Asker Jeukendrup, right, sits with Cam Newton at last year's Super Bowl in Indianapolis. (Contributed photo)

When we’re watching hundreds of athletes exert themselves to the limits of their physical ability later this summer, during the 2012 Olympiad, the methods of their training and guidelines of their diet will be as crucial as any other factor.

But that’s the stuff we don’t see; we only hear about it -- and even then, the details are secret.

Asker Jeukendrup is a man responsible for keeping many Olympic athletes in shape, healthy and as physically ready to do things in their field of play that few others can dream of. Jeukendrup is the head of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI), and has worked with Ethopian long-distance runner and two-time gold medal winner Haile Gebrselassie; renowned British triathlete Chrissie Wellington; and the Dutch Olympic team as a whole. (He’ll oversee the Dutch at this year’s Games.)

Oh, yes, and he and his GSSI team have worked with and advised Serena Williams and Usain Bolt.

There's more. Jeukendrup’s also helped test, train and advise U.S. soccer player Abby Wambach, Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton and U.S. track star Alyson Felix, who could be up for a couple of golds in London.

He's the man who knows the best ways to train and eat in order for athletes to not cheat themselves of their potential, which is where ability meets scientific method.

Until the past half-decade or so, Olympic training was primarily about working hard, staying in shape all year long and going through repetition in practice to perfect one's craft. Now there's been a shift in prep and thinking. Whereas an athlete's condition puts their ability on a lofty level, treating their body right with proper nutrients, and knowing the best ways of staying healthy via scientific research -- that's a new mainstream methodology for Olympic-caliber performers. And it's more than eating right. It's about using microscopes to see what kinds of nutrients physically enhance an athlete's ability and recovery from activity.

Jeukendrup's job is comprised of research, education and sports science. I spoke with Jeukendrup (who practices what he preaches; the man has run 19 Ironmans) on the phone Wednesday, and an interesting thing I gleaned from the conversation: nutrition and diet is not only serious, it’s highly secretive. Athletes and their doctors and/or nutritionists take a scientific -- legitimately, this is science we’re talking about here -- approach to how to eat, what to eat, when to eat and where to eat. They track sweat. The way athletes' bodies take in and break down nutrients is becoming as vital as what kind of weight-lifting or cardio routines they go through on a daily basis.

Yes, more and more, doctors and athletes are recognizing, acknowledging and implementing the belief that what’s put into the body can be as big a factor in athletic performance as anything else. It’s why Bolt and Williams have used Jeukendrup’s services; he’s considered the most renowned nutrition expert in the world when it comes to blending athletes with proper food/drink intake.

And, let's be clear: it's not about meals, it's about diet. Jeukendrup develops plans for athletes to get the most out of their bodies, and those diets can vary.

“Is chocolate good or bad? Well, it depends on the overall diet," he said. "The food itself, if it is in moderation, I don’t think the food itself is bad for the most part.”

Of course, the cases differ. While Jeukendrup can’t divulge the exact regimens he advises Bolt and Williams to undertake, he acknowledges that there are differences from athlete to athlete due to gender, size and the kind of performance and muscles that are required. Sometimes, issues can sprout up that have nothing to do with activity; they can be innate problems, or something tied to lifestyle.

“It is all about what they put in their bodies,” Jeukendrup said. “We may identify that an athlete has recovery problems, and those problems may end up relating back to sleep issues. In that case, we would help initially with guidelines with how to improve sleep. If that doesn’t work, we would then refer them to specialists.”

With Bolt, for instance, recovery from workouts is huge. He runs fast and hard -- and in blasts. Jeukendrup said the amount of muscle and the quality of the muscle is most important. After workouts, it’s important for Bolt to replenish the energy he lost moments before, then he has to boost the “damage” done to his muscles by piling on protein. Proteins are considered building blocks for muscle improvement after each workout.

I know I’m starting to sound a bit like an academic text here, but this is the sort of stuff that’s become vital for a lot of athletes to even qualify for the Olympics. Training every day isn’t enough. It’s about a lifestyle overhaul, and it’s become a common religion practiced by Olympic athletes and hopefuls. Basically, if you’re not focusing on the science of nutrition, you’re not taking your chances seriously enough.

Ironically, when Jeukendrup gets to the Olympics, he hopes he’ll have little to do. All his work is in prep, the years leading up to the Games. He advises athletes on: routines; setting their clocks to a meticulous schedule of workouts; meals -- six small meals a day, normally after workouts, is the most effective for the general Olympic athlete -- and watches over the Olympic hopefuls up until the Games. When they arrive? He’s a supportive quasi-coach. Everything else has been synced.

“At big events, athletes can get very nervous and question everything they’ve done,” Jeukendrup said. “It’s because the [Olympics] are so big and so special for them, they begin to question. I’m there to confirm to them that they really have done everything they could.”

Not everyone buys in immediately. Jeukendrup said he’s had a lot of challenges with athletes who didn’t take programs seriously enough, or didn’t believe in the science. But at the Olympic level, once an athlete commits, the doc said they’re almost universally dedicated to their programs. Looking at the GSSI, it’s hard not to.

Where science and sweat meet, Jeukendrup is there with a clipboard. And more and more athletes are welcoming the new ways of improving ability, stamina and career longevity.