Because exercise increases fuel utilization, it's important to have a basic understanding of the components of food and how these nutrients aid one's ability to perform exercise at both low and high intensities. Without this basic knowledge, performance may be negatively affected.Therefore, the purpose of this review is to discuss the macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat) and how to use these nutrients for optimal performance.

Regardless of your nutritional knowledge and practices, if you do not consume adequate calories the performance will suffer. This is because the body is not being supplied with a sufficient amount of nutrients to meet the demands from exercise. Therefore, unless your goal is weight loss,consuming adequate kcalories is paramount.

There are numerous formulas and charts available that estimate kcalorie requirements. However, none are exact and there will always be variation in the kcalorie needs. For instance, during the days the dog trains he will utilize more energy than on the days when is sedentary. For this reason, varying the kcalorie intake may be appropriate if body weight is a critical issue.

We all know the importance of carbohydrates (CHOs). They act as the primary fuel source during high-intensity exercise , supply glucose for the production of glycogen , and help prevent fatigue. Because CHOs play such an important role in endurance performance, it is generally recognized that athletes consume 55-75% of kcalories as CHO. I personally like endurance athletes to keep CHO intake around 50-60%. This is because consuming a high-CHO, low-fat diet over a prolonged period of time decreases the body's ability to utilize fat as efficiently. This occurs from a decrease in the activity and concentration of lipolytic enzymes. Also, diets excessively high in CHO and low in fat can decrease HDL-C (good cholesterol) and increase triglycerides. This leads to a negative effect on the cholesterol/HDL-C ratio , which increases the risk of atherosclerosis.

The best sources of CHOs are nutrient dense foods such as whole wheat, rice, oats, corn, fruits, and vegetables. By feeding ample amounts of these foods, you will not only be providing the body with plenty of CHOs, you probably won't have to worry about fiber intake since these foods are rich in fiber. Also, they are high in vitamins and minerals, which must be present to properly metabolize CHOs.
 
 

Unlike other feedings, in the endurance feedings we need proteins also. However, protein is a vital component in the athlete's diet. Besides providing amino acids and nitrogen for the synthesis of various cells, tissues, and structures of the body, protein also helps support the immune function. Therefore, protein is a vital component of this diet. Current health professionals recommend a protein intake of 10-15% of total kcalories. More specifically, it is recommended that in the endurance program we should give 1.2-1.4 gr of protein per kg of bodyweight/day . For those dogs during keep who train 5-7 days a week I would not hesitate to increase this to 2.4-3 gr/kg. This should be enough protein to cover any additional stress to the dog's body. Also, if this actually was too much protein the body would just convert the excess to glucose(if they weren't consuming too many kcalories). I personally would rather overfeed protein by 5-10 gr and have that small safety net of extra amino acids.

The source of the protein is also a crucial factor. It's best to get your protein from foods that have all the essential amino acids. These foods include beef, fish, chicken, turkey, milk, eggs, and cheese. These sources provide a superior amino acid makeup and are of a high biological value, meaning their bodies will absorb these proteins more efficiently. Good sources in protein powders include proteins from soy protein isolates, and lactose-free whey proteins.
 
 

Fat is a funny nutrient when it comes to endurance feeding. We either avoid it like the plague or humor our significant other with how many donut holes we can shove in our mouth at one time. Since indulging in either practice for an extended period of time is unhealthy for our body and relationships, it's important to understand fat and how they can benefit from it.

Fat is an essential nutrient for each cell in every body. We must have it in order to survive. Fat is also a significant fuel during endurance exercise. In fact, for a long distance fight performing at70% VO2max, 40-50% of energy is supplied by fat, which becomes more apparent as exercise duration increases. In general, at intensities as high as 65% VO2max, fat (in the form of intramuscular triglycerides) can provide at least 1/2 of the substrate being oxidized for energy .

Too much fat or too much of the wrong kind of fat can have detrimental effects on our overall health and performance. Health professionals recommend an intake of less than 20% fat. However, that leaves a broad range often leading to confusion. Although many "nutritional experts" promote afat intake of < 10%, I can find no scientific data that shows this practice to be beneficial to any athlete. For performance and health purposes I recommend a fat intake between 15-20%. This comes out to 12 - 22 gr of fat each day for our 44# dog. This should not worry us if the dog has been on a low-fat diet for some time. When the proper types of fat are consumed there should be no health risks. In fact, the World Heath Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) state that active individuals who are consuming adequate kcalories may consume up to 20% of their total energy intake from dietary fat if their intake of essential fatty acids and other nutrients is adequate and the level of saturated fatty acids does not exceed 7% of the kcalories they consume .

The best sources of fats are mono and polyunsaturated fats. They can be found in vegetable oils,nuts, seeds, avocados, and fish. Try to keep saturated fat to a minimum, which is found in animal products and coconuts. However, a moderate amount of saturated fat will not hurt them. If possible get the majority of their fat from monounsaturated sources and ?-3 fatty acids. These can be found in olive and canola oils,avocados, macadamia nuts, pecans, fish, and flax seeds. The focus should be placed on monounsaturated fats since these fatty acids have been shown to decrease the risk of heart disease and hypertension. However, be cautious and do not go overboard on fish oil or flaxseed oil; excessive amounts of the ? -3's can cause prolonged bleeding and hemorrhaging.
 
 

For many reasons I have left room for you to experiment with different macronutrient ratios. If there's anything you take away from this article it's that you should feed your dog with a variety of healthy natural foods without placing a major emphasis on one macronutrient. Often we get too caught up in the "more is better" syndrome and forget what it's like to enjoy to prepare a variety of foods for our friends. We often forget that the old timers had no ready made products (Purina, Dimond, Iams and so one), and, at the end of the day, is better to feed our dogs some natural products also. By focusing on getting sufficient kcalories and protein, along with ample natural products, we can work our way to the top of the sport.
 
 

Almost every trainer is constantly looking for ways to increase the speed of their dogs. Many different methods of speed training are available today, with many of the newest innovations trickling down from our athletes like GABI SZABO (1999 winner of Golden League).

Over the years the Romainians have been innovative in their experimentation with everything from anabolic steroids to pre-selecting elementary children for future athletic careers. I was introduced to the Romainian method of sprint training (plyo-metrics) during the early 1990's and was impressed with the increased performance and reduced stop-watch time of each dog who trained in this fashion.
 
 

As a trainer it is important to understand that there are only two ways of improving speed:

1. INCREASING THE LENGTH OF THE STRIDE
2. FREQUENCY OF THE STRIDE

The idea is to train the body beyond its normal capacity which will allow the dog to get the most their training. By prompting their legs to move faster than they can move through normal training, you can achieve your goal in speed training. This is the principle behind downhill training which is part of the plyo-metric philosophy for increasing performance. The best way that I have found to implement the program is over an eight week period. The speed work is performed on Monday, and Friday, while the endurance-training days are scheduled for Tuesday and Saturday.

It is important to implement a concentrated program first of warm-up and then flexibility to reduce the chance of injury.

Downhill sprint training works in the following way: Moving to the downhill slope will increase his speed an average of two-tenths of a second.