VERY STAVINOHA, MS, RD, GOES CSCS
TRISHALONG ARTICLE TITLE CSSD, HERE
AND TAKES UP LOTS AND LOTS OF ROOM
THE PERFORMANCE TRIAD
The “performance triad” is one of the U.S. Army Surgeon
General, Lieutenant General’s top initiatives to improve soldier’s
performance, health, and wellness. The three components
(physical activity, good nutrition, and adequate sleep) have always
been pillars of good health. The emphasis of the performance
triad is on soldiers taking personal responsibility to make the right
choices for their health, and to understand that an imbalance
of any one component will negatively impact readiness and
performance.
Exercise, nutrition, and sleep are not health behaviors that are only
beneficial to the military. Every athlete, coach, professional, and
parent may perform better at his or her job if they were physically
fit, properly nourished, and well rested. The problem is these
simple, familiar behaviors are often misunderstood, ignored, or
forgotten.
Training for performance of tactical athletes goes beyond just
an exercise routine and recommendations are not the same for
everyone. Performance training should not be short-lived or a fad,
it should support individual fitness goals as well as minimize the
risk of injury. Unfortunately, this is not always the case for many
soldiers who take on extreme conditioning programs for which
they are not properly trained (4).
The other idea behind performance training is to encourage
soldiers to pay closer attention to what they are doing (or not
doing) during non-Army time. Soldiers will partake in physical
training (PT) every day, but this may not include weekends,
holidays, training holidays, vacation, or time off for moving. This
could add up to almost three months of non-training days per
year. Although it is not recommended to run every day, soldiers
should be encouraged to seek out training activities during their
off time.
Performance nutrition does not necessarily imply going on a diet
or taking supplements since supplements cannot make up for an
unhealthy diet, they can only complement a healthy diet. Rather,
performance nutrition is designed as a fuel to support training
and to speed up recovery times. Skipping meals, particularly the
meals around a workout, will not support recovery. It is important
to never start a workout on an empty tank; this includes hydrating
and fueling before, during, and after training. However, it is
possible to do this in excess, which will promote weight gain or an
upset stomach.
A pre-workout fuel choice may just be an eight-ounce sports
drink, or water and a banana. If training lasts over 60 min,
particularly if in hot weather, a sports drink for extra carbohydrates
and electrolytes during the workout may be necessary (2). After
the workout, most athletes (even a 200-lb operator) only need 20
– 25 g of high-quality protein and 30 – 90 g of carbohydrates with
20 g of essential amino acids within the 30 – 45 min following
training (1). Many post-workout protei