The Gatorade Sports Science Institute is conducting athlete performance testing on several NFL players at their performance lab during Super Bowl week and one of the players that will be subjected to the testing will be Jaguars’ star Maurice Jones-Drew. The idea is to help educate the athlete about their individualized fluid needs, fuels used during exercise and how the new G Series fits into their training before, during and after workouts and competitions.

Here’s a breakdown of what testing Maurice will go through:

1. Estimation of body composition using a BOD POD® air displacement chamber. While the athlete sits quietly, the BOD POD® measures subtle changes in pressure inside the chamber, allowing GSSI to estimate body composition (lean muscle mass versus fat mass). A greater ratio of lean mass to fat mass is related to improved athletic performance, particularly in sports where speed, strength, power, and agility are important.

2. Pre-test weigh-in and urine collection. Prior to the exercise portion of the testing, each athlete will provide a small urine sample to estimate current hydration status through urine specific gravity analysis. Additionally, nude body weight will be measured to determine sweat loss.

3. 30-minute cycling session. Each athlete will perform 30 minutes of sub-maximal cycling exercise. During this time, the athlete will breathe continuously into a mask connected to the MOXUS Metabolic Cart System. The MOXUS system collects expired air which is used to determine energy (caloric) expenditure, as well as determine the amount of energy used from carbohydrate and fat fuel, so the athlete understands how much energy they’re expending during activity and from what source.

4. Post-test weigh-out. An athlete’s sweat rate is estimated by calculating the change in body weight (pre-exercise weight minus post-exercise weight) over the duration of exercise. Determining the athlete’s sweat rate enables GSSI to provide an individualized hydration plan to help them match fluid loss in order to optimize their performance.

Gatorade will be streaming Maurice’s workout live and you’ll have the opportunity to ask him questions at 1:15PM ET today on www.ustream.tv/gstream. So check it out!

Also, be sure to check back at The Scores Report for our interview with Maurice, as we’ll be asking him about the testing, as well as some football-related questions.


Photo from fOTOGLIF