Athletic Nutrition Checklist: Hydration… Protein… Electrolytes…

Hydration and proper nutrition is vital to helping athletes perform to the best of their ability. School Health has the products you need to stock athlete fueling stations WITHOUT fighting the big box stores.

Each day our athletes are called on to complete feats of strength, stamina, and endurance. Through training, athletes become stronger and more physically tuned. But for peak performance, it is important to include nutrition and hydration as part of our basic training regimen.

In 2014 the NCAA Division I deregulated restrictions on sports nutrition, allowing student athletes unlimited access to meals and snacks related to sports participation. With the sudden unfettered ability to fuel athletes, many athletic departments have been scrambling to create nutrition programs for the athletes they serve. As they try to keep supplement supplies stocked, many athletic trainers have resorted to big-box store shopping, which means last minute trips and costly purchasing.

School Health has worked to gather the best supplements to fuel athletic teams. And, with a School Health Supply List, keeping nutrition items stocked is easier than ever. With supply lists, athletes and athletic trainers can build customized lists of their favorite products, and even select automatic delivery!

Here is a quick reference to help athletes and athletic trainers know which products to use and when.

• Before and during a workout an athlete’s body requires high amounts of carbohydrates to saturate muscles with glycogen that fuel performance and provide endurance. Supplements like the Clif Shot Bloks Electrolyte Chews are a great way to get these carbohydrates in to your system.
• After a workout, protein helps facilitate repair and recovery of fatigued tissues. It’s easy to get this protein on-the-go with the LUNA Protein Bars.

And at all times athletes must maintain proper hydration to ensure that they stay strong and safe. Athletes can carry The Right Stuff concentrated drink additive – an easy way to add electrolyte rich hydration to your favorite water bottle!

Proper nutrition is also an integral part of building muscle mass, losing weight, and maintaining energy levels throughout the year, even when athletes are not training. Try CLIF Bar nutrition bars for a delicious and convenient way to maintain nutrition.

Here are some key tips to remember when integrating nutrition and hydration products into a daily training schedule:

•  Pre-event meals should take place 2-4 hours before an event, and then “topped off” with a high carbohydrate product like the Gatorade Prime sports drink 30-60 minutes before the event.
• During exercise, athletes should consume 16-24 oz of water or sports drink per hour. To stay hydrated, a good rule of thumb is for athletes to consume at least half of their body weight in fluid ounces (preferably water) per day. The School Health Horizontal Power System is an ideal solution to provide side-by-side water and sports drink hydration.
•  During high performance or in warmer temperatures when sweat rates are heavy, athletes can consume a high sodium snack or sports drink to stay hydrated.
•  Research has shown that recovery shakes and snacks are most effective within 30-60 minutes of a workout. We recommend products like the Gatorade Protein Recovery Shakes.
• Recovery products should have a 2:1 ratio of carbohydrates and protein. We recommend the First String Blast Protein Powder as a great way to gain this ratio.

Athletes who have long training sessions and burn extreme amounts of energy can see increased performance by using these recommended supplements.

School Health – Sports Medicine offers many other options to stock your nutrition and hydration station. Contact us today to tailor a delivery that fuels your team. 

BOSS Hydration System Review

This blog was written by Phil Hossler, ATC. Phil has been an athletic trainer on the scholastic, collegiate and Olympic levels. He has authored 4 books and numerous articles and served as an officer in state and regional athletic training associations for 20 years. He is a member of four halls of fame including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s.

As a certified athletic trainer and director of several large sporting events, properly and adequately hydrating participants is one of my standard safety concerns. There are multiple solutions available to provide hydration depending upon budget and number of participants. These options range from bottles and coolers to cups, hoses and drinking stations.


In reviewing products, I was intrigued by the BOSS Drinking System. About two decades ago, I actually thought along these lines and developed a lid with a hand pump idea. I was glad to see BOSS refine this idea to one of battery power. The product seems to be well conceived with a lid that does not have to be exclusively used on ONLY their coolers but can be used on any screw on 7- or 10-gallon cooler.


Often the large 10-gallon coolers can be too heavy for many high school age athletes to transport so the inclusion of a cart by BOSS was a nice touch. The BOSS system provides a four hose assembly with auto shut-off capabilities so that when not in use the nozzle can shut off to conserve battery power. The power is provided by a 12-volt DC rechargeable battery.


There are, however, some possible negative points that I would like to explore. There are several vendors that carry the BOSS system. I found Sports Health to be the most detailed and offer the greatest variety of combinations. If I had the chance I would like to actually use the BOSS system, but my school budget will not permit me to do such an experiment.


So, my following thoughts are based on experience and product review but not on actual use:

1. It appears that the cart may not be substantial enough to last long with the weight of a 10-gallloon cooler. It appears to be aluminum and the arm holding the actual cooler should be longer to reduce the axial load at the fulcrum point.
2. Sports Health does a nice job, actually better than www.outdoorboss.com does explaining the different options available.

Learn more about BOSS Drinking Stations

Teen Hydration FAQ's

Get the Facts on Teen Dehydration

Q: Should you drink during a workout, rinse your mouth or pour water on your head?
A: You can do all of them. Replacing fluids lost during exercise is critical to performance, stamina and comfort. Losses as little as 3% body water can have a negative impact on stamina and performance. Spraying your mouth is comfortable but does very little for actual body needs. Since up to 40% of heat lost during exercise is via your head and scalp, proper ventilation and cold water on your head and neck can be both helpful as well as overall health protecting.

Q: What is the best drink?
A: Cold water is good; sports drinks are very useful for those long days or double practice days. Avoid carbonated drinks before and during exercise. Avoid drinking excessive amounts of carbonated drinks which contain sodium and/or caffeine since they may produce dehydration.

Q: How much should you drink each day?

A: Young exercising teens should drink 10-12 glasses of water or sports drinks (before and during) as well as juices (after). You cannot count on your thirst though since it shuts off before the body is fully replenished. Q: How common is dehydration?
A: Fortunately not very common. Dehydration develops over a couple of days. This gradual loss of sufficient fluids can produce muscle cramps, headache, dizziness and fatigue. It can occur in any sport, indoors or outdoors. You should return to 90-95% of your weight by the following day; if not you have not replaced sufficient amounts of fluids. Check the color of your urine. It should be the normal light yellow not dark.

Q: What else can be done to help acclimatization?
A: When given the chance to rest....rest. Seek cool, air conditioned areas in the summer heat after practice. Eat plenty of fruits. Low fat chocolate milk after practice has the added benefit of providing protein to repair sore muscles, fluids to help hydrate and carbohydrates to restore energy.

Shop hydration products from Sports Health >>

Remember: Proper hydration begins at home!
Come to practice well hydrated and go to bed well hydrated!
Phil Hossler, ATC has been an athletic trainer on the scholastic, collegiate and Olympic levels. He has authored 4 books and numerous articles and served as an officer in state and regional athletic training associations for 20 years. He is a member of four halls of fame including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s.

4 Steps to Prevent Heat Illness

Heat Acclimatization Guidelines Created to Decrease Heat Illness

In 2009, the National Athletic Trainers' Association released Preseason Heat-Acclimatization Guidelines for Secondary School Athletics to decrease the occurrence of heat illness in high school athletes participating in summer practices. Unfortunately, it wasn't until after the nation experienced "the worst week in the last 35 years in terms of athlete deaths" that states began mandating the adoption of these guidelines. In summer of 2011, three heat-related deaths were reported on high school football fields, four Arkansas football players were hospitalized for dehydration, and an endurance runner died of apparent heatstroke during a race called the Warrior Dash.

Heat Related Fatalities on the Rise

According to a study by Andrew J. Grundstein, an associate professor in the department of geography at the University of Georgia, the annual death rate was around one per year from 1980 to 1994 but rose to a yearly average of 2.8 in the next 15 years.

The Reason for the Rise of Heat Illness

In the past, simply scheduling summer practices for early morning and/or evening would be enough to avoid the highest temperatures of summer and reduce the risk of heat illness. However, according to Grundstein, morning temperatures are higher than they were decades ago.

Additionally, high school athletes are bigger than they were decades ago. According to Douglas J. Casa, chief operating officer of the Korey Stringer Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing sudden death in sports, "You have 300-pound high school guys walking out to practice and you have no medical staff and they're going six hours in 100-degree temperatures."

4 Steps to Help Prevent Heat Illness

1. Follow the 14-day heat-acclimatization period recommended by the NATA.
2. Use a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature Meter (WBGT) — not the heat index — when assessing whether practice conditions are safe. The WBGT index is the most widely used and accepted way to assess heat stress in the United States, but getting coaches to move away from their reliance on the heat index is a challenge.
3. Have an ice water bath available if players show signs of heat stroke. Learn more >>
4. Have an athletic trainer present during all practices and games.

States that Mandate Student Safety During High Heat

• May 2011 - New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association becomes first state organization to adopt heat-acclimatization guidelines.
• October 2011 - the University Interscholastic League in Texas bans two-a-days for the first four days of training camp and on consecutive days thereafter.
• State high school activity associations in Arkansas, Connecticut, North Carolina and Georgia follows suit, with Georgia instituting fines of up to $1,000 for school found in violation of their heat acclimatization mandate. Fifteen other state high school associations are actively considering adoption.

Heat Acclimatization Guidelines by State >>

Georgia Practice Policy for Heat and Humidity:

The Danger of Giving Energy Drinks to Young Athletes

In June 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics took the position that there is a difference between “sports drinks” and “energy drinks”. This distinction is important to adolescents and is also a microcosm of the American way of life.

As a nation we often seek the most efficient, if not the easiest, way to get a job done. Unfortunately, when it comes to athletic activities, there is no substitute for good old-fashion hard work and persistence.

What Makes Energy Drinks so Dangerous?

Many adults and adolescents will seek that little additional edge in their performance by using supplements. Energy drinks often contain “non-nutritive stimulants” such as caffeine and can run the gamut from 160 mg of caffeine per 8-ounce serving to 300 mg. The exact content and purity of energy drinks cannot be guaranteed since there is no regulatory control over these “supplements” and there may be harmful interaction with prescriptions to control ADHD.

Cola drinks and coffee are also sources of caffeine but possibly due to their long history and wide acceptance by the American public they do not often enter into the “energy drink” conversation. In the United States, cola drinks are controlled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are limited to 71 mg of caffeine per 12-ounce serving while 8-ounces of generic coffee has 95-200 mg per serving.

The Link Between Energy Drinks and Heart/Liver Problems

The National Federation of State High School Associations’ position statement on energy drinks states “energy drinks are not appropriate for rehydrating athletes during physical activity and should not be used for that purpose.” The consumption of energy drinks in teens has been linked with heart arrhythmias and liver problems. Last year the Virginia High School League became the first state high school federation to impose a ban on such drinks at high school competitions and practices.

Adolescents should not be viewed as miniature adults. Their biological systems are still developing and may react to outside influences differently than adults.

Combining Energy Drinks with Alcohol

The combination of energy drinks with alcohol can be dangerous for teens. According to the government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, emergency room visits associated with energy drinks use increased nationally more than ten-fold from 2005 to 2009. Forty-four percent involved combination with alcohol, pharmaceuticals or illicit drugs.

What Makes Sports Drinks Different?

Sports drinks were developed to focus on fluid, carbohydrate and electrolyte replenishment to aid in athletic performance and recovery - typically with a 6-8% carbohydrate concentration.

The Best "Supplement" For Young Athletes

Young athletes should practice and compete without artificial supplements. The best “supplement” for teens is still hard work, eat a well-balanced diet, drink plenty of fluids and get adequate amounts of rest.

Find Safe Sports Drinks, Water Hydration Systems, Cups, Coolers, and More For Your Thirsty Athletes >>

www.nfhs.org
American Academy of Pediatrics. Clinical Report. Sports drinks and energy drinks for children and adolescents: are they appropriate? Pediatrics 2011; 6: 1182-1189
Homes News Tribune newspaper, December 11, 2011 www.THNT.com

Phil Hossler, ATC has been an athletic trainer on the scholastic, collegiate and Olympic levels. He has authored 4 books and numerous articles and served as an officer in state and regional athletic training associations for 20 years. He is a member of four halls of fame including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s.

The Best Place for Gatorade or Water Coolers While on the Field

A Creative Solution for Hydrating Athletes

Using coolers for outdoors sports is a standard idea which can pose unique problems. For example, where can it be positioned so as not to take a seat on the bench, be on the ground making cups/bottles difficult to fill or get caught in the dust and dirt common to dugouts?

At a local hardware store, I purchased two standard rafter hangers. These are designed to go over the top of a 2”x 4” rafter beam and provide an arm for hanging items such as bicycles. Each hanger cost less than two dollars.

Sports such as baseball, softball, track and lacrosse commonly have fences around the field, in front of the dugout, or behind the bench. A very simple and inexpensive method to facilitate safety and ease of operation is to hang the cooler on the top rail of the fence (typically a 5-foot fence), on the fence itself or in the corner of the backstop.

Begin by positioning the cooler next to the fence. Place the longer arm into the handles of the cooler. By holding both the hanger and the handles of the cooler, lift the cooler up and place the hook end of the hanger onto the top rail of the fence. This places the spout at a very convenient level for the team to refill cups and bottles.

This idea can be used with coolers of all sizes. With handles across the top of smaller coolers, one hanger would suffice. First aid ice containers and first aid kits can be positioned in clear view with this simple hanger idea as well.

To improve hydration and replenishment for your athletes consider purchasing Gatorade, coolers and cup racks, and cups and bottles from www.esportshealth.com.

Phil Hossler, ATC has been an athletic trainer on the scholastic, collegiate and Olympic levels. He has authored 4 books and numerous articles and served as an officer in state and regional athletic training associations for 20 years. He is a member of four halls of fame including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s.