Extreme and Rare Sports: Performance Demands, Drivers, Functional Foods, and Nutrition

Reviews

'This edited volume presents the diverse needs of extreme sports athletes in regard to motivation, nutrition, and functional requirements. Defining extreme sports as those sports that push an athlete's limits both physically and mentally (as, for example, in an Ironman event) or that are "unusual and dangerous" by nature (for example, parkour or paragliding), the editors argue that the variability of extreme sports demands that specialized attention be devoted to ensuring that such athletes can meet the specific demands of their particular sport. The book's 19 chapters convey unusual contrastive portraits: for example the needs of an athlete competing in an open-water endurance swim differ from those of one competing in a high-altitude mountain biking race. Discussion covers training and nutritional techniques, including use of so-called nutraceutical supplements, affecting an athlete's pre-competition, mid-event, and post-competition experience. One chapter addresses the specific role of hydration in varying circumstances. Other chapters explore muscle development and recovery during extreme sport engagement, including recovery from "eccentric contractions." This text is novel in providing information that is rarely encountered in resources dedicated to traditional sports. Its unique focus may enable further discovery of existing gaps in the literature.'

--C. Hauff, University of South Alabama, in Choice Connect, vol 57

Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students through faculty and professionals.

**Description**
This book explains what extreme sports are, their nutritional and energy
requirements, their evolution and history, and the growth, market, and future
of these sports.

**Purpose**
The purpose is to foster a greater understanding of the types of extreme sports
and the unique nutritional, physical, and mental demands of each. The book
breaks down the different types of sports into land, water, and high-altitude
and discusses both traditional and nontraditional extreme sports. With
increasing participation in these sports all around the world, this book is a
much-needed resource for the unique needs of these athletes.

**Audience**
It is intended for sports practitioners, health professionals, sports
enthusiasts, and sports nutritionists, along with food experts and researchers.
It is most suitable for those looking to gain a greater understanding of
extreme sports and how to improve performance, prevent injury, and improve
training practices for these athletes.

**Features**
This book covers topics related to the specific requirements needed by athletes
who perform extreme sports. The authors do a thorough job of breaking down the
sports into different categories and expanding on the demands, both mental and
physical, that are unique to each of them. Factors such as extreme
temperatures, altitude, and excessive energy demands during these events are
addressed and research-driven information on nutraceutical supplements and
functional foods are discussed. Since these factors create an added challenge
for athletes and the practitioners who work with them, they must be understood
in order to develop better training programs and ultimately improve performance
in the sport. The book also reviews ergogenic and nutritional aids and their
value in each sport.

**Assessment**
This is an interesting and comprehensive look into the world of extreme sports.
With the rapid growth of adventure racing, ultramarathons, and the less
traditional diverse sports (bouldering, caving, hang gliding, etc.), more
research is needed to further understand the specific needs of these athletes.
This book does a great job of breaking down the book into seven detailed
sections. Most notable for readers probably is the physical requirements of
each sport and the importance of nutraceuticals and functional foods for these
athletes to improve performance and prevent injury. A unique feature is the
chapter discussing the use of prosthetics and limb health in extreme sports and
how technology, with improved fit and material, enables these athletes to
participate with fewer limitations. Overall, this book is comprehensive and
well organized.

-- Melissa Mellady, MS(Northwestern Medicine Executive Health)