Dexalytics: New Age Performance Composition
Dexalytics will be one of twelve presenters at the Track Football Consortium held in Chicago Dec 6-7. Presenters include the Vince Anderson (sprint guru, Texas A&M), Brian Kula (off-season trainer of Christian McCaffrey), Derek Evely (world expert on Bondarchuk Method), and the co-owners, Chris Korfist and Tony Holler. Tickets are available up until Dec 6th.
Dexalytics is the future of body composition, and more importantly, performance composition.
In the last five years, TFC played a role in introducing Tracking Football, the 1080 Sprint, and Freelap to the sports world. We are proud to do the same for Dexalytics.
10 QUESTIONS FOR DEXALYTICS
1) How would you explain Dexalytics to a coach?
Dexalytics focuses on moving from body composition to performance composition. We are interested in how the distribution of fat mass and lean mass can promote or inhibit desired athletic performance and we strive to provide clear data points of interest to performance, based on years of research. DXA technology provides precise and accurate data that allows programs to conduct trend analysis of a player over time while also allowing programs to compare body composition data from one player to another.
2) What body composition tools were used prior to Dexalytics? How is Dexalytics superior?
Tools like skinfold calipers, hydrostatic underwater weighing, Bod Pod and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) have been used in the past. At best, these are two component methodologies of body composition analysis, only measuring fat mass and then lumping everything else together. DXA can separate the body into three components (lean mass, bone mass and fat mass) as well as determine bone mineral density. The three component measurements not only allow for greater accuracy, but also, DXA can measure regional (i.e., legs, arms, trunk) as well as total body composition. This allows you to examine distribution of masses uniquely, such as the distribution of lean mass in the lower body versus upper body. It also allows you to custom regions of interest, which is important in examining different sports as elite performance in one sport may have very different distribution patterns from another.
3) Explain your relationship with the NFL Combine?
DXA and Dexalytics were at the 2019 NFL Combine to conduct body composition testing and analysis on all of the invitees.
4) Do you have a relationship with NCAA football programs? Will you? Do you see Dexalytics as a tool beyond football?
We have current relationships with NCAA football programs as well as a number of other athletic programs, including women’s volleyball as well as mens’ and womens’ cross-country and track & field and hockey. We also have a relationship with major league soccer. Regardless of sport, performance composition is a need and we can work with athletes in any sport.
5) When highly developed athletes gain weight, what have you learned about the composition of that weight gain?
The idea that a person can gain “10 pounds of muscle” is not correct. Any mass gain will be a combination of lean and fat mass, and at certain overall weight thresholds, the gain may actually be more fat mass than lean mass. We consider an individual’s frame and ability to put weight onto that frame, all based on the years of research conducted at the University of Minnesota.
6) What, if anything, might be in the future of Dexalytics not presently done?
Many individuals are interested in their body composition and most will not necessarily be on a professional or university team. Identifying ways we can provide meaningful information to more people is always of interest. In addition, our development of forecasting the effects of gaining weight or losing weight on body composition has benefits for not only athletes but also for individuals interesting in losing weight and what is possible or not possible on their frame.
7) Can you explain the technology of Dexalytics in a simple way?
DXA was originally developed for clinical use, therefore it processes a tremendous amount of data of which most people do not totally understand. Dexalytics tasks that voluminous amount of data and breaks it down into a usable format. In addition, it determines ratios that are useful in athletics. It also allows tracking of key areas of body composition for use in multiple scans.
8) What is the origin of Dexalytics? Who are the people behind it? Their backgrounds?
Dexalytics began with research done with professional football players, which lead to a number of published papers. Don Dengel was the lead faculty member conducting this research along with a graduate student – Tyler Bosch – all at the University of Minnesota. Years after they began, a tech start-up group was formed in the University, which led to the creation of Dexalytics as well as a partnership with a DXA manufacturer – Hologic, Inc.
9) What is more important, the snapshot of body composition or the change in body composition over time?
Both are important, but for different reasons. The snapshot or one time scan allows an individual to see where they are at for that specific moment in time. If you have a database, such as with the papers we have published on various athletes, then you can compare that individual to to others in the most accurate and precise way. If you have a team and you scan an entire team, it allows coaches to understand how each athlete looks in comparison to their teammates.
Multiple scans for an individual allow one to look at changes. This is helpful to evaluate programs such as the effectiveness of strength & conditioning and/or diet programs. It also allows one to monitor muscle mass and fat mass changes during a season or a career, to name just a few benefits.
10) Are there any interesting correlations between body mass and performance that you’d like to share?
This is an area that we are very interested in. We are conducting a couple of studies that are examining muscle function and muscle mass and the link between these two. Not always does more muscle transcend in to greater muscle function. So, looking at ratios as well as muscle mass and muscle function is important. We are also currently examining the loss of muscle mass that happens during immobilization and injury and its effects on muscle function.
At 1:30 December 7th, Don Dengel, on behalf of Dexalytics, will present, “Next Generation Body Composition Analytics”. Tickets are available online through December 6th.
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By Tony Holler
@pntrack
tony.holler@yahoo.com
630-849-8294
UPCOMING EVENTS
Coach Holler will be speaking at all of the following.
TFC-Chicago, Dec 6-7, Elmhurst College… featured speakers: Vince Anderson (sprint guru) and Brian Kula (track coach and trainer of Christian McCaffrey)
Feed The Cats Seminar (first of its kind!), Wichita, KS Dec 13-14 (11 presentations, early bird only $100, staff rates available). Seven sessions will appeal to football coaches. Presenters: Tony Holler, Alec Holler, and Quinn Holler
Georgia GATFXCCA Coaches Clinic Jan 10-11, Atlanta, GA
Central Illinois Track Clinic Jan 17-18, Unity High School, Tolono, IL (only $50 pre-registered!) Special event… Coach Holler and distance coach, Andy Derks will co-present, “Cats vs Dogs”.
Minnesota Track Clinic January 24, Minneapolis, MN
TFC-Dallas January 25-26 (Amazing Line-Up!), Jesuit Prep, Dallas, TX… featured speakers: Vince Anderson (sprint guru) and Brian Kula (track coach and trainer of Christian McCaffrey), Steve Jones (112-7 at Kimberly HS, WI)
TFC-St. Louis February 7-8 (Maybe best-ever TFC lineup!) Festus H.S., Festus, MO… featured speakers: Kevin Kelley (200-29 at Pulaski Academy of Little Rock, team averaging 57.4 ppg, doesn’t punt) and Kurt Hester (author of Rants of a Strength and Conditioning Madman)
TFC-Chicago June 2020 (date TBA)
