Some people are more active than others and, therefore, will require stricter nutritional needs based on their training intensities. The same goes for injury prevention. Depending on your activity level and frequency of the activity you may need to incorporate specific guidelines to prevent injury and maintain your fitness level between periods of physical activity. Knowing how to properly assess your sports nutrition and training needs will make all the difference in your performance.
What is a recreational athlete? What is a weekend warrior?
In order to define the recreational athlete, you must first know the definitions of a physically active person and a competitive athlete. Laquale defines a physically active person as someone who participates in planned repetitive movements that are structured to improve and maintain physical fitness (i.e. exercise). A competitive athlete is someone who participates in sports or games that require physical strength, agility, or stamina (i.e. a college athlete).
A recreational athlete is between the definition of the physically active person and the competitive athlete. They are physically active, however, they may or may not train at the same intensity level that a competitive athlete would (i.e. someone who is on the bowling team once a week or someone who plays on a basketball league at the local Y with their friends once a week). Recreational athletes may or may not meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity, which is comprised of at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week or at least 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity at least 3 days out of the week, depending if other exercise activity is incorporated during the week.
The weekend warrior is someone who decides to squeeze in their physical activity only 1-2 days a week, normally on the weekend, while remaining relatively inactive the rest of the week. Weekend warriors generally do not meet the criteria of being regularly active and do not meet the current recommended guidelines for physical activity.
How to determine the nutritional needs of the recreational athlete and weekend warrior
To begin with basic nutrition you should start with the dietary guidelines for general health which can be used by both athletes and non-athletes. These guidelines are the ones established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) every five years and are best known as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The next step would be to make sure enough calories are being consumed relative to the activity and the level of intensity. For example, considering the recreational athlete, a person that is on the bowling team once a week will more than likely require less adjustment of their diet to account for the calories expended versus the person that plays basketball once a week. When it comes to the weekend warrior, you would have to adjust your caloric intake on the weekends accordingly.
To figure out how many more calories you need to consume to perform your activity, in addition to your daily activities, determine the intensity level of the activity, such as moderate or vigorous. There are helpful tools on figuring out where your activity's intensity level falls as well as how to determine the amount of calories you would burn doing that specific activity. This would be used to calculate how many more calories you would need to consume, above your normal caloric intake, to maintain your performance levels.
Specific concerns regarding the recreational athlete and weekend warrior
Working out only on the weekends or only being physically active when you need to partake in your activity puts you at risk of injury regardless of age and gender. There have been reports of as many as 10,000 Americans visiting emergency rooms every day for sports and exercise-related injuries.
Granted any physical activity is better than a sedentary lifestyle, but when you are only physically active as infrequently as the recreational athlete and the weekend warrior, take extra care of yourself by following a few guidelines:
- If you do not already, try to incorporate regular exercise throughout the week to keep you moving between your periods of activity - even if it is 10-20 minutes for 2-3 days a week. It will make a huge difference. Be sure to adjust your caloric intake accordingly.
- Make sure you always warm-up for at least ten minutes prior to your activity to ensure your muscles are loosened up enough
- Perform at least two stretches per muscle group immediately following your activity - hold each stretch for at least 20-30 seconds - this will make sure you maintain your flexibility
Sources
- Laquale, K. Nutritional Needs of the Recreational Athlete. Athletic Therapy Today. 2009;14(1):12-15.
- Lee, I-M., Sesso, H.D., Oguma, Y., et al. The "Weekend Warrior" and Risk of Mortality. Am J Epidemiol. 2004;160:636-641.
- Peach, S. Is being a 'weekend warrior' bad for your health? 2010. http://www.physorg.com/news205598089.html. Accessed 26 January 2012.
The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader who is concerned about his or her health should contact a doctor for advice.
Serena Smith-Williams - Serena Smith-Williams truly believes your own personal lifestyle does not have to be compromised in order to live healthy and well.
