, it all adds up.

Dr. Segar likens the choices to Baskin-Robbins’s 31 flavors: “There are so many options — ‘What do I feel like doing today?’ — then picking the ‘flavor’ of physical activity that feels right for that day and moment.” The neuroscience of reward has shown that this approach can foster and reinforce positive feelings about being active.

Also important is giving oneself permission to make self-care through physical activity a priority. Dr. Segar wrote: “When we do not prioritize our own self-care because we are busy serving others, our energy is not replenished. Instead, we are exhausted, and our ability to be there for anyone or anything else is compromised.”

People who make physical activity a priority don’t necessarily have more time than others. Rather, they make sure to schedule time for it because they know it enhances their performance and the quality of their daily lives. It has been shown, for example, that schoolchildren who are given exercise breaks are better able to to pay attention and learn.

Citing a “paradox of self-care,” Dr. Segar wrote, “The more energy you give to caring for yourself, the more energy you have for everything else.” She suggests viewing physical activity as a power source for everything else you want to accomplish. “What sustains us, we sustain,” she wrote.

To those who feel they are neglecting family to fit in exercise, she suggests taking them along. The routine can help foster a culture of physical activity at an early age. When my brother and I were young, my father took us on his weekend walks. He taught us to swim as preschoolers and launched a lifetime of enjoyment in the water. Now in our 70s, both of us continue to appreciate what physical activity brings to everything else in our lives. We feel like slugs when we can’t exercise.

Even those with the best intentions often set themselves up for failure by establishing rigid exercise goals. They try to do too much, and when they can’t keep it up they give up and chalk it up as another exercise failure. In place of a performance goal, Dr. Segar suggests setting a “learning goal” — learning to be flexible and cutting yourself some slack when needed.

Consistency trumps quantity when trying to establish a lifetime of fitness. When a last-minute task cuts into a planned workout, you should not skip the session altogether. Even 10 or 20 minutes of activity is better than none.

It also helps to anticipate challenges to your exercise routine, using an “if-then” exercise tool. If, for example, you are too tired after work to go to the gym, think about a replacement activity you might enjoy, like taking a sunset walk alone or with a partner, friend, child, dog or even a neighbor’s dog.

Or, in the future, go to sleep and get up a half hour earlier to fit in physical activity before life’s demands get in the way.

Article Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/20/rethinking-exercise-as-a-source-of-immediate-rewards/?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

Here's the Best Way to Make Your Exercise Habit Stick

Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME

Having this kind of habit will make you a more successful exerciser

It’s not always easy to convince yourself to exercise after a long day of work. (Ok, it’s never easy.) But people who consistently manage to do it may be using a simple trick—whether they realize it or not—according to a new study published in the journal Health Psychology.

The most consistent exercisers, researchers found, were those who made exercise into a specific type of habit—one triggered by a cue, like hearing your morning alarm and going to the gym without even thinking about it, or getting stressed and immediately deciding to exercise. “It’s not something you have to deliberate about; you don’t have to consider the pros and cons of going to the gym after work,” explains L. Alison Phillips, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at Iowa State University and one of the study’s authors. Instead, it’s an automatic decision instigated by your own internal or environmental cue.

The researchers wanted to see whether this type of habit, known as an instigation habit, was better than another type of habit at predicting who stuck with a month of exercise. At the beginning and end of the monthlong study, they asked 123 university students and faculty questions that assessed how often they exercised and how strong their exercise habits were—whether they did it without thinking, for example. From these questions, they gleaned whether a person has a strong instigation habit—one where a cue triggers the instantaneous decision to exercise—and whether a person has a strong execution habit—that is, knowing exactly what kind of exercise they’ll do once you get to the gym, or being able to go through the motions of an exercise routine while being mentally checked out.

The only factor that predicted how often a person exercised over the long-term, they found, was the strength of their instigation habit.

MORE: 7 Psychology Tricks To Make Your Resolutions Stick

It got stronger with time, too. “When people started exercising more frequently over the month and became more active, I saw that their instigation habit strength increased with that frequency, but execution habit didn’t really change in relation to frequency at all,” Phillips says. Zoning out mentally during exercise didn’t have a negative effect, but it didn’t help a person adhere to a regimen, either.

That’s good news for newbie exercisers who might be intimidated by the same routine day in, day out. “In the long term, it seems beneficial, or at least not harmful, to have variety in your routine,” Phillips says of the results. “A lot of people might shy away from starting to exercise because they think, oh man, I can’t possibly imagine myself doing this forever. They might think of one boring routine—running on the treadmill—and to them it sounds like torture, so they give up before they even begin.”

Some repetitive behaviors do reinforce exercise, she says. “When you’re just starting to develop an exercise routine, I think it might be helpful to engage in the same behaviors, to have this patterned action.” But sticking with a cue—instead of clinging to the same tired routine—appears to be what will get you back to your workout again and again.

Article Source: http://time.com/3950220/exercise-healthy-habits/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+%28TIME%3A+Top+Stories%29&utm_content=FaceBook

Five Steps to Increase Emotional Maturity

Five Steps to Increase Emotional Maturity
Written by Invictus Intern Faith Clay

There is no substitute for experienced coaching with an accurate and broad knowledge base. I dare say this is a generally accepted concept. Perhaps less well understood and discussed (but no less important) is the concept of emotional maturity.

“What? Emotional Maturity? Maybe I’m reading the wrong blog,” you may be thinking.

Actually, the sports world has been recognizing more and more the importance of knowing oneself, one’s limitations, strengths, weaknesses, and being able to manage your attention and focus. Getting into the zone, pushing yourself to your limits, and knowing when to back off are all part of emotional intelligence or maturity (EI or EM).

There are 18 competencies identified as making up emotional intelligence with some being more essential in sports and fitness than others [1]. An athlete’s most important emotional/mental faculty is that of self-awareness—knowing one’s emotional state, providing accurate self-assessment, possessing self-confidence, and managing one’s own emotions and focus.

For coaches, the list expands to recognizing the emotional state of others and building relationships of trust and influence. This is exceptionally important for coaches of athletes who may be lacking emotional intelligence.

Not convinced? Researchers in India have investigated various types of competitive athletes from handball players to combative sports such as boxing, Judo, and wrestling [2]. They found that the level of emotional maturity was not significantly different based on the type of sport the athlete played; however, “International level players demonstrated significantly higher levels of emotional maturity as compared to the other two performance groups” (national and state level competitors) [2,3].

With all that CrossFit has done and continues to do for the world of fitness, it is essential that we as participants and proponents check ourselves with regard to our own emotional intelligence. Bo Hanson, four-time Olympian and coach, reassures us that emotional intelligence is a skill that can be learned. By developing this maturity, self-awareness, and self-management, we can better understand ourselves – when we need to back off or seek coaching to avoid an injury and when we are ready to push ourselves to the limits for maximum gains. In this regard, perhaps emotional maturity is the prescription to “Forging Elite Fitness.”

Here are five steps that have helped me improve my emotional maturity in my personal life as well at the gym:

1. Check your ego at the door
   When I enter the gym, I leave my competitive pride at the door. I go to the whiteboard in a humble mindset of determination. I remind myself of what my limits are, how I should scale the workout (or ask the coach if I’m not certain), and take note of which movements I need to improve.
2. Be in the moment
   When the coach starts explaining the movements and standards for the workout, I try to actively listen and be present; that means not talking with others while the coach is explaining what needs to be done. The coach’s tips may help me lift more, move faster, or avoid injury.
3. Increase self-discipline
   There are times when I have no desire to leave the comfort of my house to go to the gym. I may try to find some excuse that will not help me improve. Self-discipline is a sign of maturity and can be improved by consistently doing things we know we should but may not want to do at the moment.
4. Develop personal responsibility
   This goes hand in hand with self-discipline. The coaches want me to improve, to be safe, and to enjoy my workouts. However, similar to getting myself into the gym, ultimately these are my responsibilities. I have a personal responsibility to bring a good attitude and take responsibility for my own development. I should be learning from my mistakes rather than placing blame.
5. Be a victor
   We need to work on our weaknesses to be stronger physically and emotionally.  Feeding the mind positive thoughts will help us push through hardships.  Consistently and correctly completing workouts builds confidence and experience that will ultimately enable us to attain our personal fitness goals.

Article Source: http://www.crossfitinvictus.com/blog/five-steps-to-increase-emotional-maturity/

Aminos Are Essential: Lift Longer And Grow Stronger With BCAAs

In addition to being one of the most effective supplements for muscle growth, BCAAs delay fatigue, support strength and mental focus, and even boost fat-loss. Get the details!

The branched-chain amino acids, or BCAAs, are the three essential amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine. From a chemical structure standpoint, each of these amino acids has a forked outcropping that looks a lot like a branch. That's where they get their name. If they were named for what they do in the body, they would have been called AAAs—for amazing amino acids!

You may have heard that BCAAs help support muscle growth. That's no BS. In fact, a study that I presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that trained lifters taking a BCAA supplement around workouts for 8 weeks gained about twice as much muscle and strength as those taking a whey protein shake without additional BCAAs.

But the benefits of these three simple acids go far beyond mere muscle growth. Let's get deep into the science of an important performance supplement!

Branch Out to Work Out Longer ///

Part of what makes the BCAAs so special is how the body handles them. Typically, when you ingest amino acids—either individually or as a whole protein—they first travel to the liver. Here, the liver either breaks them down to use as fuel or directs them toward building and repairing muscle and other tissues. BCAAs, on the other hand, tend to be spared by the liver and get sent directly to the muscles, so that the muscle can use the BCAAs directly for fuel or to build and repair itself.

This gives BCAAs a two-pronged relevance to athletic training. During workouts, they can act as a fuel source, and when the workout is over, they can help build muscle. These effects explain why instructions on BCAA products usually advocate you take them before, during, and after a workout.

The more intense and the longer your workout, the more BCAAs will be used for fuel. So you can see how taking a dose of BCAAs before workouts can help you sustain your energy during a workout and train with more intensity from start to finish. You may not feel them in the same way as a pre-workout supplement, but first-time users often report that they BCAAs make their workout feel more pleasant and manageable.

Branch Out to Get Bigger and Stronger ///

The BCAAs built their popularity with bodybuilders on the reputation of being able to increase muscle size. But how does this work, exactly?

As you likely know, muscle tissue is made of protein. And protein is made up of amino acids, which are strung together like a pearl necklace. The way that muscle grows is by stringing together amino acids to make more protein. This is known as muscle protein synthesis. Although the three BCAAs are critical components in the "strings" of proteins that make muscle, their role in muscle-building is more than serving as building blocks.

Research has shown that the BCAAs, particularly leucine, increase muscle growth by directly stimulating muscle protein synthesis. Leucine acts like a key that turns on the process that strings the amino acids together to build muscle protein. Additionally, leucine boosts insulin levels. Insulin is an anabolic hormone that further stimulates protein synthesis.

Another way that BCAAs work to enhance muscle growth and strength is by boosting levels of growth hormone (GH). Italian researchers found that athletes taking BCAAs for one month had higher levels of growth hormone after workouts. The higher your GH levels after workouts, the greater the increases in muscle size and strength you can expect.

Yet another hormone that BCAAs influence to promote muscle growth and strength gains is cortisol. Research has shown that athletes taking BCAAs have lower levels of cortisol during exercise. This blunting of cortisol levels is thought to increase muscle growth because cortisol encourages muscle breakdown and interferes with the anabolic hormone testosterone. Numerous studies have confirmed that athletes taking BCAAs have significantly less muscle breakdown after exercise and recover more quickly.

Branch Out to Delay Fatigue ///

Acting as a direct energy source for muscles is not the only way that BCAAs boost your workout intensity. They also work via the brain to delay fatigue.

During exercise, the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) signals to the brain that the body is fatigued. This leads to a reduction in muscle strength and endurance. The amino acid tryptophan is responsible for producing 5-HT in the brain, whereas the BCAAs, namely valine, compete with tryptophan for entry into the brain. Research has shown that taking BCAAs before workouts lowers the amount of tryptophan that gets into the brain and therefore delays fatigue.

This ability of BCAAs to delay fatigue via this brain mechanism also means that BCAA supplements aren't just beneficial for the body, but the brain as well. By reducing levels of exercise-induced 5-HT in the brain, you reduce mental fatigue, which keeps you sharper mentally. This is one reason that endurance athletes and other high-intensity competitors supplement with BCAAs: to keep sharp when they're approaching physical exhaustion. Many people sip on BCAAs throughout the work day for the same reason.

BCAAs have also recently been found to aid in a different type of endurance: life span. Researchers from Milan, Italy discovered that mice supplemented with BCAAs in their drinking water had higher amounts of mitochondria in their muscles, higher activity of the longevity gene, SIRT1, and lived 12 percent longer than those not getting BCAA-enriched water. So supplementing with BCAAs daily can keep you in the race longer in addition to making you stronger.

Branch Out for Fat-Loss ///

The BCAAs are clearly great mass-building supplements, but they also can aid in fat-loss. Researchers have yet to determine precisely how this happens, but they've offered up several theories to explain the startling results they've seen.

One of the first studies to discover this benefit was a 1997 study of competitive wrestlers, which found that those who were supplementing with BCAAs while following a low-calorie diet experienced a greater drop in body fat, particularly in the waist, as compared to those taking a placebo. My study from 2009 also found that the lifters taking BCAAs lost about twice as much body fat as those taking whey protein without added BCAAs.

A study out of Brazil found that leucine supplementation for six weeks caused a large drop in body fat. The researchers proposed that the increase in protein synthesis stimulated by leucine increased energy expenditure so much that it helped to burn off body fat. Leucine has also been found to reduce hunger, causing you to eat less while you burn more, which ultimately leads to fat-loss.

In the most recent study on BCAAs fat-loss effects, Japanese researchers discovered that mice given isoleucine while eating a high-fat diet gained significantly less fat than mice not getting supplemental isoleucine. This was due to isoleucine's ability to activate special receptors, known as PPAR, that increase fat-burning and inhibit fat storage.

BCAA Dosing ///

Each time you take BCAAs you should go with about 5-10 grams. The most critical time to take them is around workouts, so add 5-10 grams to your pre- and post-workout shakes.

If your goal is to build mass, also consider taking a dose of BCAAs first thing upon waking to help stop the muscle breakdown that is turned on during your night of fasting while you sleep. You can also take a 5-10 gram dose of BCAAs at any other time of day to get a mental energy boost, reduce hunger, and aid muscle growth.

Article Source: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/aminos-are-essential-lift-longer-and-grow-

stronger-with-bcaas.html
Photo Source: www.imagarcade.com Are you getting in YOUR aminos?

Why carbohydrates are so important for athletes

 

Carbohydrates are the best fuel for the body’s engine – more so than proteins or fats–and the right carbs, taken at the right time, are key to good athletic performance.

Carbohydrates are the most important source of fuel in an athlete’s diet. And yet, some athletes experiment with popular low-carbohydrate regimens, believing (mistakenly) that these diets will somehow “train” the body to burn more fat for fuel, or that carbohydrates interfere with the body’s ability to burn fat. But carbohydrates are a critically important energy source during exercise – and, in fact, the body cannot use fat for energy unless carbohydrate is present.
 

Why Carbohydrates Are So Important for Athletes

Carbohydrates are the fuel that makes the body’s engine run, and athletes need plenty of carbohydrates before, during and after exercise.

While fats can be (and are) used as a source of energy, the main function of the carbohydrates you eat is to supply energy to cells.  This is particularly true for high-intensity exercise – the level at which most athletes train and compete.

The body generates energy from carbohydrates much more rapidly than it does from fat, and the brain and central nervous system rely exclusively on carbohydrate for fuel.

And, it’s often said that “fats burn in a carbohydrate flame” in the body.  What this means is that in order for fats to be broken down completely – which results in the release of energy – carbohydrate breakdown has to happen simultaneously.

This is because one of the products of carbohydrate metabolism is a substance called pyruvate.  Pyruvate plays a critical role in the release of energy from fat.  Without enough carbohydrate in the diet, pyruvate production drops  –  which impairs the release of energy from fat.

Eating enough carbohydrate is also important because it helps prevent the body from using protein for energy.  While your body can use protein to supply energy, the protein you eat supports many more important functions in the body – its primary role is to build body proteins such as muscle, bone, skin, hair, enzymes and hormones.

If you were to burn protein as an energy source, it would impact the body’s ability to perform these more important functions.
 

How Carbohydrates Fuel Activity

When you digest the carbs in the foods you eat, the end product enters your bloodstream in the form of glucose, or blood sugar, which is then transported to the cells to be used for energy.

Any glucose that is not used immediately can be converted into a storage form of carbohydrate – called glycogen – which gets stashed away in your liver and muscles where it can be tapped into during activity.

Working muscles require a steady source of fuel – which can come from both the bloodstream and from the glycogen that is stored away.   But there’s a limit to how much glycogen your body can store, and if activity lasts long enough, the glycogen stores can become depleted.  That is why it’s so important to fuel properly – and regularly.
 

Athletes Need Carbohydrates Before, During and After Exercise

For the average person, a well-balanced diet will usually provide enough carbohydrate to fuel daily activity.  But athletes who train hard know that they need to properly fuel up before starting out, and to keep the carbs coming in during activity and to refuel properly afterwards.

If your regular workouts are strenuous and longer than an hour or so, here are some tips to keep your performance at its peak:
 

Before starting out, it’s a good idea to ‘top off the tank’ with some low fat, high carb foods to help maintain blood sugar – particularly if you’re one of those who exercises first thing in the morning. The best choices are foods that are easy to digest like a smoothie, a carton of yogurt or a small bowl of hot or cold cereal.  Low fat and low fiber foods are best, to avoid any stomach upset.  (Foods with fat and fiber delay digestion time, so they’re better eaten after exercising.)  If it’s hard for you to eat much in the morning, start with something small and light – a few bites of banana or a slice of toast.
 

During activity, specially-formulated sports drinks can help keep your tank topped off.  In addition to providing much-needed fluid, sports drinks are designed to provide the amount of carbohydrate recommended during activity (30-60 grams an hour for the first few hours) – about the amount in a liter of a typical sports drink.  For longer events, some people also carry foods like low fat cookies, sports gels, gummy candies or cereal bars for an extra boost of carbohydrate.
 

Refueling after a workout is critical – most of the stored glycogen will have been used up.  Since your muscles are craving carbs, they’ll take them up readily and store them away for the next bout of activity.  Now is the time to load up on higher fiber carbs, since digestion time is no longer a concern.  A dab of protein helps repair muscles, too, so ideal recovery foods include both protein and carbohydrate. It’s also important to refuel within about 30 minutes after exercise to maximize the effects of protein and carbohydrate on muscle recovery.  Specialized recovery foods and beverages are convenient;  otherwise, work in plenty of healthy carbohydrates in the form of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and dairy products.  A sandwich on whole-grain bread, a protein shake made with milk, or a bowl of lentil soup with a piece of fruit would all be great post-exercise meals.

 

Article Source: http://www.discovergoodnutrition.com/2015/03/why-carbohydrates-important-athletes/

Photo Source: www.youngandraw.com

 What’s YOUR view on carbs?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sports drink evolution

 

Gone are the days that “sports drink” was synonymous with isotonic or when a post-workout refreshment was a cold brew. For some, these definitions remain, but for a growing number of consumers, sports drinks are all about providing energy, improving performance and building lean muscle.

“As a result of the rapid evolution — if not revolution — of the sports drink market, both consumers and perhaps even marketers may appropriately wonder ‘what makes a sports drink a sports drink,’” said David Sprinkle, research director at market research firm Packaged Facts, Rockville, Md., which recently published the comprehensive report entitled “The sports nutritionals market in the U.S.: Sports drinks and nutrition bars.” “Sports drinks now are geared more broadly toward the nutritional needs of athletes and physically active consumers before, during and after demanding exercise, and they are formulated with ingredients that range far and wide beyond the salts and sugars found in the traditional versions of sports drinks.”

The U.S. sports drinks market is returning to form after some setbacks from the recession — and this return has caused an evolution in product formulation. Powered by 77 million users, the market increasingly is segmented by the user, with intensity of exercise, time of consumption, gender and age influencing the formulation.

“There is more individualization and fragmentation in sports beverages,” said Caroline Brons, senior marketing manager, DSM Nutritional Products, Parsippany, N.J.

Packaged Facts estimates that U.S. retail sales of sports drinks will reach $7.4 billion by the end of the year, reflecting 6% growth from 2012. An important trend affecting the market is that between 2007 and 2012 the population of high-volume sports drinks users (those consuming eight or more drinks in the last 30 days according to Simmons National Consumer Study data) fell from 14 million to 13 million, and the number of sports drinks consumed by the segment dropped 5.4%. On the other hand, a significant increase in usage occurred among casual users. The number of consumers who report drinking one or two sports drinks in the last 30 days increased 7.1% between 2007 and 2012.

“Such demographic developments create both challenges and opportunities for sports nutritional marketers,” Mr. Sprinkle said. “Continuous innovation and spirited competition will spark growth.”

Packaged Facts expects that between 2012 and 2017, dollar sales of sports drinks will grow to $9.3 billion from $6.9 billion. This represents cumulative growth of 34.1%.

Currently, PepsiCo, Inc., Purchase, N.Y., with 74% share of dollar sales of the sports drink market, and The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, with 24% share, control the category. Other marketers are responsible for the additional miniscule 2% share of dollar sales. But it is these companies that are getting creative with formulations and developing products that appeal to specific consumer needs.

“To maintain uninterrupted growth in this segment, it will be important to engage new consumers and invest in innovation,” said Elsie Jamin-Maguire, business manager-beverages, BASF Nutrition & Health, Florham Park, N.J. “By providing more features, brands can expand on consumption occasions.”

For example, The University of Wisconsin-Madison Athletic Department decided to collaborate with the Center for Dairy Research and a Wisconsin whey processor and cherry processor to develop its own signature sports drink for the university’s student-athletes. Red Whey is a 100% tart cherry juice and whey protein clear beverage designed to relieve muscle inflammation and build muscle tissue after a hard workout.

“An interesting new beverage format is that of the liquid water enhancers,” Ms. Brons said. “Some of these liquid concentrate products are now being positioned for sports, offering the consumer an opportunity to add electrolytes — with their flavor of choice — to water.”

Ontario, Canada-based NutriBev Corp. soon will be rolling out an omega-3 fatty acid-enhanced sports water, which also will be loaded with potassium and B vitamins. The beverage is designed to hydrate and nourish sports-playing tweens and teenagers.

Fruit processor R.W. Knudsen Family, Chico, Calif., is going after the all-natural consumer, most likely the Little League mom who does not want her slugger consuming artificial colors and flavors. Recharge is based on fruit juice and contains no added sugars or artificial colors or flavors. The company’s web site states: “You go the extra mile. You push your body to the limit. And you know that fluorescent green is a color, not a fruit. Shouldn’t you enjoy an all-natural sports drink?”

Hydration first, energy second

In addition to hydration, the second main function of sports beverages is to provide energy. But unlike true energy drinks that rely on caffeine and other stimulants, the energy delivered via sports beverages usually comes from carbohydrates.

“When we exercise, we rely on our body’s storage form of glucose, called glycogen, for energy,” said Eric Ciappio, manager of scientific affairs at DSM. “However, glycogen stores are depleted quickly and once they are gone, performance can suffer. Sports drinks provide glucose to help give you energy as you work, helping you to maintain peak performance.”

Betsy Jones, research food scientist, Cargill, Minneapolis, added, “When it comes to sports drinks, consumers want great taste, hydration and energy in one convenient product. They want the kind of fuel that will stick with them throughout athletic events or exercise. Sucromalt can help formulators create sports drinks to answer that demand.”

Sucromalt is a fully digestible carbohydrate that delivers the full energy, in terms of calories, of sugar, but is more slowly digested and has a lower glycemic index.

“Its functional properties are similar to other sweetener syrups, yet provides steadier energy delivery,” Ms. Jones said. “Sucromalt is comprised of approximately 50% simple sugars compared to the 100% simple sugar content found in other common nutritive sweeteners, such as sugar, crystalline fructose and high-fructose corn syrup. The other half is complex carbohydrates, which have less impact on blood glucose compared to simple sugars because they are digested and absorbed at a slower rate.”

Morris Plains, N.J.-based Beneo Inc., offers isolmaltulose, an ingredient that also provides a sustained source of energy.

“Isomaltulose is derived from sugar beets,” said Joseph O’Neill, president and general manager. “It is a fully digested carbohydrate, but it is digested more slowly than other sweeteners. Being low-glycemic, it releases energy the balanced way without sudden peaks and drops of the blood glucose level.”

Isomaltulose also has been shown to promote the body’s own fat oxidation. This means that it increases the ratio of energy derived from fat relative to the total amount of required energy while active, leaving carbohydrate stores available for longer.

Muscle building

Probably the greatest evolution in sports drinks has been the inclusion of protein. Formulators must consider the quality of protein, in particular, the presence of the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine and valine, as well as overall amino acid absorption.

“Emerging research shows that whey proteins can provide an anabolic advantage over other proteins in promoting muscle protein synthesis,” said Bryan Helwig, director-nutrition research, Dairy Research Institute, Rosemont, Ill. “Whey protein’s advantage in building and maintaining muscle appears to be largely attributed to the high level of leucine in whey proteins. Of the nine essential amino acids, leucine is the key amino acid, or protein component, that initiates muscle protein synthesis.”

Shanna Smidt, business development manager-sports nutrition, Glanbia Nutritionals, Fitchburg, Wis., agreed that the benefits of increasing protein intake for sports performance are well known, especially for boosting muscle synthesis.

“We offer pre-acidified whey protein ingredients that allow manufacturers to fortify sports beverages with whey protein without the unpleasant astringent notes that are most common in high protein, low pH beverages,” she said.

The company also boasts a range of ingredients that contain high amounts of fast-absorbing BCAAs.

“Using advanced fractionation and separation technologies, we bind BCAAs to BCAA peptides isolated from fresh sweet whey to produce an ingredient with a 50% BCAA content in a 2:1:1 ratio of leucine, isoleucine and valine,” Ms. Smidt said. “This technology improves delivery of amino acids to muscle tissue, increasing utilization.”

Proteins used in sports beverages designed to support muscle regeneration need to be easily digestible and highly bioavailable to ensure efficient uptake, concurred Mai Nygaard, global product manager, Rousselot, Mukwonago, Wis. “Recent studies suggest the best approach is to blend different protein hydrolysates in order to achieve optimal timing of amino acid delivery to the tissues and support muscle anabolism.

“Collagen peptides are a high-purity protein source that naturally contains a high concentration of glycine, alanine, glutamic acid and arginine,” Ms. Nygaard said. “These amino acids are closely involved in the body’s energy supply and metabolism, and can therefore help boost athletic performance.

“The uniquely high levels of glycine and arginine found in collagen peptides can also encourage the synthesis of creatine, as well as stimulate the release of growth hormones from the pituitary gland, which may support performance gains. Further, an extensive body of scientific evidence has demonstrated collagen peptides’ ability to promote healthy and flexible joints and ligaments, as well as reduce pain.”

DSM offers a patented peptide formulation that has application in sports beverages.

“This protein hydrolysate has been proven to enhance exercise endurance, performance and recovery,” Ms. Brons said. “The ingredient contains all 20 amino acids in the same natural balance as in casein, but with virtually no lactose or fat. This ingredient delivers amino acids in the form of di- and tri-peptides, molecules so small they do not need further digestion in the body so they can be absorbed faster and delivered directly to the muscles.”

Mr. Ciappio added, “This efficient amino acid delivery is of specific importance during intense physical activity muscle breakdown, or catabolism, can occur, especially during prolonged exercise. Delivering these amino acids quickly protects the muscles during exercise and kick-starts the recovery process after exercise.”

Power partners

Sports drinks also are addressing other areas, such as joint health, visual acuity and antioxidant support, said Mr. Ciappio, all often with a clean, preferably natural label profile.

“We carry a broad portfolio of what we refer to as ‘power partners,’” Ms. Brons said. “This includes antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene and coenzyme Q10. These antioxidants protect cells against oxidative damage from exercise.”

Good vision is essential in numerous sports, but many athletes are unaware that nutrition has an impact on this critical skill, explained Ms. Brons.

“Lutein and zeaxanthin have been shown in human studies to enhance contrast acuity, reduce glare disability and protect against damaging effects of short-wave light,” she said.

Mr. Ciappio added, “B-Vitamins participate in energy production and amino acid metabolism, while omega-3s are known to have beneficial effects on heart health, and proper heart function is critical for the athlete. Also, the anti-inflammatory actions of omega-3s are relevant to exercise.”

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) also is finding a place in sports drinks.

“CLA has been shown to reduce body fat, while building and maintaining lean muscle,” Ms. Jamin-Maguire said.

Eric Fan Chiang, global business director-active nutrition, DuPont Nutrition & Health, Madison, Wis., said that high-purity anhydrous betaine may improve physical performance, especially strength, power and muscle endurance.

“Derived from the molasses of sugar beets, betaine, also known as trimethylglycine, is inherent to many healthful foods, such as whole grains, spinach and beets,” he said. “DuPont’s natural betaine has been the subject of a range of studies indicating health and performance benefits.”

With so many power partners, as well as basic sports beverage building blocks, the category will continue to experience growth through formulation segmentation.

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The sports drink evolution