Nutrition
Within endurance Sports Prolonging the ‘Bonk’ Part 1
How to read this report.
The Search What, why and how I am trying to find something out.
The Critique Opinions and the feedback from the tutors, experts and collaborators.
The Discovery The results and insights from the Search and the decisions that have to be made.
The Reflection The successes and failures of the topic being explored and discussing things I would have done differently.
Success
Failure
DESIGN FOR INDUSTRY / TRANSPORTATION DESIGN
YEAR PLANNER 2014-2015
Issue A
2014
201
Semester 1 WK No
0
WK/C 15 SEPT
Sem
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Christmas
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29 SEPT
06OCT
13 OCT
20 OCT
27 OCT
03 NOV
10 NOV
17 NOV
24 NOV
01 DEC
08 DEC
13DEC - 04 JAN
05 JAN
12 JAN
Briefing 23rd Sept CCE104
Confirm Brief Choice 7th Oct
Staggered submission from 3rd Dec school office
Deadline 11th Nov CCE104
Briefin 20th Ja CCE10
Competion Re-visit
Competition Project
Deadline 12th Jan 4pm SAS Office
Dissertation Project
Deadline 15th Jan CCE104
Briefing 22/24 Sept CCE104
Exploration Briefing 14 Oct CCE104
Interim Week
Proposal Statement 28th Oct
CJ Part 1
INDUCTION WEEK
READING WEEK
BRIEFING
Wk/C
INTERIM REVIEW FINAL SUBMISSION / CRITIQUE
Week Commencing
Briefing 18 th Nov CCE 011
MODULE CODE
1
19 JA
N.B. LIMITED WORKSHOP AVAILABILITY.
No OF CREDITS
DE0161/DE907 DE1078/DE1079 DE0142/VA0600 (Option)
20 20 20
DE1080/DE1081 DE1082
40 10
This booklet contains research from Exploration and Major Project and comes under the category of CJ Part 1
The Journey
Final Year - Design for industry
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mester 2
1
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EASTER
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26 JAN
02 FEB
09 FEB
16 FEB
23 FEB
02 MAR
09 MAR
16 MAR
23 MAR
30 MAR - 17 APR
20 APR
27 APR
04 MAY
11 MAY
18 MAY
25 MAY
ng an 04
Interim Week
Deadline 14th May CCE104
Interim Week
Major Project
Deadline 21st May Reception
CJ Part 2
Deadline 12th Mar Reception
BANK HOLIDAY
N.B. LIMITED WORKSHOP AVAILABILITY
BANK HOLIDAY
READING WEEK
Contents.
06
The Beginning
16
Nutritional Value
32
Current Testing
44
Alternative Nutrition
52
Into The Major
64
Tying Up The Loose Ends
72
Wearables
78
Branding Guidelines
84
Final Revised Brief
94
Collaborators
Personal Motivation 01
I have been involved in endurance running from a young age, whether that be competing or supporting I also managed to gain a placement at Invo8 - a global footwear and apparel design company that specialise in fell running
.................... With these two aspects combined I automatically wanted to base my major project around the sport
02
03
Initial Proposal background
04 As you can see I wanted to look in to trainer design but after a long talk with several tutors I decided against this, and therefore started to look at the ‘fringe parts’ of my initial idea
.................... Which includes all types of marathon running; road, fell, sky & ultra and nutrition. From this I started conducting market research and decided that this was the path I wanted go do down!
cess Failure
05
06
The Beginning pages 06 - 15
Collaborators in this chapter
Introduction Background 07
I believe nutrition is overlooked by a lot of people and many don’t understand how important it is to an athlete Many find it hard to understand what the correct nutritional needs are within their chosen or desired sport To perform at optimal level your nutrition needs to be on point: pre, post and during the event At first look, I believe many struggle with this and there needs to be extra support to help athletes achieve the very best
08
09
Success
Questionnaires Professional British athletes
I sent a general questionnaire out to some top British fell and marathon runners asking about how they trained, what kit they used and some nutritional questions that included; 1) What does a typical week’s meals/food intake look like? 2) Everyone knows that your diet has an impact on your body during training and can affect performance. What do you typically eat to replace those lost energy levels? (Including food, drinks and supplements)
Primary Research
After deciding on nutrition as my subject I should have sent out some more precise questions to gain a deeper understanding
10
Instore Products start fitness & northern runner 11
12
Success
After looking round stores it came to my attention that there was a lot of choice, which all claimed to do different things
All artificial products Nothing aimed at Ultra Runners Do people know how to actually use them?
By attending the Dubai Marathon I was able to gain first hand experience and improve upon my knowledge and understanding of nutrition with endurance running
13
Every athlete took on water Many athletes used running gels - Professional & Amateur The pace of athletes deteriorated around mile 20, they had hit the wall
Marathon Experience Dubai
14
Success
When the questionnaires came back I knew I was going to look in to nutrition within sport, due to the many different answers from I got back from professional and novice athletes.
15
It became clear that athletes should really know more than they do in terms of nutrition. All my initial research into the subject was positive, which drove me forward.
16
Nutritional Values Pages 16 - 31
Collaborators in this chapter
Basic Nutrition Learning the difference 19 I set out to learn the basics about nutrition involved around sport, with endurance running in mind
Nutrition is an important element in everyday life and even more important when doing strenuous activity. Carbohydrates are the most important nutrient for endurance athletes
20
Success 21
Nutrition workshop Northumbria uni scholarship athletes
I went to a workshop, hosted by PhD Sports Nutrition Students, aimed at scholarship athletes and how they should be eating. They spoke about Pre, During and Post game meals, and how they can benefit you
I took some valuable information and nutritional facts from the workshop, and became extremely interested in endurance energy gels
The main 2 sets of macronutrients for an endurance athletes are:
Glycogen
Electrolytes
22
23
Sport Nutrition Research
Glycogen
Electrolytes
Electrolytes are classed as macrominerals. The main ones including: - Sodium - Chloride - Potassium - Magnesium - Calcium
Electrolytes are found in isotonic sport drinks such as Lucozade
24
Sport Nutrition Electrolytes lost in sweat
25 I discovered that electrolytes are important to the body and certain ones can be lost through sweat
If they are important why aren’t they regularly checked? How can we test for this loss in nutrients?
Is there a form or monitor that can track your nutrition levels
Symptoms Nausea, vomiting, fatigue, headaches and muscle cramps or spasms
26
Chloride (Cl-) Potassium (K+) Sodium (Na) Calcium (Ca2+) Magnesium (Mg2+)
27
Metabolic Pathways
energy loss 28
I read many reports on how the body actually loses energy during activity, from full to depleted glycogen stores
I’ve met with Dr John Lodge and PhD Student Meghan Brown who talked me though the process
When does an athlete at any level know when their glycogen (energy) stores are running out?
Hitting the wall energy loss - A key Insight 29 There were 541,000 Marathon Runners in the US in 2013 and over 60% claim to have hit the wall
After discovering this fact, myself and the tutors, knew there was scope for design
This is when I knew there was a real need for the product in this area and started looking into the market and technologies
30
Success
31
As I decided my project was going to be on nutrition, I thought I’d best learn about it myself. By reading various books, articles, speaking to professional and novice endurance runners and also attending a sports nutrition workshop - I managed to find a problem in which I’m looking to address. ‘How do you calculate when you are about to hit the wall?’
32
Current Testing Pages 32 - 43
Collaborators in this chapter
Laboratory products Northumbria uni
Primary Research
33 Meghan Brown and myself discussed the fact that all these machines are too bulky and couldn’t be used in the field. Plus the process would take too long
Blood
34
Blood
Saliva
35
My Testing 8.6 miles run
I went for a run myself and did the following test along the way: Heart Rate, Hydration, Blood Pressure, Combur 7 and Glucose Levels
I discovered that using the methods above were very time consuming, very evasive (blood) and unhygienic. I also had to stop my activity to test for 4 out of the 5
How can the problems I’ve mentioned be solved? Is there different or new way for testing?
Urine Samples
36
37
Electrochemical Biosensor Non-invasive sweat monitor
38 I eventually found a new innovated product that would be perfect for what I am trying to do It detects for build up of lactate, and therefore tells you when you are going to hit the wall
After speaking to Simon and Howard we decided that the engineering technology was apparent and could be used to support my product
Could I work with the engineer? Could I design a product to go with the biosensor?
Joesph wang tattoo
Electrochemical Biosensor Non-invasive sweat monitor 39 The technology was there but no product linked to the biosensor
This is where I come in. A designer working with an engineer - Therefore I made contact with Joe Wang
He questioned how I could help him? - So I set out to prove him wrong and design something for him!
40
Joesph wang tattoo
Failure
High Energy
41
Ener:gise
Ener:gise super smoothie
Electrochemical Biosensor Prototype
42 I also tried to get hold of Dr. Wang to see if I could get a prototype of the biosensor and to see if I could work with him further on this project
A few emails where sent between us but he was unwilling to part with his new discovery
There are no non-invasive and real time products in the sport, to test for nutrient loss, at this current time. Lab testing does happen but it takes time and the testing equipment is bulky and not easily portable.
43
By discovering the biosensor I am able to use it as a central hub to gather and send real time readings out to a monitor.
44
Alternative Nutrition Pages 44 - 51
Collaborators in this chapter
45
Supplements How do they work?
I set out to find what actually goes into a running gel and how it helps the user gain energy
From this I discovered the main substance that produces glucose - Maltodextrin. This is the sugar break down of carbohydrate and is fast releasing
Could I produce a natural gel? Potentially smoothie based? A hard and soft form of gel to suit the user?
46
Market Research Stores 47
Primary Research
48
49
Natural Nutrition For runners
Nutrition is an important element in everyday life and even more important when doing strenuous activity
There are a lot of ‘super foods’ that can provide natural energy as opposed to artificial. A natural and organic energy gel?
Superfoods
50
In the modern day everything is monitored and people like to know what they are eating, so why isn’t there a natural running gels or bars? Running gels although very effective are very artificial. There are a lot of natural ‘superfoods’ that can offer the same nutritional values.
51
I believe with the right ingredients and branding, I can produce an alternative to artificial gels. This will be conducted and supported in CJ2
52
Into the Major Brief Pages 52 - 63
Collaborators in this chapter
Medical
erg
cie
the
wa
ll
s
ting
53
en
Hit
Em
Sports
Military and g n ri g nito itionin o M nd Co
54
Food?
Directions in Different fields Broaden the Target Market 55 Turning the design opportunities into different directions showed how the project could take an number of varied routes. Could the final design be involved in all fields?
Food Combined
Sport
16
56
Medical
Military
swimming 57
Triathlon Cycling Success
Sport
endurance
Fatigue occurs in all sports but ‘hitting the wall’ only occurs in endurance events. Therefore a number of different sports could benefit from it It could easily be used in swimming and cycling as well as running - The triathlon would benefit!
Draw up a design specification to see what would need to occur for it to fit all 3 sports i.e. It will need to be waterproof. Is it tied to something?
58
Medical First Response 59
Could first call medics benefit from the real-time monitoring system. If a problem that could be related to nutrient loss and the shut down of a body, then yes, in theory this could be a great idea
Home testing or care homes For example - Heart problems and palpatations can be linked with low Magnesium levels. If this was the case, maybe this could be treated within the home
Ambulance Monitor is attached to patient, instantly the doctor knows that the patient is deficient in Sodium and therefore could have Hypothermia and low blood sugar levels - Heart, kidney and liver problems necessary treatment is given
Not enough sweat would be produced to use this kind of biosensor. The only other possible answer is to use a biosensor that reacts to saliva
60
Failure
61
cess Failure
Military
Training
Within the Marines statistics have shown that over 50% do not complete the training. Could a monitor be used to track training to see if they were improving. They are pushed to the limit and this can cause injury and illness, could the monitor tell them when enough is enough and lower these problems
Training Exercises For the Marine During the drills this could be used as a health precaution
For the Sargeant (Trainer) Can monitor if/how much the solider is improving
Enough sweat is perspired by the user for the biosenor to work. But would designing for 2 separate fields confuse the project?
62
Although the device is suitable for the military I believe it is making the product too complicated and I decieced to just focus on one area - Sport and The Triathlon. It can either be used in all 3 sports individually or within the 1 full event.
63
64
Tying up the loose ends Pages 64 - 69
65
Peer Group Input Monitor. Gels. Service.
People agreed that I had a viable idea and product to take to the major project. And I thought I had it all figured out until I spoke to my peers who pointed something out
You need to decide your direction and create more of a link between the monitor and the gels, they said
I went on to think of the business opportunities and how would this actually sell? Could you get the biosensor when you signed up for the marathon but had to buy the energy gels as a side product? And If I wanted this to be multi-functional?
66
67
System blueprint monitor and gels
A better service blueprint will need to be produced due to more stakeholders being present - Athletes - Coaches - Nutritionists (gels) - Event organisers
This came about after talking to my peer group and also my tutor mentors. We agreed that it was a little all over the place and needed to be finalised!
68
Rough new brief How does it all fit together
69
I was a little unsure at this point of what I was actually going to deliver for the deliverables
Simon - You need to make some serious decisions about what you’re actually going to deliver at the end
Just by mapping out I still wasn’t sure if I was going to produce a wearable or not. So I needed to research them!
70
I was aware that my project was getting a little messy and confusing. So I re-looked over what I was actually doing and ‘tied the loose ends’. Once I worked out exactly where I was going with this project I was able to stop with my research and started to think about the design phase.
71
72
Wearables Pages 72 - 75
Collaborators in this chapter
Market Research Current Products
Primary Research
73
74
Market Research Current Products
75
From day one I was dead set on designing some wearable technology. So I spoke to Kevin McCullagh, from London based strategy design company Plan
He told me that wearable tech had peaked and was now declining
76 Wearable technology
Failure
Although wearables have possibly hit their peak, I think they are still the way forward with my project in mind. This is a part of the project I am unsure about and only time and designing will tell if this is the way forward or not.
77
78
Branding Guidelines Pages 78 - 83
79
Brand Archetypes
Inspiration
Hard and soft energy 80
I looked into brand archetypes to try and design the branding of my product/service name and logo inflection to its nature
Due to my subject falling in the sport category; I was looking at the challenging section and I believe it fell in the ‘Hero’ segment. From this I looked into the examples of ‘adventurous’ and ‘brave’
Logo Development
Monitor. Hard and soft energy packs 81 I started looking for names based around sport specifics; energy and endurance came to mind and out came energise I then used the ‘sweat biosensor tattoo’ as my logo to indicate the usage of it and also to tie in the fact that they were joint within my project Burn Bar and Super Smoothie then added to brand the 2 different types of energy gels
Fruit Boost Ener:gise super smoothie EnduraGel Ener:gise Ener:gel burn bar Ener:gise Ener:gise Ener:gise
Ener:gise super smoothie
82
Due to my branding I believe I have linked all the parts to my project as one. 1) By using the name ‘Energise’ users know that the project is to do with energy. 2) Energy links to the monitor and the energy gels.
83
3) As I have used the tattoo biosensor as the logo, it should start making users aware that there is a connection between all elements. - Biosensor, Monitor & Gels.
84
Final Revised Brief Pages 84 - 93
85
The Bigger Picture wearable 0r gels?
86 After all the research I had to start pulling everything together and finally decided on my final brief
We decided that the interaction with the wearable was the main aspect of the overall design with the gels and service as the secondary aspect. With this in mind I started sketching to come up with my design
The Link/service
How does it all fit together. Monitor and gels. 87
I was a little unsure at this point of what I was actually going to deliver for deliverables. So I mapped everything out
‘You need to make some serious decisions about what you’re actually going to deliver at the end’ is what I got told. So I made them...
The Full Service 1) The biosensor sends a signal to a wearable to indicate the athlete is going ‘to hit the wall’ (run out of energy) 2) Once the athlete knows they only have ‘x amount’ of energy left, they are told by the wearable to eat an energy gel to prolong this from occurring and have a positive effect on there performance.
High Energy
88
Ener:gise super smoothie
High Energy
89
Ener:gise super smoothie
Potential Deliverables monitor and gels
90 I also decided that I needed to work out, what I was actually going to produce for the Major and came up with a list
Wearable, Gel, Bar and potentially a movie/advert to show the full service in progress and how it works
After discussing this with Simon, he agreed with me and I set out designing
Key Issues to Address monitor and gels
91
For the product to be a success the following questions need to be assessed when designing
1) Whats going to make an athlete use this equipment? 2) How will it fit all three users? Triathlon 3) Can it be used for training purposes as well as racing? 4) How do I market the product for professional AND novice athletes? 5) The interaction with the product is key 6) There needs to be a strong link between the monitor, gels and user
92
Now that I have rewritten the new brief I am able to get on with the design phase and producing the necessary deliverables. Throughout this phase I have questioned everything I have done and wouldn’t have got to the stage I am now without looking into everything I have shown in this booklet.
93
94
Collaborators
Pages 94 - 96
95
Meghan Brown PhD Student Sports Nutrition
Shane Nugent Sports Nutritionist SJN nutrition
Mike Ultra Runner Start Fitness
Ian Ultra Runner Norther Runner
Kevin mccullagh plan: Wearables Expert
Robbie Britton Pro Ultra Runner Inov8
Dr Joesph Wang NanoEngineer Ucsd Sweat Biosensor
Dr John Lodge Metabolic Nutrition Northumbria University
96
Mark Croasdale Marathon Runner Marine
Garry Gerrard Triathlete Marine
Pete Bland Pete Bland Sports Running Store Owner
Terry Conway Ultra Runner Running Store Manager
97
98
To Be Continued
Luke Croasdale lukecroasdale@hotmail.co.uk 07903698788
Ener:gise