Nutrition Periodisation for Elite Football Player Assignment Sample
1. Introduction
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The following report comprises the nutritional periodisation of an elite football player. Here, the physiological demands of the sportsperson are discussed that comprise energy systems, the type of exercise and their duration. Furthermore, the body composition of the elite footballer is highlighted. Energy requirement for the player is outlined along with the nutritional needs analysis. Here, the six-week periodised nutritional plan is presented addressing the needs of the football player. Furthermore, the justification for the periodised strategies is also provided here.
2. Physiological Demands of Football
An elite football player usually involved in one or more games in a week for a longer time within a year. Also, he will train once or twice a day and almost every day in a week. Therefore the energy demand of such player's training is required to be met to sustain their performance levels and avoid the development of any chronic fatigue (Anderson et al., 2017).
2.1. Energy Systems
Many researchers have studied the metabolic demands imposed on the football player during friendly as well as competitive matches. These works have revealed that majority of the physiological systems of the sportsperson's body get stressed during the soccer game and often during the training program (Bangsbo, 2014). These comprise metabolic energy system, nervous, immune, and musculoskeletal systems. The aerobic system is the primary energy source in the game of football. Every player has to sustain the high rate of energy levels for up to 90 minutes. The game is characterized by the high-intensity anaerobic actions superimposed over aerobic efforts. The variable intensity puts huge metabolic demands on the energy system of the sportsperson. Football is a game that requires a combination of speed, power, agility, anaerobic capacity, and flexibility.
As mentioned by Fuelingteens (2018), the aerobic energy system is hugely taxed with the peak and average heart rate of approximately 98% and 85%, respectively. These values correspond to an average oxygen uptake of approximately 70% of the VO2 Max. The heart rate of a football player rarely goes below 65% of the maximum heart rate. This suggests that the blood flow to the legs is quite more than the rest body parts and this would mean high oxygen delivery. The rate of oxygen uptake can be controlled through intense interval training (Bangsbo, 2014).
In case of an elite footballer, at least 150 intense actions are required to be made during a game. This means that anaerobic energy turnover is required to be high during the game. Any intense activity would result in a high rate of breakdown of creatine phosphate (CP). This would get re-synthesized in the low-intensity game.
According to Gerosa-Neto et al (2019), the muscle glycogen is important for the elite football player. The muscle glycogen stores might get depleted during the halftime while in some players who start their game at normal pace end with having normal muscle glycogen levels.
2.2. Types of Exercise
According to Anderson et al (2017), many exercises are in the main routine of the football players. Each of these has been categorized as per their outcomes that include speed, endurance, and agility.
Target for Exercise
Exercise Type
Speed
Single-Leg Squat
Dumbbell Bench Step Ups
Weighted Sled Drags
Agility
Medicine Ball Push-Ups
Lateral Hurdle Sprints
forward-backwards sprints
Endurance
HIIT on Treadmill
Burpee Pull-Ups
Lateral Band Walks
3. Body Composition of the Elite Footballer
According to Bangsbo (2014), the assessment of the body composition is quintessential for the development of the football player. Any increase in the fat-free mass is directly related to the speed, strength, and explosiveness of an elite football player. Assessment of the body composition can evaluate the status of the player and also provides essential insights on the program development. The body composition ranges of the elite football player are given below:-
Parameters
Goalkeepers
Attackers
Age
22.89+-4.37
20.43+-4.7
Mass
66.5+- 6.9
59.4+-8.6
Height
166.3+- 6.1
163.8+-7.4
BMI
24+-1.3
22.2+-2.8
BF
27.8+- 2.6
22.3+-3.4
FM
18.6+- 3.3
13.4+-3.8
FFM
47.9+- 4.1
46+-5.4
Endomorphy
6.8+-0.7
4.9+-1.2
Mesomorphy
4.9+- 1.5
4+-1.3
Ectomorphy
1.3+-0.9
2.1+-1.6
4. Energy Requirement for Football
The energy requirement of the player varies during training and the real game. The need may depend on factors like frequency, duration of the training, and intensity. However, they change with time. Majority of football players usually follow a weekly cycle that comprises reducing the training session for recovery from the previous match and prepares for the next game (Brinkmans et al., 2019). Ranchordas et al (2017) mentioned that energy demands in the training session resolute on fitness that may achieve those of a hard game. In training sessions that are focused on recovering and regenerations, the energy cost will be pretty much less.
The energy stores play certain roles that are crucial and are associated with exercise performance. Brinkmans et al (2019) argued that the energy needed for the match play or training must be added to the energy needed to carry out normal mundane routine. The amount of food needed will depend hugely on the energy need. However, the formula is not very simple to predict it.
Energy dietary energy intake - the energy used in daily activity/exercise
Table 1: Energy and macronutrient intake of a football Player during training, match, and rest days
5. Nutritional Needs Analysis
During a 90 minutes game, the field players (other than goalkeepers) cover an average of 9-13 KM. Also, they carry out approximately 1350 game actions and run nearly 220 races at a very high speed. On an average 2100kcal are spent. All these efforts would lead to a decrease in the glycogen levels and lead to dehydration or hyperthermia that might cause fatigue (Popovic et al., 2013).
The primary nutrients for the football player are carbohydrates. These could be provided in the form of sugar, fibres, and starches that are available in grains, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Carbohydrates are the macronutrients which make them one of the three substances that body utilises for making energy (Burke, L. and Cox, G., 1992). The healthiest carbohydrate sources include grains, fruits, and vegetables while the unhealthy sources include cakes, loaves of bread, soft drinks, and refined eatables.
According to Burke and Cox (1992), eating a high-carbohydrate diet before exercise is good for the performance. Some studies say carbohydrates consumed before exercise should be having low glycaemic index as it would maintain constant glucose levels in the blood. The following is the nutrition chart before training of an elite football player:-
4 hours before training
The meal needs to have carbohydrates and protein with a very low amount of fat. These include steamed veggies, pasta, or rice with chicken breast.
3 hours before Training
The meal needs to have carbohydrates and protein. These include hotcakes, milk, honey, and turkey breast.
2 hours before Training
The meal should have low protein and carbohydrate such as oatmeal, yoghurt, granola, turkey breast sandwich.
1 Hour before Training
The meal should contain carbohydrate. These might contain jam, fruit with oats, honey, cereals.
Key Point to remember
The player must avoid fibre, fat, irritants, breaded foods, whole grain, seasonings, spices
An elite footballer needs to hydrate his body during the game, such as gels, isotonic, gummy jellies, etc., during breaks and rest period. All carbohydrate enriched drinks along with electrolyte during the training or match can be more effective than water intake (Williams and Rollo, 2015).
It is recommended that the first four hours after the match has to be between 1-1.5g/kg weight/hr and the consumption has to have a break of 30 minutes not more than this. Burke and Cox (1992) mentioned that for a 60kg person, the diet must have 60-90g hydrates and 18-30g protein. During the post-match recovery phase of the athlete, rehydration of the body is quintessential. The diet plan must include sports drink intake. The consumption has to be 1-1.5L of drink per kilogram of weight loss. Also, it must have 6-12% carbohydrates and 20-50 mmol/L (Ranchordas et al., 2017). The menu is provided below for an elite footballer.
The tactical meeting, dynamic football warm-up sessions, Match Day, Cooling down, recovery
Rest & Recovery
PM Training
Bleep test, aerobic exercises for full-backs, cooling down, recovery
Speed Endurance sessions, cooling down, recovery
4x4x6 set plays cooling down, recovery
6.2. Six Week Periodised Nutrition Plan
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Monday
Fruit & vegetable smoothies (contains half-cup greek yoghurt), handful spinach, banana, 1-4th cup frozen berries, 1T Flax seeds, muffin
2 bean, cheese burritos, 1/4th cup salsa, 2T ranch, 1 cup apple juice
4 Oz steak with 1 medium sweet potato, 2T honey, 1 cup steamed broccoli, 1 cup low-fat milk
Tuesday
4 protein pancakes poured with 2T maple syrup, 1T peanut butter, 1 banana, 1 cup milk
Deli Turkey sandwich, 1 cup sugar snap, 1 peach, 1 cup low-fat chocolate milkshake
2 cups whole wheat spaghetti, 0.75 cup marinara sauce, 1 cup green salad, 1T dressing, 1 cup sauteed squash
Wednesday
Oatmeal, 1 cup water, topped with 1-4th cup berries, 1T coconut flakes, 1T chia seed, 2T nut butter, 1 Slice buttered toast, 1 cup orange juice
2 Cups spaghetti, 1 cup cucumber slices, 6 meatballs, 1orange
4 cups turkey chilli, 1 cup strawberries, 1T dressing, 1 cup green salad, 4-inch cornbread
Thursday
Muffin, Egg sandwich, 1/2 Avocado, a slice of cheese, handful spinach, 1 grapefruit, and 1 glass milk
burrito bowl, 1 cup grapes, 1 celery stalk
Burrito bowl, 1 cup leafy greens, 0.25 avocado, 0.5 cups diced tomato, 0.5 black beans, 4 Oz grilled, shredded chicken, 2T cheese, 1T sour cream, 2T dressing, 1 cup rice, crushed tortilla chips
Friday
12 oz greek yoghurt, 0.5 cup mixed berries, 0.5 cup granola, 1 slice peanut butter toast with 1 banana.
Wrap, 2 oz cheese, 0.25 cup cucumber, 1T dressings, 1 orange, 0.25 kidney beans, 20 mini pretzels, 1 tortilla
Tacos, 5 oz beef, 0.5 cup beans, 0.25 cup boiled potatoes, 0.25 cup salsa 3T sour cream, 1 cup Watermelon, 1 cup strawberries.
Saturday
1 tortilla, 3 eggs, handful spinach, 0.25 cup bell pepper, 2 oz ham, 0.75 cup hash brown, 2T ketchup, 1 glass milk
2 Grilled cheese sandwiches, 1 apple, 1 cup carrots
2 cups fried rice, veggies, shrimps, 1 cup pineapple, 0.5 cups steamed broccoli, 1 cup toned milk.
Sunday
3 Scrambled eggs, 1 cup mushrooms with peppers, spinach, onions, 2T salsa, 2 slices of buttered toast, 1 cup milk
Pita Wrap, 2 oz grilled chicken, 0.5 cup tomatoes, 0.25 cup shredded cheese, 1 cup milk, 4 slices of cucumber, 1 apple,
4 Oz grilled salmon, 1 cup fruit salad, 1 cup brown rice, 2 whole wheat rolls, 1 cup asparagus
6.3. Food Intake
The food intake composition varies with every day. Therefore, a common range of intakes for carbohydrates, protein, and fat has been provided. These ranges are shown below as mentioned by Fuelingteens (2018) in their work.
FOODS
CALORIES
CHO
FAT
PRO
BREAKFAST
710-765 Kcal
58-70g
20-24g
24-30g
LUNCH
740-815Kcal
45-55g
20-25g
25-35g
DINNER
810-870 Kcal
55-65g
24-30g
18-30g
SNACKS (Twice a Day)
-
65-70g
16
24-35g
TOTAL
2260-2450
260-340 g
70-85g
101-135
7. Justification for the Periodisation of Carbohydrates Strategies
The periodization strategies are the systematic planning of physical or athletic training. The motive is to attain the best level of performance in any competition of football. It is characterised by the progressive cycling of different activities in a training program during a particular time. According to Heaton et al (2017), many competitions are important for the team and its players to be successful. Therefore, periodisation should comprise plans for maintaining the fitness of players throughout the competition.
During a football game, athletes play light and intense matches. The muscle glycogen amount determines the performance during an exercise session. Change in the carbohydrate intake during a competition can have an impact on the muscle glycogen stores that can enhance the elite football player's performance (Williams and Rollo, 2015).
Heaton et al (2017) mentioned that consuming a huge amount of carbohydrates (CHO; 10g/kg of body wght./day) is crucial 36 hours before the main match for an elite footballer. This would ensure the super-compensation of the muscle glycogen. The elite football player should be taking 1 to 1.5g/kg body weight/hour within the first four hours to maximise glycogen resynthesis. However, the game requires different intensities. Hence, footballers require a periodised CHO intake based on the training type, namely "train low, compete high," "sleep low." The primary goal is to make the player adaptable by manipulating with low or high CHO availability based on matches, training sessions, and intensities. This would improve performance during intensified matches (Williams and Rollo, 2015).
References
Anderson, Liam, Patrick Orme, Robert J. Naughton, Graeme L. Close, Jordan Milsom, David Rydings, Andy O'boyle et al. 2017. "Energy intake and expenditure of professional soccer players of the English Premier League: evidence of carbohydrate periodization." International journal of sports nutrition and exercise metabolism 27, no. 3, pp 228-238.
Brinkman's, N.Y., Iedema, N., Plasqui, G., Wouters, L., Saris, W.H., van Loon, L.J. and van Dijk, J.W., 2019. Energy expenditure and dietary intake in professional football players in the Dutch Premier League: Implications for nutritional counselling. Journal of sports sciences, 37(24), pp.2759-2767.
Burke, L. and Cox, G., 1992. Food for sports performance. Allen & Unwin-Australia-1995.
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García-Rovés, P.M., García-Zapico, P., Patterson, Á.M. and Iglesias-Gutiérrez, E., 2014. Nutrient intake and food habits of soccer players: analyzing the correlates of eating practice. Nutrients, 6(7), pp.2697-2717.
Gerosa-Neto, J., Rossi, F.E., da Silva, C.B., Campos, E.Z., Fernandes, R.A. and Júnior, I.F.F., 2014. Body composition analysis of athletes from the elite of Brazilian soccer players. Motricidade, 10(4), pp.105-110.
Heaton, L.E., Davis, J.K., Rawson, E.S., Nuccio, R.P., Witard, O.C., Stein, K.W., Baar, K., Carter, J.M. and Baker, L.B., 2017. Selected in-season nutritional strategies to enhance recovery for team sport athletes: a practical overview. Sports Medicine, 47(11), pp.2201-2218.
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Popovic, S., Akpinar, S., Jaksic, D., Matic, R., Bjelica, D. and Popovic, S., 2013. Comparative study of anthropometric measurement and body composition between elite soccer and basketball players. Int. J. Morphol, 31(2), pp.461-7.
Ranchordas, M.K., Dawson, J.T. and Russell, M., 2017. Practical nutritional recovery strategies for elite soccer players when limited time separates repeated matches. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14(1), p.35.
Williams, C. and Rollo, I., 2015. Carbohydrate nutrition and team sport performance. Sports Medicine, 45(1), pp.13-22.
