Which Type of Athlete Are You?

Welcome to the first NutriAthletics blog! If you are an athlete or someone who wants to know more about nutrition and exercise, this is the right place for you. You will learn about the fascinating links between nutrition and exercise to help you maximize your athletic performance and health. Let's get started!

Here, I will talk about the types of sports. This understanding is critical since there are so many types of sports out there that are all different from each other, so athletes certainly have their unique needs. We can simplify this diverse assortment of sports by focusing on five main categories of athletes: weightlifter, sprinter, middle distance athlete, endurance athlete, and game player.

Before I dive into those types of athletes, I'll briefly discuss three different energy systems that our body uses to perform exercise. The phosphagen system provides immediately-available energy for exercises of short duration (and usually high intensity). The short-term anaerobic system provides energy for exercise of slightly longer duration; its key characteristics are that it does not use oxygen and causes the accumulation of lactate, which causes soreness in our muscles. Finally, the long-term aerobic system is used for, as the name implies, long-term exercise that is usually of low intensity.

Now, back to those five types of athletes.

Weightlifter

The weightlifter is an explosive power athlete whose performance relies on strength. Because the exercise generally lasts a few seconds at a time, the phosphagen system can provide sufficient, immediate energy to power these movements. I'm sure you can guess that muscle mass is an important indicator of how well a weightlifter can perform. Therefore, a common diet strategy for weightlifters is to consume sufficient amounts of protein every day to help increase their muscle size. (More on protein in future blogs!)

Sprinter

The sprinter also requires a lot of power to perform exercise, but the exercise typically lasts for a longer duration than that of a weightlifter. Most of the sprinter's energy can come from the phosphagen system, but the anaerobic system also has to contribute if the sprint lasts for longer than 20 seconds. The reason is because the phosphagen system uses a compound called phosphocreatine, which can only provide energy for up to 20 seconds. Because sprinters rely on the phosphagen system up to this maximal duration, they may choose to take creatine supplements to enhance the phosphocreatine stores in their muscles. (Make sure you confirm that a particular supplement is safe and beneficial before taking it!)

Middle Distance Athlete

The middle distance athlete, who runs in races ranging from 800 meters to 3,000 meters, mainly relies on the anaerobic system for energy. The duration is too long for reliance on the phosphagen system, and the intensity of the exercise is not low enough for the aerobic system to contribute (the aerobic system uses oxygen, which is limited, so the exercise intensity should be low in order for energy needs to be met). Due to the use of the anaerobic system, middle distance athletes experience the accumulation of lactate in their muscles, which can cause soreness. There may be some supplements out there to make this lactate accumulation more tolerable, but athletes can usually get used it as they train and compete more and more.

Endurance Athlete

The endurance athlete differs from the middle distance athlete because his/her exercise can last from several minutes up to multiple hours. As a result of the long duration of the exercise, the long-term aerobic system supplies most of the energy. For these athletes, the cardiovascular and respiratory systems are vital because they deliver oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. Some examples of endurance exercise include running, jogging, and cycling.

Game Player

Last but not least, we have the game player, who can play a wide variety of sports like basketball, football, and soccer. The common characteristic among these sports is a long overall duration as well as multiple sprints with limited recovery. Because these games involve exercise of varying intensities, all energy systems are typically at work. However, these energy systems have limits, so once they are depleted, the game player experiences fatigue.

Now, you have a general idea of the different types of sports and the energy systems that athletes use to help them perform at their best. What category does your sport fall under? What energy system(s) do you use for this sport? This information is very useful to know as it can help you understand your unique needs as an athlete. Be sure to check out my upcoming blogs to find out more about how we can apply this information to maximize our athletic performance!