Andy Patterson and Jenn O'Connor last week attended the annual Sport Nutrition conference at Birmingham University, to hear the leading sports scientists from around the world speak about the latest research and findings in the field of sports nutrition.
Friday's lectures were held at the Aston Villa football stadium and topics included Protein & Weight Loss, Train Low - Compete High, Nutrition and the Immune System, Hydration - What's New? and Nutrition and Genetics. The formal sessions were followed by a tour of the stadium.
Left - Mark Tarnopolsky from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada shares his research into nutrition and genetics.
Saturday morning was an "activities session" at Cannock Chase, and the delegates divided into teams to compete in various events including biathlon, egg & spoon races, orienteering, running, mountain biking and the technical sport of "throwing stuff". Jenn and Andy were split into different teams, with Jenn winning the sprint mountain bike event for her team, and Andy winning the long lap for his.
Right - Jenn hit 4 from 5 targets in the biathlon.
The afternoon session on Saturday was held in the Sport Science faculty at Birmingham university and included the topics Nutrition to Increase Fat Burning, Nutrition and the Ageing Athlete and Are Women Different to Men? (in terms of sports nutrition that is). Jenn then took part in a Q&A panel alongside multi Iron Man Champion Chrissy Wellington, to be quizzed by the delegates on carbo-loading and feeding during competition.
The conference represented the cutting edge in sports nutrition, and touched on some important new concepts. Many popular assumptions held by athletes regarding the use of supplements, antioxidants, fat burning techniques, and fuelling during competition can no longer be held up as gospel. We've come away for the two days feeling energised and excited about sharing some of these new ideas with our team and clients.
For a full programme and list of speakers please visit http://www.nutrifit.co.uk/Conference_bham_2008/
Right - Andy was easy to spot in the crowd.
Below - Jenn (left) prepares for the mountain bike time trial while Andy (right) takes a more relaxed approach.
