1. NUTRITION WRU NUTRITION GUIDELINES

2. HYDRATION You need to drink a minimum of 3 litres a day + whatever is required in training. Drink little and often through the day and more during training. In training, consume at least 250ml of fluid every 15 minutes. Drink during a game – drink whenever it is offered. Remember: If you dehydrate by only 3% - that is 3kg for a 100kg player – your performance will decrease markedly – losing up to 10% of your strength and 8% of your speed. You also increase the possibility of muscle pulls and strains

3. BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS – 30g PROTEIN / 100g CARBS Scrambled eggs (3 whole eggs) with 4 slices of wholemeal toast, 2 tablespoons baked beans, medium banana. 80g dry weight porridge oats, 20g protein, ½ pint semi-skimmed milk, add chopped banana and drizzle of honey. 2 seeded bagels with whole earth peanut butter and 1-pint semi- skimmed milk. 1 seeded bagel with lean ham, 3 tablespoons baked beans and glass apple juice. 4 Weetabix with banana and pecans (small handful) with ½ pint whole-milk, drink other half.

4. POWER LUNCHES – 30g PROTEIN / 100g CARBS 3 wholemeal tortilla wraps with choice of fillings – 1.5 cooked chicken breasts /can of tuna / 200g ham/turkey/pastrami), this protein amount to be shared amongst the 3 wraps, fill with salad of choice and olive oil dressing. Medium baked potato with tuna and beans Rice (8 tablespoons cooked wild or wholegrain) with 1.5 chicken breasts and a serving of mixed vegetables; add sauce to flavour as desired. Spaghetti Bolognaise ( 100g lean steak mince and 100g dry weight spaghetti and sauce, this could be a 2 nd portion from night before meal)

5. BALANCED EVENING MEALS - 40g PROTEIN / 50g CARBS Protein choices = 2 medium chicken breasts / 200g raw weight turkey breast meat / 300g lean steak mince / 2 large salmon fillets / large gammon steak / 10 oz sirloin /rib eye/ fillet steak / 2 lean pork chops. Carbohydrate choices = 4 tablespoons cooked rice / 6 tablespoons cooked pasta spirals / 1 medium baked potato / 2 wholemeal wraps or pita bread / 1 large sweet potato (mash or wedges) Vegetable Options = Asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, sprouts, mushrooms, peppers, peas, sweet corn.

6. PRE AND POST TRAINING SNACKS Pre, approx. 1 hour before Seeded bagel with peanut butter Low fat yogurt with banana and nuts 2 slices wholemeal toast, peanut butter and sliced banana and drizzle of honey Small jacket potato filled with low fat cottage cheese or baked beans Post - Immediately after Pint semi-skimmed milk and banana Home made smoothie – 400ml semi-skimmed milk, 2 bananas, teaspoon honey, add handful ice cubes and it will keep it chilled, could also add handful frozen berries

7. Additional Options! Preferred Protein Foods Preferred Fibrous Carbs Preferred Low Carb Choices Preferred High Carb Foods Oily Fish (mackerel, kippers, sardines, salmon, prawns) Asparagus Blackberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries Coarse cut or Scotch type Porridge Oats (not instant) Red Meats (steak, gammon, pork, pastrami) Cauliflower Carrots Sweet Potatoes /Jacket potatoes / boiled potatoes. White Fish (cod, hake, plaice, dover sole, tuna) Cabbage High Veg Content Soups Muesli, Granola White meats (chicken, turkey) Celery Kidney Beans High Carb home made Soups LF Cottage cheeseCourgetteLentilsDried Fruit Free Range or Omega 3 Eggs LettuceMelon, sliceWholemeal pita bread and tortilla wraps and chapattis KaleNectarinesWholemeal / Granary bread and rolls Green Leaves (spinach, etc) Orange Wholemeal pasta Green BeansPineapple, sliceWild rice and wholegrain rice MushroomsPeasBrown basmati rice Onions½ grapefruitPears PeppersTomatoesQuinoa SproutsSweetcornBuckwheat

8. TEN COMMENDMENTS 1. Drink a pint of water upon rising to hydrate the body 2. Eat a balanced breakfast of carbs and protein 3. Eat 3 pieces of fruit a day and have 2 serving of vegetables 4. Eat quality protein every 3 hours 5. Fuel up with a snack 30 mins before training, low fat yogurt and a banana or bagel with peanut butter 6. Stay hydrated by drinking before, during and after training 7. Always have a recovery shake after training to fuel muscle growth 8. Eat the biggest meal within 1-hour of training when looking to gain muscle mass 9. Have some slow release protein before bed-cottage cheese, milk, eggs, fish. 10. No soft drinks, bad for bones, drink water, squash or milk.

9. Recovery refers to your body’s ability to adapt to the workloads placed upon during training and competitive situations. Not recovering or adapting is detrimental to your performance and sometimes your health, it can lead to a condition known as overtraining syndrome, commonly termed burn out. If you are able to accelerate your rate of recovery after competition and training, your training will be more effective and more likely to produce the required gains. Recovery training can be thought of as a method of accelerating the adaptation stage. The stresses produced during training and competition can vary greatly and this will affect the time taken to recover as well as the type of recovery work you would undertake in order to improve your rate of adaptation. It is important to realise that the psychological stress imposed during competition/training is as important as the physical stress that occurs. RECOVERY

10. Speed work - the low volume and high intensity of speed training means the main impact is neurological, with longer distances there will also be physiological and nutritional aspects to consider. Games - will impact all forms of recovery and are likely to have the highest psychological fatigue carryover, especially in important competitions or at times when a team is fighting for a league position or to avoid relegation. If you are able to marry the recovery work you perform to the stressors your training produces you will adapt at a faster rate and all aspects of your performance will improve. The following are illustrations of effective recovery strategies for different types of fatigue: Nutritional fatigue - replenish fuel and fluid supplies as quickly as you can at session end. See nutrition chapter. Physiological fatigue - active recovery work (good cool downs, stretching, easy pool session etc), hydrotherapy (Jacuzzis and 4 sets of hot (1min) and cold (30secs) contrast showers or baths), sports massage. RECOVERY - Cont.

11. Fatigue has been divided into four main types: Nutritional - this type of fatigue can be explained by measurable factors such as dehydration, lack of fuel in the muscle or build up of waste products such as lactate. Physiological - a build up of waste products such as lactate causing localised fatigue at the muscle cell. Neurological - the peripheral nervous system (i.e. the nerves responsible for movement and control of your muscles etc) become fatigued from high intensity work. Psychological - the central nervous system (i.e. your brain and spinal cord) becomes fatigued from competition and training. Each type of training method employed to improve your performance will supply your body with a unique set of stimuli and therefore a unique set of stressors which you will need to recover from. RECOVERY – Cont.

12. Endurance training - both aerobic and anaerobic is likely to produce nutritional and metabolic fatigue, the higher the intensity of the work the greater the likelihood of neurological fatigue. Weight training - the type of work performed in the gym will impact the fatigue produced, hypertrophy work (high volumes, small rest periods) will impact both nutritionally and physiologically, as the quality of the work increases to strength and power (lower volumes far more intensity) the main stressor is neurological followed by physiological and nutritional. Neurological recovery - active recovery work, massage, hydrotherapy and passive rest (relaxation time and quality sleep) Psychological recovery - motivational work, visualisation, meditation, massage and passive rest.