Abstract
Background:To what extent pre-season training camp may impact body composition and metabolism in collegiate football players is unknown.Objective:The purpose of this study was to assess changes in body composition, dietary habits and metabolism following pre-season training in Division III American football players.Methods:Seventeen Division III football players (Ht: 1.80±0.6 m; BM: 99.1±60.1 kg; FFM: 79.7±8.6 kg; BF%: 19.3±8.6%) had their body composition and resting energy expenditure (REE) assessed in a fasted state (>12 hr.) before and upon completion of pre-season training. Pre-season training consisted of 14 days of intense training.Results:Linemen had a higher body mass, fat-free mass (FFM), and fat mass likely contributing to the higher REE (p < 0.01). A main effect for time was observed regarding changes in FFM (p<0.001) and body fat % (p = 0.024). A significant interaction was observed for FFM with linemen experiencing a greater reduction in FFM (-1.73±0.37vs.-0.43±0.74 kg; p<0.001). Linemen (L) experienced a greater reduction in REE compared to non-linemen (NL) (L: -223.0±308.4vs.NL: 3.27±200.1 kcals; p=0.085) albeit not statistically significant. Non-linemen consumed a higher amount of daily calories (p=0.036), carbohydrates (p=0.046), and protein (p=0.024) when expressed relative to body mass.Conclusion:The greater size in linemen prior to pre-season likely contributed to their higher REE. However, the multiple training bouts appeared to reduce REE in linemen, which may have been driven by the observed losses in FFM and low protein intake. Further, pre-season training increased body fat % in all players.
Highlights
American football is a team sport that consists of intermittent bouts of high-intensity, high impact exercise with1875-399X/17 2017 Bentham Open18 The Open Sports Sciences Journal, 2017, Volume 10 brief periods of recovery [1]
It can be assumed that a negative energy balance in conjunction with a period of intense training would likely lead to decreases in body mass, lean body mass, which could subsequently lead to decreases in strength and power [12 - 14]
When nutritional intakes of the current study were compared to recommended values for strength athletes participating in intense training (3-4 hrs. per day), multiple days per week, the results demonstrate that the current football players failed to meet the guidelines put forth for total energy
Summary
American football is a team sport that consists of intermittent bouts of high-intensity, high impact exercise with1875-399X/17 2017 Bentham Open18 The Open Sports Sciences Journal, 2017, Volume 10 brief periods of recovery [1]. The increased physical demands of preseason training likely results in a higher daily energy expenditure, which results in a greater total energy and macronutrient requirement in order to sustain the level of training, body mass, recovery from exercise and enhance performance [2]. Larger players such as football linemen may struggle to consume an adequate energy and nutrient content to match their total energy expenditure due to the increased body size and subsequent energy needs. Their increased body size may make them more susceptible to water loss and dehydration resulting from greater sweat rates [15]. To what extent pre-season training camp may impact body composition and metabolism in collegiate football players is unknown
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