BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — With the weight room as his backdrop, his canvas, Wisconsin football's strength and conditioning coach Ross Kolodziej is adept at painting word pictures to bring clarity to a topic, especially one that has a bearing on the physical development of an athlete.
In responding to a question about the need and value of teaching nutrition, Kolodziej said, "It's kind of like saying, 'Where does fuel fit into your mode of transportation to get you to where you need to go?' It's an essential component, but often neglected and very much overlooked."
Kolodziej listed three points of emphasis: Nutrition, sleep, recovery.
"We only have two hours to train them in a day and they have another 22 hours when they're out and about," he said. "What they do and how they treat their bodies for those 22 hours is going to dictate how they respond to that two-hour training session."
To track how players fuel, rest and recover, the Badgers have expanded their data collecting in different areas. RPE is an acronym for Relative Perceived Exertion. And it's relative to just about any conversation that you might have with Kolodziej in his workplace at Camp Randall Stadium.
Under Armour has assisted in this process with the UA Band, an activity tracker wristband.
Photo: Wisconsin Badgers
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