Energy Drinks: Healthy or Hazardous?

Energy drinks are the fastest growing segment of the beverage market today and in 2011 sales are expected to top $9 billion. These drinks are being marketed and sold to adolescents and young adults and are now being linked to causing serious health conditions in some people. Thirty to fifty percent of young adults and adolescents consume these wildly popular drinks that contain ingredients that claim to boost energy, performance, stamina, concentration and even weight loss. The big gun of energy drinks is caffeine---a stimulant that raises blood pressure, as well as heart rate. In small doses, around 300 milligrams, it has been shown to be a performance enhancer. In high doses it can cause irritability, increased heart rate, jitteriness, anxiety, insomnia, tremors, heart palpitations, upset stomach and nervousness. More caffeine is added in many of these products from other sources like guarana, kola nut, yerba mate, cocoa and tea. Other common ingredients you might see on the ingredient list are B vitamins, taurine, ginseng, yohimbine, L-Carnitine and tryptophan. Some of these additives may have potentially dangerous health effects and also interfere with prescription, as well as over the counter drugs, like aspirin.

Because energy drinks are classified as a dietary supplement, manufacturers can say just about anything they want about what they claim to do---even if they have no evidence to prove it. They are not regulated for safety, nor do they have any warnings on their labels. Therein lies the primary issue that I have with these drinks. In my opinion, consumers have a right to know exactly what is contained in any product that they choose to eat or drink. Recently, Consumer Lab ran a test on the 5 Hour energy shot that advertises it’s “no caffeine content” and found one shot contained 207 mg. of caffeine—more than an average cup of Joe from Starbucks! Because these drinks are unregulated, anyone choosing to drink them should exercise caution----know what you are putting into your body and think about how it might affect you. On February 14th, msnbc.com reported that an 18 year old high school senior had a seizure and was hospitalized for five days after drinking two large NOS energy drinks. Read the full article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41577256
Most adults can tolerate modest amounts of caffeine (150-300 mg. per day) with no adverse effects, but its effects on children and adolescents, especially in high doses and in conjunction with other stimulants, have not been studied enough. The additive effects of many of these ingredients, along with over consumption, make the synergistic combination even more unpredictable. Simply put: the sum is more dangerous than its parts. Why then are these beverage makers not held to a limit on total caffeine dose like over-the-counter designated caffeine stimulants are (for instance, No Doz) or even soda?

Many countries are reviewing the reported adverse events associated with consuming these drinks and developing labeling regulations and other legal restrictions to protect the public’s health. In Norway, energy drinks can only be sold in pharmacies. Other countries have banned the sale of these drinks altogether……….what do you think the United States should do to regulate these drinks?

If you would like to learn more about the health effects of energy drinks on children, adolescents and young adults, log on to www.pediatrics.org for a recently published and comprehensive review article (February 15, 2011) by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Kim Larson, RD, CD
Sports Nutrition Consultant
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com

If Sliding Head First Were Faster, World-Class Sprinters Would Dive Across the Finish Line!

The 2011 baseball season started with tragedy at Arizona State University. While sliding head-first into second base during an attempted steal, freshman player Cory Hahn collided with the knee of the fielder and suffered a fractured neck and is reportedly paralyzed.

Though there are injury risks with feet-first sliding, it is commonly believed that the more devastating injuries are associated with head-first slides (i.e. cervical spine injuries, shoulder dislocations, and other elbow, wrist, and hand trauma). Yet, coaches continue to teach, and players continue to attempt head-first sliding because they believe it is a faster baserunning technique.

The truth…IT’S NOT. A 2002 study proved once and for all that at all levels, there is no difference in speed between head-first and feet-first sliding. The authors concluded that in fact, feet-first sliding may even be slightly faster.

Kane SM, House HO, Overgaard KA. Head-first versus feet-first sliding: A comparison of speed from base to base. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2002; 30(6): 834-836.

As I mentioned, there is injury potential to the lower body with the feet-first technique (i.e. ankles, knees, hips, and hands), but these are not considered to be in the same class of severity as those associated with the head-first method. It can be argued that when the feet-first slide is taught correctly and practiced, the potential for injury is low – particularly now with breakaway bases, etc.

NEVER SHOULD A PLAYER SLIDE HEAD-FIRST INTO HOME PLATE!

David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com

Avoiding Muscle Soreness: Micro Tears vs Muscle Tears

For professional baseball players, the majority of training occurs in-season while balancing the physical workload of games, practice, and team travel. Spring Training begins early in the year (February-March) and is followed by a 140-162 game regular season lasting through September or later (The 2010 World Series ended on November 1st). It is also not uncommon for players to participate in Winter Leagues in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, or Arizona during the off-season months. So, given the limited time for physical preparation during the off-season and the high baseball workload throughout the year, how should coaches go about avoiding muscle soreness in players from in-season strength and conditioning work? A simple answer is that coaches must use caution towards high-volume types of training while promoting a variety of fatigue-reducing recovery strategies (i.e. SMFR, contrast bathing, massage, nutrition, and rest). Possessing a better understanding of muscle soreness is helpful in providing guidance to players who do not wish to perform resistance training in fear of becoming sore.

The muscle soreness occurring 24-72 hours following unaccustomed training is referred to by exercise professionals as DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). Symptoms of DOMS may include compromised running mechanics, decreased functional range of motion or stiffness, and reductions in strength and power. Of importance to coaches, baseball performance may be negatively affected by excessive muscle pain, leading to compromised movement patterns in throwing, running, and hitting. A risk of muscle injury in tissues surrounding the prime movers (major muscle groups) is of increased concern from altered baseball mechanics.

It is important to realize that the negative effects of DOMS are temporary, and that the damage to the muscle from training (i.e. overstretching) occurs within the muscle cells (at the level of the myofibril) and not in the muscle tissue as a whole. From a medical perspective, a muscle tearing injury (occurring in an entire muscle) would result in a less pliable, scarring over of the affected tissue (i.e. scar tissue). This is NOT the same tearing of muscle tissue which results in DOMS. The term “micro-tears” is often used to describe the displacement, or tearing, of the myofibril proteins (actin, myosin, troponin, and tropomyosin) which serve as cogs to contract our muscles. Micro-tears are believed to promote muscle growth and gains in strength, leading to the notion that DOMS may be a natural part of the early strength building process.

The most effective method of preventing DOMS is to avoid unaccustomed training through a consistent routine. The complete replacement of myofilament proteins naturally occurs every 7-15 days within muscle cells, allowing for relatively quick recovery and adaptation from exercise induced stress. A consistent training approach which considers the overall workload of professional baseball players (i.e. games, practices, travel, nutrition, and sleep) will allow for the players to gradually improve muscular fitness to achieve a higher training level. A workload of 1-2 strength or power sessions per week in-season is a good starting point to avoid overtraining. Workouts can be divided into lower and upper body days as needed.

Key Points For In-Season Training:

 DOMS is most common with strenuous initial training sessions after prolonged inactivity – Perform a consistent routine and do not add new exercise movements in-season.

 DOMS is caused by the eccentric, or lowering, portion of exercise movements –
Avoid performing “negatives” or exercises with strenuous deceleration components.

 DOMS symptoms temporarily lessen after a warm-up which promotes blood flow –
Recommend that players perform a general cardiovascular warm-up before all activity.

 DOMS can negatively impact players physical and psychological performance –
Be cautious in overloading players too soon to avoid poor performance on the field.

Eric McMahon, MEd, CSCS
Minor League Strength and Conditioning Coach
Texas Rangers

Representation

As I begin this new and wonderful baseball season – there are a couple things that come to mind. Every year that I have been with Vanderbilt Baseball, we have opened the season on the road – west coast style (btw it has rained every year).

This is the first thing that is in the back of my mind when we hit the road for a game or weekend series. I am representing Vanderbilt Baseball and the University (and the Medical Center) – it is very apparent when everyone steps off the bus wearing matching travel shirts.

The players around me are a representation of our head coach. In my experience, there is a direct correlation between how the players are coached and managed and how they act when they are on the road for a baseball trip. I can’t speak for any professional organizations – but every professional athlete still represents their organization.

There have been many occasions when I am heading in to work a baseball game or even heading home from a ballgame wearing my team issued gear (trust me – people know the difference between team issued gear and gear at the store), when someone has asked me if I work for the baseball team.
More times than not, I will be a forgotten face in the line while I am grabbing a soda on the way home. However, if I were making a scene or causing a problem, they would probably remember the guy in the store that was wearing the Vanderbilt baseball gear. This has worked the other way as well – every year the baseball team participates in a charity walk and the people have this positive image of the players and the coaching staff.

The next time that you are on a trip remember what you actually represent. You represent your parents, coaches, teammates, school or university, and baseball as a whole – people do stereotype what kind of athlete you are. Yes, I know it’s a sad generalization, but once people have a bad experience with one particular type of something, they remember it for a long time (similar to a bad experience with food).

I am not saying that you need to be a prude when you are walking around your hometown, but remember that there are people that come to the ballpark to watch you play. You can be a competitor on the field, but a great person off. Remember you are representing a lot of different things.

Chris Ham, MSA, ATC, CES
Athletic Trainer
Vanderbilt University Baseball

Lets Warm Up

Warm-up can be one of the most controversial actives for any athlete or team. I want to talk about some of the concepts and maybe give some feedback on what I have seen work.
You open any textbook or training book and they will give you the “text book” answer to warming up. You need to jog or ride a bike for 5-10 minutes then you need to do 15 to 20 minute dynamic warm-up routine. Even though you might not see the dynamic routine in every warm program the point is you need 15-20 minutes to get ready. I believe in the dynamic routine and have been using it for some 12 or more years now, but we will talk about that later.
I have been working with coaches for 15 years and know that 30 minutes to just warm-up is never going to cut it, one, and the coach does not have that much time and two the athletes will not stay that focused to complete. We need to be more practical and accommodating to the situations. If a coach in high school only has 2.5 hours a day to work with his players do you think he is going to spend a half hour getting ready. Do you think pro players want to get to the park 30 minutes early so they can warm-up for drills and then warm-up for the game as well. Any strength coach that says yes is just fooling them selves. I’ve been there and done that from the pro level to the little league level. In reality you might have 15 minutes and on a good day 20 minutes, so how do you get them ready.
Let’s break it down practically:
1) General Warm up:
a. Jog around the field 1 lap. (1.5 min)

2) General Specific: dynamic 15-20 yards
a. Walking side shuffle (45 seconds)
b. Walking carioca (45 seconds)
c. Walking high knee (45 seconds)
d. Walking hurdles (45 seconds)
e. Side shuffle 50% (45 seconds)
f. Carioca 50% (45 seconds)
g. High knees (45 seconds)
h. Butt kicks (45 seconds)

3) General Specific: Stationary dynamic
a. Touch and reach
b. Diagonal touch and reach
c. Windmills
d. Rotation and twist
e. Push-ups
f. Overhead claps
g. 90-90 shoulder rotation

4) General Specific: High Speed
a. 30 Yard sprint 75% (45 seconds)
b. High skip (45 seconds)
c. Secondary steel 75% (45 seconds)
d. Sprint (45 seconds)

5) Sport specific: hitting or throwing
a. This is the time the players go through a throwing program or hitting prep program. This should take the players 10-15 minutes to complete.

This warm-up is complete in 30 minutes but has the players ready to either practice or play in a game. If you only complete the general warm-up in 30 minutes they still need to throw or hit, we are now out 45 minutes that’s 1/3 of the practice time spent on just getting ready. If you cut the whole prep into 30 minutes that’s only 1/5 of practice time.
As strength coaches or athletic trainers if you want to see the warm-up more productive and really get that internal temp up then try some variation of this, it is high paced and makes the players work. They will really be ready to play both mentally and physically. For coaches, the player will be ready and you have given them a true warm-up not the old throw the balls and bats out and let’s play.
As a note, I said try a variation of this. This is not the end all to warm-ups, and changes should be made all the time. Try different exercises and orders, the players will not get bored with the routine and again, will be more productive. Play with the idea and times.

Brian Niswender MA, CSCS
Co-Founder BaseballStrengthCoaching.com

A Sweet Look At A Popular Treat - Chocolate

To celebrate and honor our national love-filled holiday this month, Valentine’s Day, I thought it appropriate to extoll the health benefits of chocolate. Chocolate will be the most popular sweet treat eaten on Valentine’s Day and with good reason: the deep, rich taste of cocoa combined with sugar and fat produce an irresistible, creamy and complex combination of flavor on the tongue. To enjoy this occasional treat even more, you may be interested in knowing its science-backed health benefits.
Chocolate has long been the feel good food and now it is cautiously being placed among the ranks of good-for-you foods, as well. Chocolate contains many naturally occurring chemicals that we have learned more about these past few years so here are a few tidbits of information if you are a chocolate lover!

Cocoa beans are very bitter and pungent by themselves--- that’s why sugar and fat are added to increase the mouth feel and flavor of the beans. This bitterness comes from the flavanols in the chocolate, which also give it its antioxidant power and positive heart health attributes. Antioxidants help reduce inflammation and damage in our cells that we generate from normal body processes like breathing and exercise. Flavanols belong to a larger group of antioxidants called flavonoids, that are found in many plant-based foods and beverages. Research has confirmed that these naturally occurring compounds have other positive effects on vascular health, such as like lowering blood pressure, improving blood flow to the heart and brain, lowering cholesterol and making blood platelets less sticky and able to clot.

The more chocolate is processed through roasting, fermentation and alkalizing to make it more appealing, the more flavanols are lost. Chocolate manufacturers are looking for ways to maintain the strength of the flavonols in their processed chocolates so don’t be duped by current marketing ploys. The most concentrated flavonols are found in those sources with higher amounts of cocoa, like cocoa powder (choose those that are not Dutch processed or treated with an alkali) baking chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate and lastly, chocolate syrup. There are no health benefits to eating white chocolate, not made from the cocoa bean.

How much chocolate can we eat guilt-free? No matter what the health promoting influences are that we reap from the cocoa bean, we still need to be mindful of the other ingredients in chocolate, like sugar and saturated fat, that piggy back onto the virtuous cocoa bean. Both sugar and fat add up to lots of calories in a hurry so a prudent approach to eating chocolate is still the best route to good health. Enjoy an ounce of real chocolate as a once-in-awhile treat and don’t forget to include the other flavonoid rich foods in your diet like apples, grape juice, tea, onions and cranberries.

Kim Larson, RD, CD
Sports Nutrition Consultant
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com

How Can I Increase My Fielding Range?

Recently, I was involved in a discussion about a player’s fielding range and whether or not this aspect of the game of baseball be improved. Those participating in the discussion had many great points. The general consensus was that, yes, fielding range can be improved. But, how? For the most part, many of the participants discussed improving lower body power, first step explosiveness, and lateral speed and agility. For my part, I agreed that these components were very important. But, I believe equally or even more important is training to improve an athlete’s reaction time.

The time it takes for a player to recognize that a ball has been hit and then initiate his movement to intercept and field it is called his reaction time. When the ball is seen or the crack of the bat is heard, nerve impulses travel to the brain where the information is processed. The brain then formulates a motor response and the player moves to field the ball. Reacting to a visual stimulus takes approximately 16-18 hundredths of a second. Auditory reactions take 14-16 hundredths of a second. However, this does not take into account that the time that it takes for the sound to travel to the player’s ear. For example, an outfielder would respond to the “crack” of the bat later than an infielder, because he is positioned farther away.

Like the other components of lower body power and quickness, reaction time can be trained and improved. The key is to enhance the brain’s processing speed. This is done by attempting to eliminate visual and auditory distracters. One technique that can be utilized immediately and without a great deal of training is the concept of “contrast sensitivity”. This has to do with the ability to pick out an object visually amidst a confusing background. Excellent results can be experienced with the use of different colored eyeglass lenses for a given time of day or stadium background. For example:

Bright, Sunny Day = more traditional darker tint
Cloudy, Grey Conditions = amber tints
Late Evening, Twilight = yellow tints

Another training technique involves emphasizing the visual stimulus. A simple drill that I have used with players is to have them perform their fielding drills while wearing ear plugs or noise cancelling headphones. This will eliminate the auditory distractions and teach them to recognize and react sooner to the visual cues.

Even though reaction time can be improved, there is a definite ceiling. Even elite sprinters cannot physiologically react in less than 0.10 seconds without anticipating the starting gun. That being said, there are ways to anticipate on the baseball field. By understanding the game situation and past performance of the hitters, players and coaches can position themselves on the field to provide a better “jump” on the ball. For example, when a right-handed hitter has been noted to routinely “pull” the ball, fielders can slightly adjust their positioning to their right. Also, in situations where the hitter would attempt to hit toward the right side of the field, the defense can adjust accordingly.

Ultimately, all of these components can help to improve a player’s fielding range. Increasing his explosiveness and lateral speed will improve his overall movement time. While training him to better recognize and process visual cues can improve his reaction and anticipation skills.

David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com