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Sexual reproduction is one of the most notable sex differences. During puberty girls experience menarche, which signals the ‘official start’ of the menstrual cycle and persists until menopause. During the menstrual cycle, the ovarian hormones oestrogen and progesterone fluctuate in a predictable repeating pattern, although it should be noted that there is large inter- and intra-individual variability in cycle length and hormone levels. Aside from their paradigmatic roles, oestrogen and progesterone have been shown to have non-reproductive functions. As such, the menstrual cycle has developed - over the last century - into a topic of interest for female athletes from a health and performance perspective.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
02/13/2028
BOC
1
02/13/2028
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
02/10/2028
CSCCa
1
02/13/2028
While total energy needs of female athletes are lower than male athletes, macronutrient needs tend to be similar relative to body size (i.e. g per kg body mass). Macronutrient utilization may vary over the course of a menstrual cycle; however, the overall effect appears to be small and can be minimized with proper fueling. Micronutrient needs of female athletes differ from male athletes, and the risk of deficiency should be considered in the development of nutrition plans. Nutrition programs that encourage autonomy, build competence and enhance connection have the potential to improve athlete performance by increasing intrinsic (internal) motivation. Nutrition plans should consider the individual needs of female athletes and be adjusted throughout the training and competitive phase to help athletes achieve their goals.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
01/27/2028
BOC
1
01/27/2028
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
01/23/2028
CSCCa
1
01/27/2028
The practice of sports medicine, sport science, and coaching are increasingly being driven using real-world data, which is any data which is routinely collected from a variety of sources relating to the health or performance of an athlete/team for the delivery of healthcare or training. While real-world data has many use cases, a very minute amount of this data is currently used to generate real-world evidence which allows us to determine causality from the data. Whether the goal is to increase athlete performance, team performance, mitigate injuries or return athletes to sport more rapidly, it is often insufficient to describe previous performance/injury or predict future performance/injury; it is necessary to change the course of a reality, which requires a causally effective intervention by the practitioner.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
01/22/2028
BOC
1
01/22/2028
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
01/21/2028
CSCCa
1
01/22/2028
Interval training describes an intermittent style of exercise in which repeated bouts of relatively intense effort are interspersed with short recovery periods. The basic premise is simple, but responses depend on many variables, including the intensity, duration, and frequency of work bouts, and overall training volume. An ~80-to-20 ratio of low- to-moderate-intensity and high-intensity/interval training is commonly recommended to optimize performance in already well-trained athletes who compete in events that require a high rate of aerobic energy provision. The optimal interval training strategy to enhance performance in highly trained athletes is unknown and likely depends on individual characteristics and the demands of the sport or event. There is debate over the best method to structure the portion of training time spent at high intensity including whether a polarized, pyramidal, or threshold approach to intensity distribution is optimal to enhance endurance performance. A key focus of interval training for health has been on maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), a direct measure of the clinical correlate cardiorespiratory fitness, which is a strong predictor of mortality and risk for many chronic diseases. Recent research has shown the potential for simple, practical, and relatively time-efficient applications of interval training to increase VO2max and other health-related markers. This includes include “exercise snacks” or short (≤1 min) bouts performed periodically throughout the day, and “vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity”, which refers to short bursts of vigorous effort embedded incidentally or secondary to regular activities of daily living.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
01/16/2028
BOC
1
01/16/2028
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
01/09/2028
CSCCa
1
01/16/2028
Physically demanding occupations (PDO) require high levels of energy expenditure and technical skill to complete day-to-day tasks and training. Workers in PDO are at a greater risk for heat strain/illness compared to other occupations worldwide. While research for nutrition requirements for PDO is somewhat limited, there is evidence that the current daily caloric intake habits of some workers may only account for half of their daily energy expenditure. The authors review the physiological and metabolic demands of the tasks encompassed in PDO and the current guidelines for proper hydration and nutrition for these various professions.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
12/31/2027
BOC
1
12/31/2027
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1.25
01/07/2028
Athletes’ use of supplements is highly prevalent across sport and competitive levels. High prevalence is combined with indiscriminate use. This remains a concern in sport as it can lead to negative health effects and the risk of committing an anti-doping rule violation. Consequences of committing an anti-doping rule violation through supplement use are significant for competitive athletes due to the principle of strict liability. The principle of strict liability interacts with a growing and professionally marketed industry that is poorly regulated. Consequently, competitive athletes can find themselves in a vulnerable and risky position when it comes to consuming supplements. Dr Susan Backhouse discusses adopting a behavioral approach and adherence to RMSUG to help identify what needs to change to protect athletes from unintentionally doping through indiscriminate supplement use.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
12/27/2027
BOC
1
12/27/2027
Commission on Dietetic Registration
0.75
01/03/2028
CSCCa
1
12/27/2027
Daily hydration management for a youth athlete extends beyond just sport performance to also facilitating academic achievement and overall health. Establishing sensible hydration behaviors as a youth athlete can be instrumental in underpinning healthy hydration habits as an adult that enable wellness and help to maintain long-term health. As youth develop and advance through sport, they need to develop personal initiative and autonomy to make healthy and ethical decisions about their involvement in sport, including managing their own hydration needs and strategies. Dr Michael Bergeron discusses contemporary approaches utilizing multi-domain, complex systems, and state-of-the-art tools and methods instrumental in fully recognizing the wide-ranging role and contribution of hydration to youth athletes’ health and sustainable sport participation and performance.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
12/17/2027
BOC
1
12/17/2027
Commission on Dietetic Registration
0.75
12/12/2027
CSCCa
1
12/17/2027
Athlete monitoring can be used to gauge and elevate players’ responses to training to help the maintenance of maximal performance and minimize injury and/or illness risk. There are many tools for both internal and external load monitoring, however little research has been performed within the context of American football. Given that American football is a team sport made up of different positions requiring unique skillsets and game demands, the individualization of monitoring tools and/or techniques is critical. Data analysis and interpretation needs context, both in terms of training phase (e.g., preseason vs. in-season) and in determining meaningful changes in selected monitoring tools. The authors review different parameters associated with external and internal load assessments in football and tools on how to monitor the player’s recovery with the aim of optimizing both their health and performance.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
11/27/2027
BOC
1
11/27/2027
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1.25
12/03/2027
CSCCa
1
11/27/2027
Substantial volumes of fluid can be lost during intense or prolonged exercise as a consequence of thermoregulatory sweating. In these situations, athletes need to drink during and after exercise to replace fluids lost to avoid potential negative effects of dehydration. Fluid replacement is a multi-step process involving a number of physiological systems including fluid intake, fluid delivery to the bloodstream, distribution within the body fluid compartments, and whole-body fluid retention. Adequate fluid replacement is influenced by beverage composition, as certain ingredients can facilitate or hinder one or more steps in the rehydration process. Dr Lindsay Baker reviews the scientific principles of fluid replacement and role of beverage formulation on the rehydration process for athletes.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
11/12/2027
BOC
1
11/12/2027
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
12/03/2027
CSCCa
1
11/12/2027
Buffering agents including sodium bicarbonate, beta-alanine and sodium citrate are routinely used by athletes, and effects of buffering agents on athletes’ performance have been investigated since as early as the 1930s. Extracellular buffering agents, including sodium bicarbonate and sodium citrate, can increase the blood’s buffering capacity (pH and [HCO3-]), and intracellular buffering via beta-alanine supplementation can increase muscle carnosine concentration. The recent International Olympic Committee consensus statement on nutritional supplements reported that for sodium bicarbonate and beta-alanine, there is scientific evidence for beneficial effects on athletes’ performance. There is also growing evidence that sodium citrate can be effective in improving performance. There is a high prevalence of the use of supplements and buffering agents within athletic populations and consideration of the use of buffering agents in specific contexts relevant to athletes is therefore warranted. Contexts that have been investigated within the literature to only a limited extent include the use of buffering agents in highly trained female athletes, in extreme environmental conditions (e.g., training and/or competing in hot weather conditions or at altitude) and when using combinations of buffering agents. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the effectiveness of extracellular and intracellular buffering agents can be influenced by modifying factors, such as the dose, timing, duration, and intensity of exercise performed. Additionally, the translation of research findings in buffering agents to highly trained athletes can be influenced by the design factors of research studies (e.g., use of crossover or matched group study design, familiarisation trials, pre-test dietary standardisation, performance tests that were representative of the real-world competitive demands of athletes) and athlete-specific factors (e.g., recruitment of highly-trained athletes as research participants, measures of buffering capacity, and reported improvements in performance tests that replicate real-world competitive events). There is therefore further scope to provide a practical evaluation of the evidence on buffering agents, which may be particularly relevant to performance support practitioners and coaches seeking to implement an evidence-based buffering protocol for their athletes.
Course Objectives
Course
Credits
Course Expiration
ACSM
1
11/12/2027
BOC
1
11/12/2027
Commission on Dietetic Registration
1
12/06/2027
CSCCa
1
11/12/2027