Invisible training: The true athlete is one 24 hours a day
What does this mean? It’s not only about the training session itself—the brief period of exercise, more or less intense. We’re referring to what is known as invisible training. Invisible training covers a large part of the overall athletic training process, has a major impact on performance, and includes everything a person who practices sport does between one training session and the next—in short: their lifestyle habits.
All of that “invisible” part of training is still absolutely present, because it is essential to reaching a high level of performance and prolonging an athletic career. It has multiple benefits, such as clearly improving recovery and performance, and helping to prevent potential injuries.
Invisible training
What we do between training sessions, or between matches and competitions, will determine how we feel and how we approach the next sessions. Invisible training aims to explain and highlight the role of your habits and lifestyle in your performance.
Some of the elements that make up this invisible training are the following. Some have greater relevance than others when it comes to boosting performance, but all are necessary.
Diet and Nutrition
The act of eating—and therefore the way we nourish ourselves—will affect our performance and recovery to the point that food can be considered the fuel of our body. Without fuel there is no energy, but not just any fuel will do. Choosing foods, the proportions and the time they are consumed—known as periodisation—is decisive. The choice of foods and the proportions consumed, depending on the sport discipline and the goal among other factors, is largely determined by genetics—known as sports nutritional genomics.
To make this clearer, one study reported that athletes who carry the AA genotype of the FTO gene at rs1558902 benefit more from consuming a moderate- to high-protein diet (at least 25% of energy from protein) to optimise body composition. Greater lean mass in athletes has been associated with better performance in strength and power sports, as well as some endurance events, and a lower risk of injuries.
That is why we focus on providing individualised and personalised nutrition, taking into account the large amount of useful, multimodal data that can be used in sports nutrition.
Recovery and rest
It may seem obvious, but it’s necessary to remember that sleep is our repair workshop. It is necessary to ensure both the hours and their quality to guarantee proper repair. In addition, when we talk about recovery and rest we shouldn’t focus only on sleep but also on recovery after the training session, which will depend on the intensity and the time we have until the next training session.
The 4R rule
This is a well-known and widely used rule for post-training recovery. It consists of rehydration, repair, replenishment and rest. This rule—and how it is applied in each case—can be modulated by genetics. In the case of repair, where the main objective is to repair tissues, adequate protein intake is needed, as well as reducing the stress caused by training intensity.
Related to reducing stress and restoring homeostasis, one study whose results have been replicated on several occasions concluded that carrying the AA genotype of the single nucleotide polymorphism c.313A>G in the GSTP1 gene is associated with poorer endurance performance, possibly due to worse elimination of free radicals generated during exercise. In this case, personalisation is essential when prescribing an antioxidant-rich diet after exercise.
Supplementation
The term “food first” has been widely accepted as the preferred strategy in sports nutrition, but we must understand that it has limitations in certain situations. There are many reasons why foods should be recommended before supplements, but there is evidence supporting the use of certain supplements to improve health and performance. In an article published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, they propose six reasons why a food-only approach may not always be optimal for athletes:
- Some nutrients are difficult to obtain in sufficient amounts in the diet or may require excessive energy intake and/or consumption of other nutrients.
- Some nutrients are abundant only in foods athletes do not eat or do not like.
- The nutrient content of some foods with established ergogenic benefits is highly variable. This is where the influence of genetics on supplementation comes into play—for example, caffeine.
- Concentrated doses of some nutrients are required to correct deficiencies and/or promote immune tolerance.
- Some foods may be difficult to consume immediately before, during, or immediately after exercise.
- Tested supplements might help when there are concerns about food hygiene or contamination.
Which sports supplements should I choose?
More than 95% of caffeine is metabolised by the enzyme CYP1A2, which is encoded by the CYP1A2 gene. It has been shown that the rs762551 polymorphism alters CYP1A2 enzyme activity and has been used to identify people as “fast” or “slow” caffeine metabolisers. Individuals considered slow metabolisers—i.e., with the AC or CC genotype—do not obtain the ergogenic effect and have an increased risk of myocardial infarction, hypertension and high blood pressure, and prediabetes with increased consumption of caffeinated coffee, whereas those with the AA genotype (fast metabolisers) do not appear to have these risks and are associated with improved performance.
In these situations it is acceptable for the athlete to consider consuming sports supplements, but it is important to emphasise: “Food first but not always food only”, “Food first, but not always food only.”
Other factors to consider
- Stress management: recommended in every sense, but in the case of professional and intense sport, therapy has numerous benefits on different levels—for example, learning to channel stress and anxiety and to manage the high pressure athletes are under. It also helps keep the mind clear, and taking advantage of the sense of wellbeing produced by sport itself can be the perfect engine to stay motivated and reach goals.
- Positive visualisations: intrinsically linked to stress management and mental wellbeing. We already know: healthy mind, healthy body. Setting achievable goals and projecting yourself in that direction with determination and a positive attitude.
How to plan good invisible training
If we start planning training without also focusing on the rest of the areas beyond the sports session itself, we won’t get the desired results or, if we do, it will be through a slightly more complicated path than with good planned management—because it’s very important to keep in mind that an athlete trains while they sleep, eat, hydrate, receive a massage, maintain a positive attitude, do light training sessions… in short, making invisible training visible.
If you’re thinking about starting a sports plan or you’re already following one but you’ve realised that the goals seemed realistic yet you’re not achieving them, perhaps it’s time to put personalised invisible training into practice. Changing some lifestyle habits for others that are healthier, personalised and individualised will be fundamental to obtaining physical results and continuing to move forward and progress properly.
References
Mohamadi Turkmani E, Safari Jafarloo HR, Dehghan Ghahfarokhi A. Elite athletes’ lifestyles: Consumerism to professionalism. PLoS One. 2022;17(9):e0269287. Published 2022 Sep 26. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0269287
Guest NS, Horne J, Vanderhout SM, El-Sohemy A. Sport Nutrigenomics: Personalized Nutrition for Athletic Performance. Front Nutr. 2019;6:8. Published 2019 Feb 19. doi:10.3389/fnut.2019.00008
Knapik JJ. The Importance of Physical Fitness for Injury Prevention: Part 2. J Spec Oper Med. 2015;15(2):112-115. doi:10.55460/1IEC-921I
Beck B, Carstairs GL, Billing DC, Caldwell JN, Middleton KJ. Modifiable Anthropometric Characteristics Are Associated With Unilateral and Bilateral Carry Performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(2):489-494. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000001504
Zarebska A, Jastrzebski Z, Ahmetov II, et al. GSTP1 c.313A>G polymorphism in Russian and Polish athletes. Physiol Genomics. 2017;49(3):127-131. doi:10.1152/physiolgenomics.00014.2016
Close, G. L., Kasper, A. M., Walsh, N. P., & Maughan, R. J. (2022). “Food First but Not Always Food Only”: Recommendations for Using Dietary Supplements in Sport, International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 32(5), 371-386. Retrieved Dec 21, 2022, from https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsnem/32/5/article-p371.xml
