Sporting Nutrition Online Course

The Sports Nutrition Online Course contains the following units of study:
Lesson 1: Introduction to Sports Nutrition
This module involves a complete look at sports nutrition and what it entails. We answer the fundamental questions of what exactly is sports nutrition. What is the role of sports nutrition in my fitness regime? First and foremost we want our students to understand its importance.
We will also be discussing macronutrients, energy metabolism, and we take a closer look at the fuel sources we use during exercise.

Lesson 2: The Role of Nutrition and Exercise in disease Prevention
In this lesson we discuss what is involved in nutrition. We look at physical activity and exercise and the impact it has on your health. If you have often wondered how much exercise you should be doing to reach and maintain optimal health, this module will answer all of your questions.
We also delve into the consequences of poor lifestyle choices on your health. Poor health and nutrition choices can lead to conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and obesity. It is essential to know how to improve these conditions, or indeed, prevent them.

Lesson 3: Carbohydrates as fuel for exercise
Carbohydrates are recommended as a primary fuel for exercise, but how do you apply this common knowledge to every day life?
In this lesson we look at the importance of carbohydrates and the current carbohydrate intake recommendations for different types of athletes.
We take a practical approach in teaching you how to manipulate carbohydrate intake before, during,and after exercise. By altering your carbohydrate intake at different stages of your exercise regime, you can very much optimise your energy stores. To summarise this module, we study various factors that have an effect on how your body uses its carbohydrate stores during exercise.

Lesson 4: Protein and Fat for Exercise
Protein is another macronutrient that has a key effect in energy metabolism. We look at this in depth and then begin to look at the impact that essential amino acids can have on your health and sports performance.
As extra protein in athletes' diets gets a lot of media coverage these days, we also address the long debated issue of whether extra protein is necessary for athletes.
To conclude, we study the role that fat plays in metabolism. We look at sources of fatty acids and how they are mobilised and oxidised during exercise.

Lesson 5: Fluid and its Importance in Sports Nutrition
Why is your fluid intake and hydration during exercise so critically important? What role does it play?
The fact is that your hydration status has a direct effect on your performance. To ensure optimal performance, we look at exact requirement of fluids before, during, and after you exercise. We also tackle the science behind sports drinks. Do they really enhance your performance?
Another key topic in this module is the loss of fluid and electrolytes. We look at what can contribute to this happening and we discuss how to tackle this.

Lesson 6: Sports Supplements
Sports supplements are getting a lot of time in the media, so in this lesson we look at the facts about these supplements. There are so many different pills, powders, drinks, and bars available to athletes today that it can be confusing to distinguish one from the other and truly assess what will truly benefit your sports health.
We also look at how safe these supplements actually are and how you can separate fact from fiction when it comes to claims about these products.
This section is great to use as a guide to understand which, if any supplements are right for you. Knowledge and awareness is key in this area, so we equip you will all the facts and evidence to allow you to make an informed decision.

Lesson 7: Practical Application of Sports Nutrition
This lesson gives you lots of practical information that you can use straight away in relation to your own diet or someone else's diet.
We also cover how to use body weight measurement tools to ensure you are reaching your goals and achieving the physique you want in your sport.
To finish up this module, we take a closer look at BMR (basal metabolic rate) and how to estimate your calorie intake based on your weight, age, gender, and activity levels. This knowledge will allow you to take control of your calorie intake whether you want to lose, maintain, or gain weight.

Lesson 8: Nutrient Timing
By this stage in the course you should be confident with your sports nutritional knowledge and equipped with the know-how to aid and enhance your performance. Having looked at what to eat, we now look at when to eat. Timing is of extreme importance in sports nutrition.
You need to know how and when to effectively and correctly fuel your body for the tasks ahead. Ill-timed meals can have a negative effect on your performance, so it's crucial to factor in meal times when building a sports nutrition plan. We also look at how to power through when you "hit the wall" in training.
Post-workout meals areas important as pre-workout meals and in this module we teach you how to eat correctly following your training session and how to eat to boost your immune system.

Lesson 9: Body Composition and Making Weight
Body composition is a defining factor in performance so in this lesson we help you understand how to correctly and safely lose or gain weight depending on your goals. We look at different strategies in weight gain and weight loss and how to implement these strategies effectively.
With rapid weight loss having a serious impact on your health, we provide you with information on how to do this safely so that your health is maintained. We finish this module by looking at lean weight gain and how to achieve this by implementing a well balanced and consistent diet.

Lesson 10: The Importance of Micronutrients in the Athletic Diet
Micronutrients, like macronutrients play a key role in your energy, strength, and performance. In this final lesson we look at how to ensure your body is getting the micronutients it needs and also the negative impact that a mineral or vitamin deficiency can have.
We then take a closer look at vitamins and minerals and the effect exercise has on the body's requirements of them.