SINI welcomes this new group of athletes into new and existing programmes and look forward to providing them with the support to enable them to improve performance.
Also attending this first induction evening is the chairperson of the first SINI board Mr Hugh McCaughey who will welcome the athletes, their coaches and most importantly their parents. He will wish them every success in their time at SINI and in their future sporting careers.

Most athletes find that they experience times when they are tired. For most this is only a passing phase and can be account for by a change in lifestyle (exam time, increased pressure at work, lack of sleep, increase in training load etc.). The tiredness usually disappears as you adapt to the new situation or you revert to the way things were before. However, for some the tiredness persists. It may be stress related or a lack of sleep or inadequate nutrition. The latter is often overlooked as a factor that may play a role in fatigue. In may cases a simple change to dietary patterns may improve and increase energy levels and aid performance.

The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are the most important energy source for physical activity and performance. They are stored either in the muscle as glycogen or in the blood as blood sugars. The glycogen fuel stores need to be constantly maintained and replenished and in fact most athletes need to make constant efforts to ensure the stores are adequate. Attention to the detail of your meal just before competition will not be enough if your intake has been poor in the days and weeks leading up to the event.

Adequate carbohydrate intakes are important at all times so that athletes are ready for competition but also so that training is not compromised. A level of 5-8 grammes per kg of body weight should achieve adequate glycogen stores. Otherwise low glycogen stores can result and this can lead to a feeling of fatigue. Alternatively an increase In training load or intensity can place a strain on stores and this combined with a reduction in appetite which can result after intense exercise can further increase the problem.

Athletes should watch for muscle heaviness and lack of energy or motivation to train, particularly when the intensity is greater. Most will have enough glycogen stores for 90-120minutes of exercise; however, eating too little carbohydrate will reduce this time to probably less than one hour. To solve the problem an athlete will either have to rest and / or reduce the intensity of the exercise or increase the dietary intake of carbohydrates to replace their stores.

Timing:
Another important point to consider is the timing of carbohydrate intake. Many athletes find themselves running between training, school, college or a full time job. Timing of carbohydrate intake is very important for muscle recovery especially when you are training twice a day. Research shows that the muscles do not start to refuel at a high rate until carbohydrate is eaten, so effective recovery only starts after you have had a good meal or snack containing substantial amounts of carbohydrates. The quantities that you are trying to achieve post exercise is 1g per kg of body weight, so for a 75g athlete that is 75g of carbohydrates. In a day the total quantities required are 7-10g per kg. So for that same individual the daily target is 525-750g per day.

Some examples:
Cup of fruit salad and 2 scoops of ice cream = 45g carbohydrates
Ham and salad roll and 1 piece of fruit = 50g
2 slices of toast and 3 table spoons of spaghetti / baked beans = 55g
slices of toast with jam / honey / marmalade and 200mls fruit juice = 70g
1000mls sports drink = 70g
Rice or pasta salad (2 cups) = 85g
Breakfast cereal and 200mls semi skimmed milk = 55g

Iron Deficiency
Athletes can be prone to iron deficiency due to blood loss in sweat, urine and faeces with females being at the greater risk. Drugs such as anti-inflammatories often used in the treatment of injuries can cause small levels of gastro-intestinal bleeding, which can also increase iron loss. Some athletes will have a low iron intake which can compound the problem. Iron deficiency anaemia is less common than low iron stores and full-blown anaemia can result in athletes not being able to exercise. Decreased iron stores can result in a more general tiredness with an increase in recovery time, decreased immune function with the increased likelihood of colds and flu type symptoms. A blood test will be used to determine iron status however one blood test will not be able to give a full picture of the causes or other factors that are involved. Monitoring of these athletes is an essential component of their treatment.

Vitamin and minerals: Do you need them?
There are many claims suggesting that the general public and athletes need to take extra vitamin and mineral supplements to meet individual requirements for these nutrients. For most individuals there are no clinical or sub clinical signs or symptoms of vitamin and mineral deficiencies so taking a supplement will do little beyond giving a psychological boost.

There are some individuals that will need their diet supplemented if there is a clinical deficiency either as a result of a direct deficiency of a nutrient (Iron deficiency anaemia) or an indirect deficiency due to another medical problem (lactose intolerance etc.) and women of childbearing age are recommended to take folic acid supplements. For athletes who are travelling, are missing normal meals or have a limited choice, who have to limit food intake to make weight or have a heavy competition schedule they may benefit from a multivitamin supplement. Do seek advice on which product that you require and the most appropriate supplement to take.

Reduce your risk: points to consider.
Avoid crash diets and faddy eating. Don’t eliminate food groups.
Choose wisely when you are busy and eating on the run.
Athletes can often eat “too healthy”. Fat is an essential component of the diet and eating too little can cause problems.
If you think you have iron deficiency, get a blood test and take steps to increase your iron intake.
Ensure you are well hydrated.
Fruit and vegetables should be part of your DAILY food intake.

Sharon Madigan
Accredited Sports Dietitian

This month Peter McCabe Coordinator of the Performance Lifestyle Programme begins a series of articles that examine the art of communicating effectively.

Constructive interaction between athletes, coaches and support staff depends on effective communication. A critical aspect of this communication process is the skill of listening. For the purpose of this and subsequent articles understand listening to be the process of receiving, understanding and responding to verbal and / or non verbal messages.

When working with different people it is important to be aware of their listening style. Most people have a preferred listening style although some can skilfully alter their style because of circumstances. Research suggests that there are four listening styles.

PEOPLE LISTENING – shows a preference for focusing on the emotion attached to what is being said.
ACTION LISTENING – shows a preference for organised, precise delivery.
CONTENT LISTENING – shows a preference for complex information that can be evaluated from an emotionally detached viewpoint.
TIME FOCUSED LISTENING – shows a clear preference for brief, hurried information.

Knowledge of an individual’s preferred style can help you ‘package’ your messages in an appropriate format.

Obviously we all have lapses in terms of the quality of our listening. There are clear reasons why this happens and four are worth highlighting here.

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
This occurs when the listener experiences a conflict such as when receiving information that conflicts with their already held beliefs. This is especially true when accepting the information will thrust the listener into conflict with other people who are important to them. One example might be an athlete listening to information regarding a strategy for altering their training programme which they know might lead to a conflict with their coach.

ANXIETY
Sometimes we struggle to listen well because our anxiety level is too high.
Controlling anxiety and judicious shaping of communication between athlete and coach just before competition are critical to overcome this barrier.

WE TAKE ON THE ROLE OF ‘THE CONTROLLING LISTENER’
This can be a trait of especially autocratic individuals. They don’t really want to listen at all, although they may take turns listening because they know that this is expected. Such individuals would much rather be talking; telling you what they are thinking and why. This type of person struggles to read any of your non verbal cues e.g. glazing over as you look back at them.

WE TAKE ON THE ROLE OF ‘THE PASSIVE LISTENER’
Take the example of an athlete who thinks “I know all this and therefore I don’t need to concentrate” while listening to a coach or support staff. This passive approach is clearly the opposite of an active listening approach where the listener takes the attitude that while it might not be the most novel information; they listen intently for a fuller understanding of the speaker’s view.

Clearly awareness and knowledge have the potential to improve our practical application of listening skills. In next month’s newsletter I will focus on the kinds of listening we do and ways to enhance our skills.

The people of the UK have always been renowned for their love and dedication for sport. The race to decide the host of the 2012 games has proved to be yet another competition the British aren’t going to take lying down.
Most of London’s finest historic buildings (for example Lords cricket ground) and unique parks (for example Hyde park) have already been selected to accommodate many of the different events.
Even the much-maligned Millennium Dome has come to use for the Gymnastic and Basketball events. For the main events plans have already been set for state-of-the-art buildings and venues to be produced in honour of the games, places fit for real champions. The planned 1,500-acre Olympic Park (which is to be built on marsh land) will include majestic landscaping and a new Olympic stadium. The futuristic building is estimated to cost around £1.75 billion and will be the best equipped in the world. Also, unlike many of its bid rivals, London’s venues are all within the city centre and its surrounding locations, the main village being a 7-minute journey away on the proposed rail systems.

After the games the new facilities will be used to improve the already rising standards of British athletes. The six proposed venues include an aquatic centre with 50m pool, a velodrome, a BMX track, a 3-arena multi-sports complex, all weather courts and pitches and of course the athletic stadium. Gains for the general public will include 5000 new homes, used during the games to accommodate 17,800 participants, but will be available for re-housing projects afterwards.

London has been hailed by 82% of the UK population as being the ideal place for the games. Hosting the games would create a fantastic incentive for the athletes in the UK who are in the World Class and World Class Potential programmes today. In the recent games in Athens our athletes certainly did their country proud with a total of over 100 medals in 136 events, just over 1/3 of them being Gold. Perhaps most memorable were Kelly Holmes’ 800 and 1500m double, and Tanni Grey Thompsons’ 100 and 400m double in the Paralympic games.
The last time London’s streets saw the games were in 1948, when a record number of 59 countries took part in the games and the first television coverage of the games was broadcast. Now 57 years on London is adamant that new records can be broken and new standards set for The ‘Greatest Show On Earth’. The decision regarding the host city will be made on the 28th June this year… London is holding its breath!

This article was prepared by Marian Baxter an Upper Sixth student at Belfast High School. Marian recently completed a week long placement at the institute