International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2019, 29, 85-94
https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2018-0273© 2019 Human Kinetics, Inc.

SCHOLARLY REVIEWSPRINTING. . . Dietary Approaches to Optimize Training
Adaptation and Performance
Gary J. Slater
University of the Sunshine Coast

Jennifer Sygo
Athletics Canada

Majke Jorgensen
Team Danmark
Although sprint athletes are assumed to primarily be interested in promoting muscle hypertrophy, it is the ability to generate
explosive muscle power, optimization of power-to-weight ratio, and enhancement of anaerobic energy generation that are key
outcomes of sprint training. This reﬂects the physique of track sprinters, being characterized as ecto-mesomorphs. Although there
is little contemporary data on sprinters dietary habits, given their moderate energy requirements relative to body mass, acarbohydrate intake within the range of 3–6 g·kg−1·day−1 appears reasonable, while ensuring carbohydrate availability is
optimized around training. Similarly, although protein needs may be twice general population recommendations, sprint athletesshould consume meals containing ∼0.4 g/kg high biological value protein (i.e., easily digested, rich in essential amino acids)
every 3–5 hr. Despite the short duration of competitions and relative long-recovery periods between races, nutrition still plays animportant role in sprint performance. As energy expenditure moderates during competition, so too should intake of energy andmacronutrients to prevent unwanted weight gain. Further adjustments in macronutrient intake may be warranted among athletescontemplating optimization of power-to-weight ratio through reductions in body fat prior to the competitive season. Other novel
acute methods of weight loss have also been proposed to enhance power-to-weight ratio, but their implementation should only beconsidered under professional guidance. Given the metabolic demands of sprinting, a few supplements may be of beneﬁt toathletes in training and/or competition. Their use in competition should be preceded with trialing in training to conﬁrm tolerance
and perceived ergogenic potential.
Keywords: athletics, nutrition, power-to-weight, anaerobic metabolism
Sprint performance, or the ability to generate maximal velocities, is important to competitive success across a range of sports
including athletics events and team sports. The latter are characterized by repeated high-intensity sprints. By contrast, the tracksprinter is concerned only with generating maximum velocity andwith limiting the loss of this as the sprint progresses. The sprints
contested at the summer Olympic Games and International Amateur Athletics Federation sanctioned events include the 100-, 200-,
and 400-m sprints, 4 × 100-, 4 × 400-m relay (male, female, andmixed gender), and the 100 (female)-/110 (male)- and 400-m
hurdles.
This article is intended to serve as an update from the previous
International Amateur Athletics Federation consensus on the roleof nutrition in elite sprint performance (Tipton et al., 2007). Whenpossible, emphasis is placed on research published since theprevious consensus, and reference is made to other articles published in this series to reduce redundancy.

Slater is with the School of Health and Sport Sciences, University of the Sunshine
Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia. Sygo is with Athletics Canada, Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada. Jorgensen is with Danish Elite Sport Institution, Team Danmark,Copenhagen, Denmark. Slater (gslater@usc.edu.au) is corresponding author.

Determinants of Sprint Performance
Sprint performance is determined primarily by reaction time,
acceleration, maximum running velocity, and the ability to sustain
this in the presence of increasing fatigue (Ross et al., 2001). A
sprint event can be broken down into ﬁve interlinked components,
including the reaction–response, block clearance, running acceleration, maximum velocity, and decreasing velocity, with the acceleration component contributing approximately two thirds of a race
(Watts et al., 2012). During the longer 400-m sprint, running
acceleration peaks during the ﬁrst 100–150 m, followed by asigniﬁcantly longer decreasing velocity that is accentuated toward
the ﬁnish of the race (Saraslanidis et al., 2011).
Having an appreciation of training and competition demands
offers insight into optimum nutrition support for sprinters. Elitesprinters typically train for 1.5–4 hr/day, 5–6 days/week, with one
or two of these days focused on low-intensity regenerative work.
Training is typically periodized to develop maximum power of the
major muscle groups using a range of modalities including sprinting but also plyometric exercises, resisted running drills, proprioceptive training, plus core stability, power, and Olympic lifts. This
reﬂects the fact that maximal running speed is limited not by thecapacity to move limbs quickly but rather by the capacity to85

Downloaded by on 04/17/19

86

Slater et al.

produce the greatest ground force with the shortest ground contact
time (Weyand et al., 2010). Sprint-speciﬁc training typically involves brief maximum intensity repetitions of varying length (bothbelow and above competition distance), with either long- or shortrecovery periods. This style of training enhances traits important toathletic development and is common among explosive athletics
disciplines.
The structure of the training day may include sprint/track
training followed by resistance training, plus ancillary activities
such as massage or soft-tissue treatment, travel time to and from thetraining facility, as well as academic, professional, or personalcommitments. This schedule can have an important impact on meal
timing and access to food to support pretraining fuelling andrecovery and should be considered when developing a sprinter’snutrition plan.
Sprint-training adaptations can be separated into several distinct outcomes, including neural and metabolic (Dawson et al.,1998), as well as physique changes (Watts et al., 2012). Althoughadaptations are dependent on the speciﬁc training intervention
applied, sprint training appears to induce favorable enzymatic
adaptations across all three energy systems, resulting in fasterrates of phosphocreatine breakdown and greater glycolytic andmitochondrial enzyme activity (Ross & Leveritt, 2001).
Intense sprint exercise results in rapid increases in energy
turnover from both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism. Having anappreciation of energy system contribution inﬂuences trainingprescription and directing nutrition guidelines for both training
and competition. The relative energy system contribution varies
between events, with the anaerobic energy system dominant acrossall distances. Anaerobic glycolysis is a dominant energy system,
as is reﬂected in the high-lactate production, especially during
the 400 m (Dufﬁeld et al., 2005). This ability to rapidly supply
adenosine triphosphate through anaerobic sources correlates withperformance in the sprint events. The relative aerobic contribution
becomes more important as the distance increases (Table 1), withapproximately 40% of energy derived from the aerobic metabolism
in the 400 m in national caliber males and slightly higher in female
athletes in season, although aerobic metabolism dominates after
approximately 30 s (Spencer & Gastin, 2001).
The ability to generate explosive muscle power and strength iscritical to success in sprint events (Cunningham et al., 2013). Given
the desire to enhance power-generating capacity, it is often
assumed sprint athletes are primarily interested in promoting
muscle hypertrophy. Although athletes may periodically attempt
to promote skeletal muscle hypertrophy, key nutritional issues arebroader than those pertinent to hypertrophy alone. These include
the strategic timing of nutrient intake to maximize fuelling andrecovery objectives, plus the enhancement of power-to-weightratio, achieved through skeletal muscle hypertrophy and/or maintaining low body fat levels (Huovinen et al., 2015).
The source of fatigue during sprint training is likely multifactorial (Green, 1997), including neuromuscular and peripheral
metabolic factors such as a decline in intramuscular pH. The latter
Table 1
Event, m
100
200
400

is somewhat dependent on the intensity and volume of training
undertaken and the time point within a training session. Metabolic
fatigue during the earlier part of a workout may be due in part to
reductions in phosphagen energy system stores and mild acidosis,
while subsequent fatigue may result more from acidosis andimpaired energy production from glycogenolysis (Green, 1997).
Interestingly, although multiple repeat sprints can have a signiﬁcant impact on glycogen stores, data from cyclists suggests that low
glycogen does not seem to impair single sprint performance(Hargreaves et al., 1997). Taken together, this provides potential
opportunities for nutritional interventions that could impact on
training and performance, including buffering against acidosis forlonger sprints (i.e., 400 m) and optimization of the phosphagenenergy systems for shorter sprints (i.e., 100-, 200-m races).

Physique and Body Composition Periodization
Despite a long history of sprinting in the Olympic Games, relatively few studies describe the physique of elite sprinters. What is
known is that successful sprinters have unique physical traits thatpredispose them to excellence. Some of these are responsive totraining stimuli and/or nutritional interventions, including skeletal
muscle ﬁber type and area (Dowson et al., 1998), fascicle area andlength (Abe et al., 2001) plus adiposity (Dowson et al., 1998).
However, other architectural features such as stature, toe, foot, andlower leg length are not responsive in the same way (Lee & Piazza,2009). The available literature clearly reﬂects an emphasis on
the importance for sprinters to maximize skeletal muscle mass
to enhance power. However, this may not be appropriate for all
sprinters with skeletal muscle hypertrophy possibly resulting inadverse adaptations, including a transition away from fast-twitch
glycolytic ﬁbers and slower contraction velocity characteristics(Alway et al., 1988) if inappropriately prescribed. Thus, unless theincrease in power proportionally exceeds any associated weight
gain, sprint performance is unlikely to be enhanced by an increasein skeletal muscle mass.
Sprinters do tend to be heavier and more muscular than otherrunners. Early data from athletes participating in the 1960, 1968,
and 1976 Olympic Games reported elite sprinters had a somatotype
of 1.5–5–3 for males and 2.5–4–3 for females, with both genders
characterized as ecto-mesomorphs (Carter, 1984). These ratings are
consistent with more contemporary data (Abe et al., 2001) demonstrating that sprinters have higher muscularity and low relative
adiposity. Sprinters are not on average the tallest or most ectomorphic of the running disciplines and are reported (Uth, 2005) to havea reasonably wide range for stature (men: 1.68–1.91 m; women:
1.52–1.82 m). However, in the past decade, the stature of successful male sprinters has been biased toward the upper limit or evenexceeding this range, with speed records suggested to continue
to be dominated by heavier and taller athletes (Charles &Bejan, 2009).
A comprehensive description of the evolution of successful
world-class 100-m sprinter mass and stature characteristics is

Relative Contribution of Aerobic and Anaerobic Metabolism to Sprint Performance (Dufﬁeld et al., 2005)%Aerobic (male)%Anaerobic (male)%Aerobic (female)%Anaerobic (female)

20.4 ± 7.9
28.4 ± 7.9
41.3 ± 10.9

79.6 ± 7.9
71.6 ± 7.9
58.7 ± 10.9

25.0 ± 7.4
33.2 ± 8.0
44.5 ± 7.6

75.0 ± 7.4
66.8 ± 8.0
55.5 ± 7.6

Note. Data are presented as M ± SD.
IJSNEM Vol. 29, No. 2, 2019

Nutrition for Sprint Athletes

Table 2

87

Body Size and Shape Characteristics of Female World-Class Sprinters Per Decade

DecadenAge (years)

Body mass (kg)

Stature (m)BMI (kg/m2)

RPI (cm/kg0.333)

1940–1949
1950–1959
1960–19691970–1979
1980–1989
1990–1999
2000–2009

3
2
2
2
71
74
74

28.8 ± 5.0
28.5 ± 6.4
25.8 ± 4.6
23.4 ± 4.1
25.0 ± 3.1
26.4 ± 4.0
26.2 ± 3.9

65.3 ± 9.965.4 ± 2.1
58.5 ± 2.1
62.0 ± 1.4
57.7 ± 3.9
59.1 ± 5.2
58.7 ± 6.6

1.73 ± 0.1
1.74 ± 0.02
1.75 ± 0.08
1.73 ± 0.04
1.68 ± 0.05
1.69 ± 0.07
1.66 ± 0.07

21.7 ± 1.4
21.4 ± 1.2
19.4 ± 1.2
20.7 ± 0.5
20.4 ± 1.1
20.8 ± 1.5
21.1 ± 1.4

43.2 ± 0.9
43.3 ± 1.0
45.1 ± 1.6
43.8 ± 0.7
43.6 ± 1.1
43.4 ± 1.3
42.9 ± 1.0

Note. Data are reported as M ± SD. BMI = body mass index; RPI = reciprocal ponderal index. Adapted from “The Changing Shape Characteristics Associated With Successin World-Class Sprinters,” by A. S. Watts, I. Coleman, and A. Nevill, 2012, Journal of Sports Sciences, 30(11), pp. 1085–1095.

Downloaded by on 04/17/19

Table 3

Body Size and Shape Characteristics of Male World-Class Sprinters Per Decade

DecadenAge (years)

Body mass (kg)

Stature (m)BMI (kg/m2)

RPI (cm/kg0.333)

1910–19
1920–29
1930–39
1940–49
1950–59
1960–69
1970–79
1980–89
1990–99
2000–09

9
23
25
22
30
23
21
34
54
99

23.3 ± 3.0
23.6 ± 2.9
23.7 ± 2.8
23.4 ± 3.3
24.1 ± 3.2
23.6 ± 3.0
23.2 ± 2.9
23.8 ± 2.7
26.1 ± 3.5
25.6 ± 3.4

69.2 ± 3.6
69.5 ± 4.7
74.6 ± 6.7
72.4 ± 4.6
71.9 ± 6.3
75.9 ± 7.3
76.9 ± 5.4
73.7 ± 6.0
75.2 ± 5.3
77.9 ± 5.6

1.77 ± 0.04
1.73 ± 0.04
1.78 ± 0.03
1.80 ± 0.03
1.76 ± 0.09
1.79 ± 0.07
1.84 ± 0.07
1.83 ± 0.05
1.80 ± 0.05
1.81 ± 0.06

22.1 ± 1.4
23.3 ± 1.3
23.4 ± 1.8
22.5 ± 1.8
23.3 ± 2.3
23.7 ± 1.3
22.8 ± 1.9
21.9 ± 1.2
23.1± 1.6
23.8 ± 1.8

43.3 ± 1.1
42.1 ± 0.942.4 ± 1.1
43.2 ± 1.3
42.3 ± 2.0
42.4 ± 1.1
43.3 ± 1.5
43.9 ± 0.8
42.8 ± 1.2
42.5 ± 1.4

Note. Data are reported as M ± SD. BMI = body mass index; RPI = reciprocal ponderal index. Adapted from “The Changing Shape Characteristics Associated With Successin World-Class Sprinters,” by A. S. Watts, I. Coleman, and A. Nevill, 2012, Journal of Sports Sciences, 30(11), pp. 1085–1095.

presented in Tables 2 and 3 (Watts et al., 2012). The available data
span 10 decades (1910–2009) for men and eight (1940–2009) for
women, although earlier female data are derived from case reports
and, thus, include very small samples. Records typically included
top 10, 100-m sprinters for both sexes during these periods. Athlete
speed (m/s), body mass index (BMI, kg/m), and reciprocal ponderal index (RPI, cm/kg0.333) were calculated. The BMI provided a
proxy for muscularity, and the RPI provided a measure of linearity,with higher BMI and RPI representing greater muscularity andtallness/linearity, respectively. As expected, speed increased overthe decades in both genders. Among male world-class sprinters, ahigh BMI was positively associated with success until the mostrecent decade where the trend was reversed. Most interesting was
the ﬁnding that recently successful sprinters tended to have higher
RPI. This was consistently observed over the decades for womenwith RPI positively associated with success and BMI exhibiting aweaker, negative association for speed. Taken together, it appears
the inﬂuence of muscle mass on sprint performance is less important, with taller, more linear sprinters achieving greater success.
This might be explained by the inﬂuence of stride length on sprint
speed (Watts et al., 2012).
Interestingly, the current 100-m world record for women of
10.49 s attained in 1988 was for a runner (stature: 1.70 m; mass:
59 kg) with a more extreme RPI (43.73 cm/kg0.333). The next
closest time (10.65 s) to this long-standing world record was foranother “linear” sprinter with an identical RPI (stature: 1.80 m;
mass: 70 kg). In the men, the current world-record time (set in2009) for 100-m sprint (9.58 s) was for an athlete with a stature of

1.93 m. It is recognized, however, that the use of prohibited
performance-enhancing pharmaceuticals by some athletes may
confound this type of analysis.
As elite sprinters are concerned with optimizing power-toweight ratio, there may be occasions when sprint athletes choose torestrict energy intake in the hope of reducing total body mass or fat
mass, especially in advance of key races. When this is undertaken
strategically to ensure retention of lean body mass and hormonal
status, weight loss of as little as 2–3 kg can have a favorable impact
on explosive power and speed (Huovinen et al., 2015). Despite thepotential beneﬁts of reducing body mass, sprint athletes may
present with indicators of low energy availability, suggestingthat attempts to restrict energy intake should be conducted withappropriate caution to ensure athlete health and performance are
not compromised (Sygo et al., 2018).
Novel approaches to facilitate acute weight loss in an attempt
to optimize power-to-weight ratio have anecdotally been implemented by some sprint athletes in recent times. Although there is noresearch supporting this practice in a sporting context, low-residue
diets have been shown to facilitate weight loss within the range of
300–700 g (Rankin & Gibson, 2015) and, thus, may be insufﬁcient
to signiﬁcantly affect power-to-weight ratio in isolation. Intentional
dehydration is an alternative approach to acutely promote sufﬁcientweight loss to potentially favorably inﬂuence power-to-weightratio. Indeed, there is some evidence to show an enhancementin vertical jump performance following dehydration equivalent to∼3% of body mass (Viitasalo et al., 1987). Conversely, sprint
performance over distances of 50–400 m remain stable despite an

IJSNEM Vol. 29, No. 2, 2019

Downloaded by on 04/17/19

88

Slater et al.

acute reduction in body mass equivalent to 2.0–2.5% facilitatedthrough diuretic-induced dehydration (Watson et al., 2005). Athletes wishing to trial these acute weight loss strategies before
competition should seek the advice of a university-qualiﬁed nutrition professional in advance so that health and performance
implications can be more closely assessed.
Rather than absolute power output, acceleration in sprinting is
also a function of power-to-weight ratio. Greater muscle strengthand power are usually accompanied by an increase in muscle crosssectional area but the ability to generate force also requires improved neuromuscular recruitment. In a study comparing heavier,more muscular adults to adolescent sprinters, higher muscularityand mass were reported to explain slower sprint start dynamics inthe adults (Aerenhouts et al., 2012). Although optimizing muscle
mass is important for the development of explosive power, especially at the sprint start, training should advance technical skills
to facilitate effective transfer of strength beneﬁts. Although moststudies report a “normalized’ muscle strength of participants byadjusting for total or lean body mass, this unfortunately fails toadequately account for regional mass differences (e.g., differences
in upper to lower body mass), which are likely to be important toperformance. Locating mass closer to the joint center helps optimize biomechanical efﬁciency, a concept supported by researchshowing that sprinters with greater deposition of muscle in theupper portion of the quadriceps are faster (Handsﬁeld et al., 2017).
Muscularity for sprinters needs to be optimized rather thanmaximized, and currently, there are insufﬁcient comprehensive
morphological data to provide detailed guidance. Small differencesin adiposity on the limbs of sprinters have also been demonstrated
to predict performance with relatively small reductions in medial
calf skinfold associated with faster run times, at least in less elite
runners (Legaz & Eston, 2005). This suggests that subtle differences in the distribution of mass inﬂuences performance, possibly
the result of increased muscular effort and energy expenditureassociated with heavier lower limbs when running. This raises theconcept of optimizing nutritional support of some training sessions
to facilitate adaptation but not others. For example, support training
sessions where hypertrophy may be beneﬁcial, but do not optimize
nutritional support of other sessions, where you want neural
adaptations but not a hypertrophy response. Such an approach

would demand strategic prescription of nutrition support in accordance with the training program, with signiﬁcant dialog between
athlete, coaching personnel, and university-qualiﬁed nutrition
professional.

Dietary Practices and Recommendations
The dietary intakes of sprint athletes are poorly represented in theliterature (Table 4) (Tipton et al., 2007) and may not accurately
represent current practice, given the validity of methods used
(Capling et al., 2017). When contrasted against other track-andﬁeld athletes, relative energy and macronutrient intake are lower
among sprinters than in the intake of middle-distance and longdistance runners (Sugiura et al., 1999). Despite this, micronutrient
intakes are similar between runners. Less is known about the
distribution of dietary intake throughout the day, including intake
before, during, and after exercise, a time where nutrient intake canhave a signiﬁcant impact on not only substrate availability but also
on adaptation to the training stimulus. Nutrition strategies toamplify training-induced adaptive signals outside of protein metabolism among sprint athletes remain to be explored.

Carbohydrate
The ergogenic potential of carbohydrate availability for sprint
athletes is poorly understood. There is evidence that maintenanceof an extremely low-carbohydrate diet can impair performance inevents as brief as one 30-s sprint, presumably because of low
muscle glycogen stores and decreased rates of glycolysis (Langfort
et al., 1997). Indeed, muscle glycogen stores can be reduced byalmost half following just three 30-s maximal sprints. However,this alone does not appear to affect sprint exercise performance.
Rather, fatigue may be caused by reduced creatine phosphateavailability, increased hydrogen ion concentration, impairment
in sarcoplasmic reticulum function, or some other fatigue-inducing
agent (Hargreaves et al., 1998).
Within the training context, where multiple daily sessions areundertaken including repeat sprints and other modalities such as
resistance training and plyometrics, carbohydrate availability may
play a more important role, with muscle glycogen stores reduced by

Table 4 Reported Daily Dietary Intake of Energy and Macronutrients Among Sprint Athletes During Training(Unless Otherwise Stated) Since 1980
Gender Population
Male

Female22.4 ± 2.6 years
National level(n = 10)
12–18 years
Adolescent (n = 30)
National level(n = 7)
20–35 years
National level(n = 8)20.5 ± 3.2 years
National level(n = 11)
12–18 years
Adolescent (n = 26)

Body
mass (kg)

EnergyMJ

Carbohydrate

kJ/kg

g

g/kg

Protein
g

g/kg

Fat
g

%E

Surveymethod References

67

11.1 ± 1.5 167 ± 33 340 ± 57 5.1 ± 1.0 102 ± 20 1.5 ± 0.4 90 ± 16 30 ± 3

3-Day
diary

Sugiuraet al. (1999)

61

11.1 ± 1.5

182

74

8.5

154 ± 33311

4.2 ± 1.5155

2.1 ± 0.5

96

42

80

11.9

149 ± 23368

4.6 ± 0.6168

2.1 ± 0.7

72

22

7-Day
diary
4-Day
diary
4-Day
diary

Aerenhouts
et al. (2008)
Huovinen
et al. (2015)
Huovinen
et al, (2015)362 ± 54 6.0 ± 0.9 92 ± 17 1.5 ± 0.3 91 ± 21 30 ± 5

5410.0 ± 2.2 191 ± 46 305 ± 79 5.8 ± 1.6 89 ± 25 1.7 ± 0.5 86 ± 17 33 ± 4

3-Day
diary

Sugiuraet al. (1999)

55

8.4 ± 1.6

7-Day
diary

Aerenhouts
et al. (2008)

153

273 ± 54 5.1 ± 1.1 78 ± 15 1.5 ± 0.3 69 ± 17 30 ± 5

IJSNEM Vol. 29, No. 2, 2019

Downloaded by on 04/17/19

Nutrition for Sprint Athletes

70–80% following repeated 60-s sprints (MacDougall et al., 1977).
These reductions in substrate availability are probably sufﬁcient to
impair both repeat sprint performance (Rockwell et al., 2003) andother forms of training undertaken by sprinters. Furthermore, asingle resistance–training session can reduce muscle glycogenstores by as much as 24–40% (Koopman et al., 2006). Reductions
in muscle glycogen stores have been associated with performance
impairment in both isokinetic torque and isoinertial resistance–
training capacity. Thus, it is plausible that impaired training
performance could occur in any session that relies on rapid andrepeated glycogen breakdown. If the low-carbohydrate status isachieved through a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet, acid–basestatus may also be impaired if sustained, further adversely affecting
performance (Maughan et al., 1997).
Athletes are encouraged to pay particular attention to dietaryintake in the hours before exercise, under the assumption that preexercise nutritional strategies can inﬂuence exercise performance.
Evidence is present for a beneﬁcial role of acute carbohydrate
ingestion before and/or during strength training (Lambert et al.,1991). However, not all investigations show a beneﬁt of acutecarbohydrate ingestion (Kulik et al., 2008). It is proposed that theergogenic potential for carbohydrate ingestion is most likely to beobserved when elite sprint athletes are undertaking longer duration,
high-volume training. Currently, speciﬁc recommendations for an
optimum rate or timing of carbohydrate ingestion for sprint athletes
before and during any given training session cannot be made.
Furthermore, any nonmetabolic response from mouth rinsing acarbohydrate solution does not appear to inﬂuence sprint performance (Painelli et al., 2011), although the impact on training
capacity warrants further investigation, especially among athletes
who experience gastrointestinal tract distress.
Dietary survey literature relating to sprint athletes suggests thatthey typically report daily carbohydrate intakes of 4–6 g/kg bodymass, independent of gender (Table 4). Although this may appear
low relative to the intakes of endurance athletes and may be
ampliﬁed by underreporting common among dietary assessment
methodology (Capling et al., 2017), there is no conclusive evidenceof beneﬁt from maintaining a high habitual carbohydrate intake
among sprint athletes. Given the lower relative energy expenditureof larger athletes, their requirements for other nutrients, plus theeffect of adjusting carbohydrate on total energy intake, recommendations for carbohydrate intake at strategic times, including before,
during, and after exercise, may be more applicable for the sprint
athlete. This would ensure carbohydrate availability is optimized at
critical time points. Thus, a range of daily carbohydrate intakes
between 3 and 6 g/kg body mass strategically allocated across theday would be considered reasonable for sprint athletes dependingon their phase of training (Bartlett et al., 2015).

ProteinStrength–power athletes such as sprinters have advocated highprotein diets for many years. Although debate continues on theneed for additional protein among sprint-trained athletes, general
guidelines now recommend that athletes undertaking strength–
power training ingest approximately twice the current recommendations for protein of their sedentary counterparts or as much as
1.6–2.2 g·kg−1·day−1 (Stokes et al., 2018). Given the relatively
wide distribution of protein in the meal plan and increased energy
intake of athletes, it is not surprising to learn that the majority ofsprint athletes achieve these increased protein intake targets(Table 4). Exceeding the upper range of protein intake guidelines

89

likely offers no further beneﬁt and simply promotes increased
amino acid catabolism and protein oxidation (Witard et al., 2014).
Furthermore, there is evidence that an intense period of resistancetraining reduces protein turnover and improves net protein retention (Phillips et al., 1999), thus reducing relative dietary protein
requirements of experienced resistance-trained athletes.
Simply contrasting an athlete’s current daily protein intake
against generic guidelines does not address whether protein intake
has been optimized to promote gains in muscle mass or repair
damaged tissues. Rather, consideration should be given to otherdietary factors, including total energy intake and the daily distribution and biological value of ingested protein. Although there islittle information available on the eating patterns of sprint athletes,
available literature on athletic populations suggests that the majority of daily protein intake is skewed toward the evening, with little
consideration for breakfast or between-meal intake (Gillen et al.,2017). Thus, rather than focusing on total daily intake, sprint
athletes are encouraged to consume meals containing ∼0.4 g/kg
high biological value protein every 3–5 hr (Witard et al., 2018).
Further investigation of contemporary dietary practices of sprint
athletes using valid tools is clearly warranted.

Hydration
As with all athletes, sprint athletes are encouraged to initiate
training in a euhydrated state. However, the duration of sprint
events ensures that no hydration intervention is warranted during
the event itself. Furthermore, the reduction in body mass associatedwith hypohydration may reduce the work required to accelerate thebody, compensating for any reduction in muscular strength/power(Maughan & Shirreffs, 2010). Despite this, longer duration activities undertaken by sprint athletes such as resistance training are
impaired by hypohydration (Kraft et al., 2010). On the weight ofthis evidence, track-sprinting performance does not appear to beinﬂuenced by a state of hypohydration within the range of 2–3%,
especially among trained individuals (Savoie et al., 2015). However, sprint training characterized by repeat high-intensity efforts
may be impaired by hypohydration. Sprint athletes are advised tostart training in a state of euhydration, drink to their thirst andgastrointestinal tolerance, and limit body mass loss to no more than
2–3% during any one training session, complementing this withaggressive postexercise recovery strategies, inclusive of adequate
ﬂuid and electrolytes. See also Casa et al. (2018).

Recovery
Given that sprint athletes typically undertake multiple daily training sessions, posttraining nutritional recovery strategies are advocated. The acute ingestion of carbohydrate and protein combined
after sprint training results in more favorable recovery outcomes,
including restoration of muscle glycogen stores and muscle protein
metabolism, than the ingestion of either nutrient alone. Postexercise protein ingestion also lowers carbohydrate intake requirementsin the acute recovery period, with an energy-matched intake of
0.8 g·kg−1·hr−1 carbohydrate plus 0.4 g·kg−1·hr−1 protein resulting
in similar muscle glycogen resynthesis over 5 hr compared with
1.2 g·kg−1·hr−1 carbohydrate alone following intermittent exercise(van Loon et al., 2000), with a similar response evident following
resistance exercise. Preliminary evidence also suggests the postexercise coingestion of carbohydrate and protein may reduce themuscle damage often seen in strength-trained athletes (Cockburn
et al., 2010); whether such a response has a functional beneﬁt is
unclear.

IJSNEM Vol. 29, No. 2, 2019

90

Slater et al.

Another potential strategy to attenuate the exercise-induced
muscle damage common among sprint athletes involves the ingestion of phytonutrient-rich foods such as blueberries, pomegranate,
and tart cherry (Levers et al., 2015). The integration of these wholefoods or their concentrates into the meal plan of sprint athletes
holds interesting promise and warrants further investigation, atleast when the focus is on recovery, rather than adaptation (Vitale
et al., 2017).

Supplementation
Supplement use among runners varies based on the event, withsprinters reported to have both higher (Tscholl et al., 2010) andlower (Maughan et al., 2007) rates of supplement use relative to
distance runners, with polysupplementation common. Althoughmultivitamin and mineral supplements remain popular, protein
powders and speciﬁc amino acid supplements, caffeine, andTable 5

Ergogenic Aids of Potential Beneﬁt for Sprinters and Sprint Hurdlers

Supplement
nameDownloaded by on 04/17/19

Creatinemonohydrate

Sodiumbicarbonate

β-Alaninecreatine monohydrate are also frequently used by sprinters(Tscholl et al., 2010). Similar to other track-and-ﬁeld athletes,
sprinters are motivated to take supplements to enhance recovery,
health, and performance (Peeling et al., 2019).
The majority of the energy required during a single bout ofbrief, maximal exercise is provided through anaerobic pathways,
speciﬁcally glycogenolysis resulting in phosphocreatine degradation and lactate formation (Dufﬁeld et al., 2005). Interventions
able to inﬂuence energy availability through these pathways may
favorably affect sprint exercise performance. After reviewing themetabolic demands of sprinting, several supplements might beneﬁt
the sprint athlete, whether in training or competition, and these aresummarized in Table 5 and discussed in detail elsewhere (Peeling
et al., 2019).
Creatine monohydrate supplementation has the potential tofavorably impact on sprint performance, given the ability to aid
in the rapid rephosphorylation of high-energy phosphates andDetailsa

Event(s)Training

Competition

References

Aids in rapid rephosphorylation of high-energy phosphates and shortens muscle
relaxation time
May improve bothindividual and repeat
sprint performances
Increases work capacity,
potentially augmenting
training adaptations for bothsprint and ancillary training(weight room, plyometrics)
Acts as a buffer against
acid–base disturbances,providing performanceenhancement during sprintsof ∼60-s duration

All sprints but potentially greatest beneﬁt
for shorter sprints(100 m, 200 m)

Yes; can provide beneﬁt
for both maximal andrepeat sprint efforts andweight room activities

Possibly; sprinters must
weigh potential performance beneﬁts vs.
energetic costs associated with extra bodymass and ﬂuid retention
that may occur withcreatine monohydrate
supplementation

Bemben and Lamont(2005), Haff et al.
(2000), and Skareet al. (2001)

400 m, 400-m hurdles; Yes; may provide addiimpact on shortertional buffering capacity
sprints unknown but
for repeat sprints
is likely smaller thanobserved in longer
sprints

Possibly; considerationmust be given topotentially undesirable
gastrointestinal side effects and acute bodymass gains throughﬂuid retention
Yes, although beneﬁts
in highly trained sprinters are likely to be
lower

Carr et al. (2011),
Edge et al. (2006),
and Zabala et al.
(2011)

Acts as a physiochemical
buffer by increasing
muscle carnosine
Muscle carnosine concentration is correlated withincreased power output
during 30-s sprints,
especially in latter halfof the sprint
Dietary nitrate Improved muscle
oxygenation
Improved muscle
metabolic efﬁciency
Improved contractile
function
Caffeine
Adenosine antagonist,
reducing fatigue andincreasing alertness andmotivation

Blancquaert et al.
(2015), Hobson et al.
(2013), Saunders
et al. (2017), andSuzuki et al. (2002)

400 m, 400-m hurdles

Yes; greatest beneﬁt in
events ∼1–10 min long,suggesting greatest beneﬁts may be observed intraining vs. competition insprint athletes

400 m, 400-m hurdles;
possibly 100 m and
200 m and shorter
hurdlesPossibly; maximal andintermittent sprint
performance enhancedin sprint-interval-trained
athletes

Possibly; performance Jones (2014) andbeneﬁt may be greatest Thompson et al.
in longer sprints(2016)(400 m, 400-m hurdles)

All

Possibly; impact on sprint
performance is not welldescribed and can be contradictory; considerationmust be given to tolerance,
excessive alertness, andheart palpitations

Possibly; some eviAstorino anddence suggest that
Roberson (2010) and
5 mg/kg body mass can Glaister et al. (2008)
enhance both single
and multiple sprint
performancea

For supplement dosing protocols, including acute pretraining and competition dosing, and loading/chronic usage protocols, see Peeling et al. (2019).
IJSNEM Vol. 29, No. 2, 2019

Nutrition for Sprint Athletesenhance buffering capacity (Bemben & Lamont, 2005). Given thedependence on anaerobic glycogenolysis and associated acid–basedisturbances, sprint performance may be enhanced if buffering
capacity can be increased through the ingestion of acute buffering
agents such as sodium bicarbonate. This may be especially relevant
for the longer duration (400 m) sprints characterized by substantial
acid–base disturbances. More recently, there has been signiﬁcantinterest in the histidine-containing dipeptide carnosine, which
contributes signiﬁcantly to the physiochemical buffering in skeletal
muscles. The manipulation of both blood (sodium bicarbonate
or sodium citrate supplementation) and muscle-buffering capacity(β-alanine supplementation) in combination (Hobson et al., 2013)or through dietary manipulation also has potential (Limmer
et al., 2018).
Recent evidence suggests that dietary nitrate supplementation
may have the potential to enhance sprint performance, possibly
because of improved muscle oxygenation, muscle metabolic efﬁciency, and/or contractile function (Jones, 2014). Finally, caffeine
ingestion can enhance both single- and multiple-sprint performance(Glaister et al., 2008), and its use should be considered in sprinttrained athletes, although the potential negative implications on
subsequent sleep warrant consideration (Dunican et al., 2018).

Downloaded by on 04/17/19

Competition Nutrition Strategies
In major competitions, a sprint athlete must advance throughqualifying rounds: a semiﬁnal and ﬁnal, each typically separated
by several hours, and in the case of the longer sprints, typically a
24-hr period. Given the brief nature of sprint events, the relative
importance of competition nutrition strategies might be assumed tobe negligible. However, there is evidence to suggest that precompetition nutrition, including the use of some ergogenic aids,
inﬂuences performance outcomes in these events.
Competition demands of sprinters are typically characterizedby high-intensity efforts lasting approximately 10–60 s, withsigniﬁcant recovery between races. Due to the scheduling of major
competitions, it is rare for elite sprinters to participate in more than
two individual events, although athletes competing in multiple
events, including relays, may have several races on a single day.
With signiﬁcant periods for recovery between races, muscle energy
reserves are unlikely to be depleted, even in challenging environmental conditions of competitions such as the summer Olympic
Games. Consequently, prerace nutrition priorities remain together
with more general goals, for example, optimizing gastrointestinal
tract comfort and preventing weight gain during the competition taper.
Major international track-and-ﬁeld competitions generally see
the initial heats of an event being held early in the day, while ﬁnals
are often run in the evening. Prerace nutrition from qualifying
rounds to ﬁnals may, therefore, involve different meals. A key
consideration for the prerace meal, regardless of the time of day, is
to consume a comfortable, familiar meal. The shorter duration ofsprint events means that gastrointestinal disturbances are not as
commonly reported but inappropriate food selection may affect anathlete’s energy availability and gut comfort. A state of lowcarbohydrate availability has been shown to impair anaerobic
work capacity (Langfort et al., 1997) and peak power output(Wroble et al., 2018). However, this effect is evident only following severe dietary carbohydrate restriction, sufﬁcient to promote astate of ketosis. Such a state is unlikely among competitive athletes
tapering prior to competition who follow a meal plan with even a
moderate carbohydrate content. In light of this, sprint athletes are

91

advised to choose a familiar meal ideally containing 1–2 g/kg bodymass of carbohydrate approximately 1–4 hr prior to competition.
The use of prerace ergogenic aids, such as buffering agents or
caffeine, requires careful consideration of the competition schedule. athletes who are using these products should determine theoptimum dosage and timing for enhanced performance acrosssingle and repeat performances, as repeat dosing may be considered when races are close together, such as the 100-m semiﬁnal andﬁnal. Administering a standard dose prior to each race may result inadverse outcomes depending on the speciﬁc product and its halflife. Given this, it is essential that athletes should trial supplement
strategies in training or smaller competitions to determine optimal
dosage and timing of administration. In the case of bicarbonate, thismay result in an athlete choosing to complete a chronic supplementation strategy over a period of days, rather than an acuteloading protocol immediately prior to competition (McNaughton &Thompson, 2001).
Postrace recovery strategies should emphasize muscle repair,
replenishment of carbohydrate stores, and adequate rehydration,
while considering the multiple activities that can compete for asprinter’s time and attention after competition (e.g., cooldown,
massage or treatment, doping control, media, time with friends andfamily, and travel from the competition venue). As such, sprinterscompeting in multiple events would be well-advised to bringrecovery foods to the competition venue, emphasizing rapidly
digested protein and carbohydrates, as well as antioxidant-richfoods and ﬂuids such as tart cherry or pomegranate juice.

Conclusions
Nutrition plays a number of important roles for elite sprint athletes.
Sprint athletes will beneﬁt from a greater focus on training nutrition, given the metabolic demands of training far exceed those ofcompetition. An emphasis should be placed on the strategic timingof nutrient intake before, during, and after exercise to assist
sprinters in optimizing resistance-training work capacity, recovery,
and body composition. Although it is often assumed that sprint
athletes are primarily interested in promoting muscle hypertrophy,
optimization of body composition demands consideration of theeffect of any changes in physical traits on power-to-weight ratio
and biomechanical efﬁciency. Nutritional supplements remain very
popular among sprinters, and there is some evidence to support theuse of a small number of products to assist elite sprinters, albeit
marginally, in the training and/or competition environment. However, advice should ﬁrst be sought from university-qualiﬁed,
performance nutrition-focused professionals. Any proposed dietaryinterventions should be trialled in training to assess tolerance andlikely individual performance response.
Acknowledgments
Manuscript preparation was undertaken by G. J. Slater, J. Sygo, and M.
Jorgensen. All authors approved the ﬁnal version of the article. No author
had any conﬂict of interest.

References
Abe, T., Fukashiro, S., Harada, Y., & Kawamoto, K. (2001). Relationshipbetween sprint performance and muscle fascicle length in female
sprinters. Journal of Physiological Anthropology and Applied Human
Science, 20(2), 141–147. PubMed ID: 11385937 doi:10.2114/jpa.
20.141IJSNEM Vol. 29, No. 2, 2019

Downloaded by on 04/17/19

92

Slater et al.

Aerenhouts, D., Delecluse, C., Hagman, F., Taeymans, J., Debaere, S.,
Van Gheluwe, B., & Clarys, P. (2012). Comparison of anthropometric characteristics and sprint start performance between elite adolescent and adult sprint athletes. European Journal of Sport Science,
12(1), 9–15. doi:10.1080/17461391.2010.536580
Aerenhouts, D., Hebbelinck, M., Poortmans, J.R., & Clarys, P. (2008).
Nutritional habits of Flemish adolescent sprint athletes. International
Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 18(5), 509–523.
PubMed ID: 19033612 doi:10.1123/ijsnem.18.5.509
Alway, S.E., MacDougall, J.D., Sale, D.G., Sutton, J.R., & McComas, A.J.
(1988). Functional and structural adaptations in skeletal muscle oftrained athletes. Journal of Applied Physiology, 64(3), 1114–1120.
PubMed ID: 3366734 doi:10.1152/jappl.1988.64.3.1114
Astorino, T.A., & Roberson, D.W. (2010). Efﬁcacy of acute caffeine
ingestion for short-term high-intensity exercise performance: A
systematic review. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning
Research, 24(1), 257–265. PubMed ID: 19924012 doi:10.1519/
JSC.0b013e3181c1f88a
Bartlett, J.D., Hawley, J.A., & Morton, J.P. (2015). Carbohydrate availability and exercise training adaptation: Too much of a good thing?
European Journal of Sport Science, 15(1), 3–12. PubMed ID:
24942068 doi:10.1080/17461391.2014.920926
Bemben, M.G., & Lamont, H.S. (2005). Creatine supplementation andexercise performance: Recent ﬁndings. Sports Medicine, 35(2), 107–125. PubMed ID: 15707376 doi:10.2165/00007256-20053502000002
Blancquaert, L., Everaert, I., & Derave, W. (2015). Beta-alanine supplementation, muscle carnosine and exercise performance. Current
Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 18(1), 63–70.
PubMed ID: 25474013 doi:10.1097/MCO.0000000000000127
Capling, L., Beck, K.L., Gifford, J.A., Slater, G., Flood, V.M., &O’Connor, H. (2017). Validity of Dietary Assessment in Athletes:
A systematic review. Nutrients, 9(12), pii: E1313. doi:10.3390/
nu9121313
Carr, A.J., Hopkins, W.G., & Gore, C.J. (2011). Effects of acute alkalosis
and acidosis on performance: A meta-analysis. Sports Medicine,41(10), 801–814. PubMed ID: 21923200 doi:10.2165/11591440000000000-00000
Carter, J. (1984). Somatotypes of Olympic athletes from 1948–1976. In
J. Carter (Ed.), Physical structure of Olympic athletes. Part II:
Kinanthropometry of Olympic athletes (pp. 80–109). Basel,
Switzerland: Karger.
Casa, D.J., Cheuvront, S.N., Galloway, S.R., & Shirreffs, S.M. (2019).
Fluid needs for training, competition and recovery in track-and-ﬁeld
athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise
Metabolism, 29. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2018-0374
Charles, J.D., & Bejan, A. (2009). The evolution of speed, size andshape in modern athletics. Journal of Experimental Biology,
212(Pt 15), 2419–2425. PubMed ID: 19617435 doi:10.1242/jeb.
031161
Cockburn, E., Stevenson, E., Hayes, P.R., Robson-Ansley, P., &Howatson, G. (2010). Effect of milk-based carbohydrate-protein
supplement timing on the attenuation of exercise-induced muscle
damage. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 35(3),270–277. PubMed ID: 20555370 doi:10.1139/H10-017
Cunningham, D.J., West, D.J., Owen, N.J., Shearer, D.A., Finn, C.V.,
Bracken, R.M., : : : Kilduff, L.P. (2013). Strength and power predictors of sprinting performance in professional rugby players. The
Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 53(2), 105–111.
PubMed ID: 23584316
Dawson, B., Fitzsimons, M., Green, S., Goodman, C., Carey, M., & Cole,K. (1998). Changes in performance, muscle metabolites, enzymes andﬁbre types after short sprint training. European Journal of Applied
Physiology and Occupational Physiology, 78(2), 163–169. PubMed
ID: 9694316 doi:10.1007/s004210050402
Dowson, M.N., Nevill, M.E., Lakomy, H.K., Nevill, A.M., & Hazeldine,
R.J. (1998). Modelling the relationship between isokinetic
muscle strength and sprint running performance. Journal of Sports
Sciences, 16(3), 257–265. PubMed ID: 9596360 doi:10.1080/
026404198366786
Dufﬁeld, R., Dawson, B., & Goodman, C. (2005). Energy system contribution to 400-metre and 800-metre track running. Journal of Sports
Sciences, 23(3), 299–307. PubMed ID: 15966348 doi:10.1080/
02640410410001730043
Dunican, I.C., Higgins, C.C., Jones, M.J., Clarke, M.W., Murray, K.,
Dawson, B., : : : Eastwood, P.R. (2018). Caffeine use in a Super
Rugby game and its relationship to post-game sleep. European
Journal of Sport Science, 18(4), 513–523.
Edge, J., Bishop, D., & Goodman, C. (2006). Effects of chronic NaHCO3
ingestion during interval training on changes to muscle buffer
capacity, metabolism, and short-term endurance performance. Journal of Applied Physiology, 101(3), 918–925. PubMed ID: 16627675
doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01534.2005
Gillen, J.B., Trommelen, J., Wardenaar, F.C., Brinkmans, N.Y.,
Versteegen, J.J., Jonvik, K.L., : : : van Loon, L.J. (2017). DietaryProtein Intake and Distribution Patterns of Well-Trained Dutch
Athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise
Metabolism, 27(2), 105–114. PubMed ID: 27710150 doi:10.1123/
ijsnem.2016-0154
Glaister, M., Howatson, G., Abraham, C.S., Lockey, R.A., Goodwin, J.E.,
Foley, P., & McInnes, G. (2008). Caffeine supplementation andmultiple sprint running performance. Medicine & Science in Sports& Exercise, 40(10), 1835–1840. PubMed ID: 18799995 doi:10.1249/
MSS.0b013e31817a8ad2
Green, H.J. (1997). Mechanisms of muscle fatigue in intense exercise.
Journal of Sports Sciences, 15(3), 247–256. PubMed ID: 9232550
doi:10.1080/026404197367254
Haff, G.G., Kirksey, K.B., Stone, M.H., Warren, B.J., Johnson, R.L.,
Stone, M., : : : Proulx, C. (2000). The Effect of 6 Weeks of Creatine
Monohydrate Supplementation on Dynamic Rate of Force Development. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 14(4),426–433.
Handsﬁeld, G.G., Knaus, K.R., Fiorentino, N.M., Meyer, C.H., Hart, J.M.,& Blemker, S.S. (2017). Adding muscle where you need it: Nonuniform hypertrophy patterns in elite sprinters. Scandinavian Journalof Medicine & Science in Sports, 27(10), 1050–1060. PubMed ID:
27373796 doi:10.1111/sms.12723
Hargreaves, M., Finn, J.P., Withers, R.T., Halbert, J.A., Scroop, G.C.,
Mackay, M., : : : Carey, M.F. (1997). Effect of muscle glycogenavailability on maximal exercise performance. European Journal ofApplied Physiology and Occupational Physiology, 75(2), 188–192.
PubMed ID: 9118987 doi:10.1007/s004210050146
Hargreaves, M., McKenna, M.J., Jenkins, D.G., Warmington, S.A., Li,
J.L., Snow, R.J., & Febbraio, M.A. (1998). Muscle metabolites andperformance during high-intensity, intermittent exercise. Journal ofApplied Physiology, 84(5), 1687–1691. PubMed ID: 9572818 doi:10.
1152/jappl.1998.84.5.1687
Hobson, R.M., Harris, R.C., Martin, D., Smith, P., Macklin, B., Gualano,
B., & Sale, C. (2013). Effect of beta-alanine, with and without sodium
bicarbonate, on 2000-m rowing performance. International Journalof Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 23(5), 480–487.
PubMed ID: 23535873 doi:10.1123/ijsnem.23.5.480
Huovinen, H.T., Hulmi, J.J., Isolehto, J., Kyrolainen, H., Puurtinen, R.,
Karila, T., : : : Mero, A.A. (2015). Body composition and power

IJSNEM Vol. 29, No. 2, 2019

Downloaded by on 04/17/19

Nutrition for Sprint Athletes

performance improved after weight reduction in male athletes without
hampering hormonal balance. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 29(1), 29–36. PubMed ID: 25028999 doi:10.1519/
JSC.0000000000000619
Jones, A.M. (2014). Dietary nitrate supplementation and exercise performance. Sports Medicine, 44(Suppl. 1), S35–S45. doi:10.1007/
s40279-014-0149-y
Koopman, R., Manders, R.J., Jonkers, R.A., Hul, G.B., Kuipers, H., &van Loon, L.J. (2006). Intramyocellular lipid and glycogen content
are reduced following resistance exercise in untrained healthy males.
European Journal of Applied Physiology, 96(5), 525–534. PubMed
ID: 16369816 doi:10.1007/s00421-005-0118-0
Kraft, J.A., Green, J.M., Bishop, P.A., Richardson, M.T., Neggers, Y.H.,& Leeper, J.D. (2010). Impact of dehydration on a full body resistance
exercise protocol. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 109(2),259–267. PubMed ID: 20066432 doi:10.1007/s00421-009-1348-3
Kulik, J.R., Touchberry, C.D., Kawamori, N., Blumert, P.A., Crum, A.J.,& Haff, G.G. (2008). Supplemental carbohydrate ingestion does not
improve performance of high-intensity resistance exercise. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 22(4), 1101–1107.
PubMed ID: 18545201 doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e31816d679b
Lambert, C.P., Flynn, M.G., Boone, J.B.J., Michaud, T.J., & RodriguezZayas, J. (1991). Effects of Carbohydrate Feeding on Multiple-boutResistance Exercise. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning
Research, 5(4), 192–197.
Langfort, J., Zarzeczny, R., Pilis, W., Nazar, K., & Kaciuba-Uscitko, H.
(1997). The effect of a low-carbohydrate diet on performance,
hormonal and metabolic responses to a 30-s bout of supramaximal
exercise. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational
Physiology, 76(2), 128–133. PubMed ID: 9272770 doi:10.1007/
s004210050224
Lee, S.S., & Piazza, S.J. (2009). Built for speed: Musculoskeletal structureand sprinting ability. Journal of Experimental Biology, 212(Pt 22),3700–3707. PubMed ID: 19880732 doi:10.1242/jeb.031096
Legaz, A., & Eston, R. (2005). Changes in performance, skinfold thicknesses, and fat patterning after three years of intense athletic conditioning in high level runners. British Journal of Sports Medicine,39(11), 851–856. PubMed ID: 16244197 doi:10.1136/bjsm.2005.
018960
Levers, K., Dalton, R., Galvan, E., Goodenough, C., O’Connor, A., Simbo,
S., : : : Kreider, R.B. (2015). Effects of powdered Montmorency tart
cherry supplementation on an acute bout of intense lower bodystrength exercise in resistance trained males. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12, 41. PubMed ID: 26578852
doi:10.1186/s12970-015-0102-y
Limmer, M., Eibl, A.D., & Platen, P. (2018). Enhanced 400-m sprint
performance in moderately trained participants by a 4-day alkalizing
diet: A counterbalanced, randomized controlled trial. Journal of theInternational Society of Sports Nutrition, 15(1), 25. PubMed ID:
29855319 doi:10.1186/s12970-018-0231-1
MacDougall, J.D., Ward, G.R., & Sutton, J.R. (1977). Muscle glycogenrepletion after high-intensity intermittent exercise. Journal of Applied
Physiology, 42(2), 129–132. PubMed ID: 838636 doi:10.1152/jappl.1977.42.2.129
Maughan, R.J., Depiesse, F., & Geyer, H. (2007). The use of dietary
supplements by athletes. Journal of Sports Sciences, 25(Suppl. 1),
S103–S113. doi:10.1080/02640410701607395
Maughan, R.J., Greenhaff, P.L., Leiper, J.B., Ball, D., Lambert, C.P., &Gleeson, M. (1997). Diet composition and the performance ofhigh-intensity exercise. Journal of Sports Sciences, 15(3), 265–275.
PubMed ID: 9232552 doi:10.1080/026404197367272

93

Maughan, R.J., & Shirreffs, S.M. (2010). Development of hydration
strategies to optimize performance for athletes in high-intensity sports
and in sports with repeated intense efforts. Scandinavian Journal of
Medicine & Science in Sports, 20(Suppl. 2), 59–69. doi:10.1111/
j.1600-0838.2010.01191.x
McNaughton, L., & Thompson, D. (2001). Acute versus chronic sodium
bicarbonate ingestion and anaerobic work and power output. Journalof Sports Medicine & Physical Fitness, 41(4), 456–462.
Painelli, V.S., Roschel, H., Gualano, B., Del-Favero, S., Benatti, F.B.,
Ugrinowitsch, C., : : : Lancha, A.H., Jr. (2011). The effect ofcarbohydrate mouth rinse on maximal strength and strength endurance. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 111(9), 2381–2386.
PubMed ID: 21336838 doi:10.1007/s00421-011-1865-8
Peeling, P., Castell, L.M., Derave, W., de Hon, O., & Burke, L.M. (2019).
Sports foods and dietary supplements for optimal function andperformance enhancement in track-and-ﬁeld athletes. International
Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 29. doi:10.1123/
ijsnem.2018-0271
Phillips, S.M., Tipton, K.D., Ferrando, A.A., & Wolfe, R.R. (1999).
Resistance training reduces the acute exercise-induced increase inmuscle protein turnover. American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, 276(1 Pt 1), E118–E124. doi:10.1152/
ajpendo.1999.276.1.E118
Rankin, J.W., & Gibson, J. (2015). Making weight. In L. Burke & V.
Deakin (Eds.), Clinical Sports Nutrition (5th ed., pp. 191–212). North
Ryde, Australia: McGraw-Hill Education.
Rockwell, M.S., Rankin, J.W., & Dixon, H. (2003). Effects of muscle
glycogen on performance of repeated sprints and mechanismsof fatigue. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise
Metabolism, 13(1), 1–14. PubMed ID: 12660402 doi:10.1123/ijsnem.
13.1.1
Ross, A., & Leveritt, M. (2001). Long-term metabolic and skeletal muscle
adaptations to short-sprint training: Implications for sprint training
and tapering. Sports Medicine, 31(15), 1063–1082. PubMed ID:
11735686 doi:10.2165/00007256-200131150-00003
Ross, A., Leveritt, M., & Riek, S. (2001). Neural inﬂuences on sprint
running: Training adaptations and acute responses. Sports Medicine,31(6), 409–425. PubMed ID: 11394561 doi:10.2165/00007256200131060-00002
Saraslanidis, P.J., Panoutsakopoulos, V., Tsalis, G.A., & Kyprianou, E.
(2011). The effect of different ﬁrst 200-m pacing strategies on blood
lactate and biomechanical parameters of the 400-m sprint. European
Journal of Applied Physiology, 111(8), 1579–1590. PubMed ID:
21190037 doi:10.1007/s00421-010-1772-4
Saunders, B., Elliott-Sale, K., Artioli, G.G., Swinton, P.A., Dolan, E.,
Roschel, H., : : : Gualano, B. (2017). beta-alanine supplementation
to improve exercise capacity and performance: A systematic
review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine,
51(8), 658–669. PubMed ID: 27797728 doi:10.1136/bjsports2016-096396
Savoie, F.A., Keneﬁck, R.W., Ely, B.R., Cheuvront, S.N., & Goulet, E.D.
(2015). Effect of Hypohydration on Muscle Endurance, Strength,
Anaerobic Power and Capacity and Vertical Jumping Ability: A
meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 45(8), 1207–1227. PubMed ID:
26178327 doi:10.1007/s40279-015-0349-0
Skare, O.C., Skadberg, & Wisnes, A.R. (2001). Creatine supplementation
improves sprint performance in male sprinters. Scandinavian Journalof Medicine and Science in Sports, 11(2), 96–102. PubMed ID:
11252467 doi:10.1034/j.1600-0838.2001.011002096.x
Spencer, M.R., & Gastin, P.B. (2001). Energy system contribution during200- to 1500-m running in highly trained athletes. Medicine &IJSNEM Vol. 29, No. 2, 2019

Downloaded by on 04/17/19

94

Slater et al.

Science in Sports & Exercise, 33(1), 157–162. PubMed ID: 11194103
doi:10.1097/00005768-200101000-00024
Stokes, T., Hector, A.J., Morton, R.W., McGlory, C., & Phillips, S.M.
(2018). Recent perspectives regarding the role of dietary protein forthe promotion of muscle hypertrophy with resistance exercise training. Nutrients, 10(2), pii: E180.
Sugiura, K., Suzuki, I., & Kobayashi, K. (1999). Nutritional intake of elite
Japanese track-and-ﬁeld athletes. International Journal of Sport
Nutrition, 9(2), 202–212. PubMed ID: 10428572 doi:10.1123/ijsn.
9.2.202
Suzuki, Y., Ito, O., Mukai, N., Takahashi, H., & Takamatsu, K. (2002).
High level of skeletal muscle carnosine contributes to the latter half of
exercise performance during 30-s maximal cycle ergometer sprinting.
The Japanese Journal of Physiology, 52(2), 199–205. PubMed ID:
12139778 doi:10.2170/jjphysiol.52.199
Sygo, J., Coates, A.M., Sesbreno, E., Mountjoy, M.L., & Burr, J.F. (2018).
Prevalence of Indicators of Low Energy Availability in Elite Female
Sprinters. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise
Metabolism, 28(5), 490–496.
Thompson, C., Vanhatalo, A., Jell, H., Fulford, J., Carter, J., Nyman, L., : : :Jones, A.M. (2016). Dietary nitrate supplementation improves sprint
and high-intensity intermittent running performance. Nitric Oxide, 61,
55–61. PubMed ID: 27777094 doi:10.1016/j.niox.2016.10.006
Tipton, K.D., Jeukendrup, A.E., Hespel, P., & International Associationof Athletics Federations. (2007). Nutrition for the sprinter. Journalof Sports Sciences, 25(Suppl. 1), S5–S15. doi:10.1080/
02640410701607205
Tscholl, P., Alonso, J.M., Dolle, G., Junge, A., & Dvorak, J. (2010). The
use of drugs and nutritional supplements in top-level track and ﬁeld
athletes. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 38(1), 133–140.
PubMed ID: 19812387 doi:10.1177/0363546509344071
Uth, N. (2005). Anthropometric comparison of world-class sprinters andnormal populations. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 4(4),608–616. PubMed ID: 24501574
van Loon, L.J., Saris, W.H., Kruijshoop, M., & Wagenmakers, A.J.
(2000). Maximizing postexercise muscle glycogen synthesis: Carbohydrate supplementation and the application of amino acid or proteinhydrolysate mixtures. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 72(1),106–111. PubMed ID: 10871568 doi:10.1093/ajcn/72.1.106
Viitasalo, J.T., Kyrolainen, H., Bosco, C., & Alen, M. (1987). Effects of
rapid weight reduction on force production and vertical jumping

height. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 8(4), 281–285.
PubMed ID: 3667026 doi:10.1055/s-2008-1025670
Vitale, K.C., Hueglin, S., & Broad, E. (2017). Tart Cherry Juice inAthletes: A Literature Review and Commentary. Current Sports
Medicine Reports, 16(4), 230–239. PubMed ID: 28696985 doi:10.
1249/JSR.0000000000000385
Watson, G., Judelson, D.A., Armstrong, L.E., Yeargin, S.W., Casa, D.J., &Maresh, C.M. (2005). Inﬂuence of diuretic-induced dehydration oncompetitive sprint and power performance. Medicine & Science inSports & Exercise, 37(7), 1168–1174. PubMed ID: 16015134 doi:10.
1249/01.mss.0000170100.93279.be
Watts, A.S., Coleman, I., & Nevill, A. (2012). The changing shapecharacteristics associated with success in world-class sprinters. Journal of Sports Sciences, 30(11), 1085–1095. PubMed ID: 21916672
doi:10.1080/02640414.2011.588957
Weyand, P.G., Sandell, R.F., Prime, D.N., & Bundle, M.W. (2010).
The biological limits to running speed are imposed from the ground
up. Journal of Applied Physiology, 108(4), 950–961. PubMed ID:
20093666 doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00947.2009
Witard, O.C., Garthe, I., & Phillips, S.M. (2019). Dietary protein for
training adaptation and body composition manipulation in track-andﬁeld athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise
Metabolism, 29. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2018-0267
Witard, O.C., Jackman, S.R., Breen, L., Smith, K., Selby, A., & Tipton,
K.D. (2014). Myoﬁbrillar muscle protein synthesis rates subsequent
to a meal in response to increasing doses of whey protein at rest
and after resistance exercise. American Journal of ClinicalNutrition, 99(1), 86–95. PubMed ID: 24257722 doi:10.3945/ajcn.112.055517
Wroble, K.A., Trott, M.N., Schweitzer, G.G., Rahman, R.S., Kelly, P.V.,& Weiss, E.P. (2019). Low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet impairs
anaerobic exercise performance in exercise-trained women andmen: A randomized-sequence crossover trial. Journal of Sports
Medicine & Physical Fitness,59, 600–607. doi:10.23736/S00224707.18.08318-4
Zabala, M., Peinado, A.B., Calderon, F.J., Sampedro, J., Castillo, M.J., &Benito, P.J. (2011). Bicarbonate ingestion has no ergogenic effect onconsecutive all out sprint tests in BMX elite cyclists. European
Journal of Applied Physiology, 111(12), 3127–3134. PubMed ID:
21465247 doi:10.1007/s00421-011-1938-8

IJSNEM Vol. 29, No. 2, 2019