This article was originally written for SOLDIER MAGAZINE March 2005
Sports nutrition experts offer Army’s ruck stars some food for thought
With modern rugby becoming increasingly faster and more physical, sports nutrition is now an integral part of both coaching and training.
It was key to England’s success at the World Cup in Australia and teams that embrace nutrition as part of their prepartation for matches will continue to reap the rewards in the future.
So, whether you just have a run out for fun or you’re playing at a serious level, the following tips can help you improve your personal game ...
and carbohydrates in a bid to aid recovery and improve endurance and stamina.
The ALL BLACKS don’t train after 80 minutes
FEEL THE FORCE
Power, how quickly you can apply the body’s foce, is vital to rugby. Explosive power is essential in key areas of forward pay, especially line-out jumping and getting a shove on in the scrum.
For backs it enables initial bursts of speed to break the tackle-line and allow for sudden change of direction and acceleration.
Power training aims to increase the speed at which your body can apply its strength. So the key here is not simple muscle bulk, but muscle
efficiency. It is important to build lean muscle, and not take on extra fat. This can be achieved through a natural diet of chicken, tuna and egg white or through supplements such as Whey Isolate.
These products will prove particularly helpful for those with with natural endomorphs (stocky, rounded build with wide shoulders and hips), who can gain fat more easily.
Light Feet
Rugby demands both aerobic and anaerobic endurance to an extraordinary degree.
Unfortunately you can’t change your body’s natural levels of fast
twitch fibres which allow you to run fast.
There is a range of products (carbohydrate drinks and bars) which will help you top up your glycogen (energy) levels before and during training or playing.
If you have a team that consistently struggles to maintain their intensity of performance throughout a match, especially in the last ten minutes, then endurance is an area worth focusing on. Interestingly, the All Blacks don’t train for more than 80 minutes a session because after that time the quality of their play begins to fade.
The most rapid replenishment of glycogen occurs within 60-90 minutes after physical activity, so this is a key time to take on protein
What you can do through is complement speed/sprint training with nutrition, which will in turn work faster.
Some players will also be able to increase their spped by losing excess weight.
Rapid repair
There is nothing more flustrating than wathcing from the sidelines, and as niggling injuries often return, the list of benched players tends to grow as the season wears on. Recovering effectively between sessions and taking supplements that work to keep your joints supple using micronutrients can help prevent such injuries.
Fuel offers free impartial advice and stocks a huge range of sports nutrition brands. For more information visit : www.fuelsport.co.uk