Archive for the ‘Adults’ Category
Monday, September 19th, 2011
In recent years there has been growing interest in identifying natural medicines and plant extracts that can be used to improve athletic performance and/or body composition in humans
Adaptogens are herb products that have been derived from plants.
A recent review of the Effects of Adaptogens on the Central Nervous System found that adaptogens have exhibited neuroprotective, anti-fatigue, antidepressive, anti anxiety, improved memory and CNS stimulating activity.
In addition, a number of clinical trials demonstrated that adaptogens exert an anti-fatigue effect that also increases mental work capacity against a background of stress and fatigue, particularly in tolerance to mental exhaustion and enhanced attention. In particular Rhodiola was shown to help with physical mental and stress induced fatigue and depression.
Matt
Tags: matt lovell blog, nutrition, nutrition strategy rugby, Rugby nutrition
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Friday, August 26th, 2011
Fish oils give building blocks that help make up all of our cells, while these good-fats also helkp improve the way fats are transported around the body. This can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and help some of us lose body-fat.
This double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving was carried out on 229 obese patients who’d had their stomachs stapled. They had very high triglyceride levels (circulating fats in the blood), and supplementation with the omega-3 fatty acid EPA at 4 g or or 2g per day, was found to be associated with a significant reduction in triglycerides.
The authors also noted an improvement in “other lipid parameters” (although unspecified!), “without significantly increasing the LDL (bad!) cholesterol levels”.
So eating a little good fat, may help you lose fat! It may smell a little fishy, but it’s true!
Tags: matt lovell blog, nutrition strategy rugby, Rugby nutrition
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Thursday, May 26th, 2011
Bach To Basics Guide To Surviving Summer Without Needing To StartPre-Season As a Fat Bloke
With the season coming to an end, tiredness and fatigue are often present There is a clear benefit in taking some full rest to allow the neuromuscular system to recover from the years games, training and diet to date.
However, too much absolute rest will generate muscle loss and poor diet over the summer period will lead to fat gain.
So you need to be careful though not to neglect nutritional elements of your programme as now is the time they will help with these end of the year lows. Below are 8 reminders to ensure proper recovery continues so you can enter the next phase of competition refreshed.
Make way for summer excess
1. Be sure of your own goals and be sure these are the same as your partner and family. Going out for a run on holiday in the morning won’t seem so neglectful if you’ve cleared it with the powers that be beforehand. An hours run will make room for an extra piece of cheese and cake. Plus you’ll sweat out the toxins from the night before.
Booze tactics
2. Alcohol in excess is an anti-performance, anti-nutrient. The longer it’s in the body and the higher its concentration in the body the more damage it will do. So if you are going to cane it drinks lots of water before and after the session. If you can drink water during then do so. Light aerobic activity will sweat some of the booze out the following day but this only works if you’ve drunk enough water before hand. Best drinks are spirits with lots of diet mixers and white wine spritzers.
Support you liver if you really love caining it – milk thistle and dandelion if a good start or get a liver formula from you local nutritionist store.
Keep to a routine
3. Keep eating little and often (this shouldn’t be a problem) Try to eat something every 2-3 hours to keep nutrient supply in a steady flow to the muscles. Sometimes meal patterns can go to pot and infrequent larger meals become the order of the day – don’t let this happen, graze, then gorge – its better than starving and then gorging. Starving leads to high levels of insulin sensitivity and active fat storage enzymes and a huge appetite – curb your hunger and make merry.
Fatigue can make food choices more difficult
4. When you get tired it’s natural to crave for carbohydrates. Try to keep your carbohydrate choices varied and not too wheat based. Avoid overloading the carbs at night as this will contribute to early morning fatigue and excess body fat. If you’ve succumbs then go back to point 1 – get up and run, run, run!
The source of all life;
5. Keep drinking enough water. Three litres is a good base. Water will prevent fatigue and improve performance.
Keep training – with weights.
6. If you didn’t ask for weights for a birthday present then you can always get to a local park and do some chins.
You’ll have heaps of additional stored carbohydrates – use them! Get Strong and powerful as part of your new season plan….
Focus on recovery around your training sessions. Sip a carbohydrate drink during your sessions and make sure adequate carbs and liquid protein are taken in immediately afterwards.
Biggest problem is dropping lean mass in the holiday season – remember regular protein feeds are crucial for muscle maintenance;
7. Don’t forget about protein! Getting tired of taking shakes all the time is not uncommon. Get you protein from other sources if you’ve cut back on protein shakes. Other wise you’ll end up under recovered and you may lose strength and power. Aim for at least 2 palms at each main meal, and 1 palm for your snacks.
Keep up with supplementation;
8. Keep taking your micronutrients! Micros are the nuts and bolts which hold the performance machine together. Keep them in a place where you remember to take them and make sure you order in advance so supplies don’t run too low.
Matt
Tags: matt lovell blog, nutrition, nutrition strategy rugby, Rugby nutrition plan
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Thursday, May 19th, 2011
The majority of your recovery and glycogen reserves should already have been made up before match day. Getting your nutrition right on match day alone will not make up for poor nutrition leading up to the match.
The art of entering an event fully prepared means enough energy has been consumed and is available for use. Glycogen loading should have taken place over the preceding 72 hours (3 days). The athlete should not feel either hungry or full and be ready to take their pre-match drinks and supplements where appropriate. This usually means the last solid foods will have been consumed 2 hours earlier with a substantial meal eaten 4-5 hours earlier. Any other nutrients taken pre-match should be in liquid form or be small enough to digest and absorb quickly.
CONCEPTS
• Multiple feedings: 5-8
• Adequate hydration
All original individual nutritional guidelines to apply plus the main pre-match meal should ideally contain 2 servings of starchy low GI carbohydrates, 1 serving of fibrous carbohydrate, 1 serving of protein and 1/2 to 1 serving of essential fats with an optional serving of fruit from bananas, grapes, melon or kiwi. This should be consumed 4-5 hours before the match. Normally this meal would be breakfast.
Match day
The best nutrition to follow is the one you’ve been performing on up till now and you should not make drastic changes to your existing pre match strategy without practicing during training first. However, if you feel your performance could be improved on these days then the following guidelines may be of some use.
Breakfast: Cooked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, eggs, a small amount of lean bacon or sausage followed by a low glycemic, non-wheat based cereal with non-dairy milk. 1-2 slices of whole meal bread or rye bread with a small amount of fruit spread or marmite may also be required.
Brunch: should be a light meal once again from low glycemic carbohydrate with possibly some liquid protein from whey or otherwise. Leading up to the match all other pre-match nutritional strategies should be followed. An example might be a smoothie (see recipes below). Or a chicken sandwich with 1/2 a meal replacement.
Many individuals find it difficult to eat at all on match days and may just have room for breakfast. It is likely in this situation that performance may be limited due to inadequate carbohydrate being available. Often a liquid meal is a good idea in this scenario with the ingredients being able to quickly exit the stomach. One formula we’ve used with success before is: Blend 25g oats with 500ml rice or skimmed milk and a serving of your favourite MRP or protein powder, add 1/2 a banana and maybe a small amount of nuts and seeds with a teaspoon of honey. Ideally this should be taken around 75-90 minutes before the game (you could also try this before a workout). As with all these types of nutritional strategy, practice in training first, gradually assessing tolerance and effectiveness of a particular recipe.
Pre match – Boosters and half time replenishment should be discussed individually with your doctor or nutritionist.
Post match – Replacing lost carbohydrates and fluids is essential at this stage to ensure training can be resumed at an adequate level during the week. Ensure that you drink 500ml of water for every 1/2 kg of body weight lost during play. Try not to drink this all at once but stager it over the next few hours. Make sure that in addition to the post workout recovery drink you have some ‘real food’ ideally no longer than an hour after the match. For the next 24 hours you should aim to consume approximately 75-100% of your body weight in kg, in grams of carbohydrates each 2-3 hours. This should help fully replenish your carbohydrate reserves. All other nutritional considerations apply during this time.
Smoothie Recipes
1.
2-3 scoops of Chocolate MRP or 1 sachet
20 oz (2 1/2 cups) of skim milk
1/2 cup of low fat or fat-free cottage cheese
2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter
1 tablespoon of linseeds ½ table spoon of lecithin granules
2.
2 -3 scoops vanilla MRP or 1 sachet
1 container (3.9 oz) natural unsweetened apple sauce
Cinnamon as desired
Cold water (Add more or less based on the consistency you want.)
1 tablespoon of linseeds ½ table spoon of lecithin granules
3.
2 scoops MRP or 1 sachet
2-3 Tbsp. of sugar-free instant pudding (rice pudding)
Five ice cubes
Cold water
1 tablespoon of linseeds ½ table spoon of lecithin granules
Matt
Tags: match day nutrition, matt lovell blog, nutrition strategy rugby, Rugby nutrition, Rugby nutrition plan
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Sunday, May 1st, 2011
Carbs and protein
This may seem like going over old ground somewhat, but the most widely held view amongst large numbers of fitness-enthusiasts is that protein is the be-all and end-all of muscle gain. While important, protein needs help from its food friend carbohydrate to have optimum effects. Carbs cause the release of insulin; the most anabolic hormone, while supporting quality training.
Resistance Exercise (RE) causes protein synthesis, and this is increased by amino acids (AAs). However, the most pronounced effect is obtained by combining protein, pain and carbohydrate, causing insulin release! Taken From Rasmussen et al., (2000).
This fact is made obvious by a study done on American Footballers eating protein near training or only in their morning and evening meals. Whereas most studies show eating protein is most effective close to training, these American “Jocks” showed no difference between interventions, their muscle gain being impaired by the fact their carb intake was too low! Although protein-feeding immediately after exercise can improve muscle gain compared to carbs alone, studies done on protein-guzzling body-builders have repeatedly shown that intakes of about 1.8g per kilo (125g for a 70Kg man) give the maximum results, as long as carb intake is sufficient. To put this in context, this amount of protein would be surpassed if this 70Kg man was to eat 3000Kcal per day, even if his food consisted solely of bread (grains are actually reasonably rich in protein)!
Combining fat into the mix (for example when comparing full fat milk to skimmed) is even better for muscle gain, as it gives extra calories. However, the relative amounts of carb protein and fat may need to be shifted if bulking up with minimal fat gain is your aim…
Initial protein synthesis can be stimulated with free amino acids, while carbohydrate has a slower, but sustained effect after around 90min. In addition, a delay in carbohydrate ingestion of 2hrs may still allow adequate glycogen resynthesis, meaning if you’re willing to compromise on performance in the following exercise session, or amino supplementation followed by a delayed carb feeding may offer a lean, mean recovery strategy to bulk up, and yet burn fat!
Matt
Tags: matt lovell blog, nutrition strategy rugby, rugby food plan, Rugby nutrition, Rugby nutrition plan
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Thursday, April 21st, 2011
1) Running/cardio; Beetroot/juice
Lower GI carbs, such as those found in beetroot, offer a great compromise between fuelling exercise, while still allowing fat-burning. This also encourages the body to save some muscle-glycogen for later during exercise, and helps endurance adaptations to really improve your cardio fitness. In addition, the nitrates in beetroot cause improve circulation to exercising muscles, one study showing increased time to exhaustion after drinking 500ml beetroot juice. Why not try the following salad for fuelling or recovering from a long, weight-control run?
Ham, Beetroot, Tomato, Carrot and Sauerkraut Salad
Per serving = Kcal: 495: Pro= 53g, CHO=26g, Fat = 20g
Ingredients
200g ham
2 cooked beetroots
1 medium carrot, grated
10 cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp sauerkraut
French dressing: (dressing also per single serving)
1 dsp cider vinegar
1 dsp olive oil
1 dsp Dijon mustard
Combine the ingredients together, mixing well.
2) Strength: MILK/WHOLE
Milk is rich in the amino acids leucine and glutamine – the big 2 when it comes to muscle function. Leucine supports muscle insulin function in a muscle-specific way, while glutamine prevents breakdown. After exercise, whey protein in milk is a speedy recovery boost for your muscles, while the lactose included in this liquid-meal provides a (much underestimated) serving of fast release carbohydrate. If bulking up is your goal, studies have shown full-fat milk to be the best option, as it provides extra energy in a combination of saturates, mono, and poly-unsaturated fatty acids. Skimmed milk is the order of the day if you’re making weight.
3) Plyometric conditioning; SUSHI
Doing plyometric/explosive movements has a large component of damaging “eccentric” movements. Explosive power also requires a lot of carbohydrate. After these sessions, you really need a big sumo-serving of protein and simple carbs, making the white rice and fish in sushi ideal. The high salt content will help rehydration after a heavy session, while salmon and mackerel are high in the anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acid EPA. This will help control the damage from your workout, facilitating your recovery.
4) Contact; beef burger
After Heavy contact sessions, you’ll need a high glutamine protein to counteract the inflammation trying to break down your muscle tissue. Trauma from the impact will try to put your body in a “catabolic” (break-down) state. A good, lean piece of beef will also contain large amounts of creatine – the energy source that supports explosive power and strength. Vitamin B12 is also present in high concentrations, which is essential for your body’s own antioxidant defences and cell syntheses – particularly replacing blood cells. Good quality, lean steak will have the highest creatine content, while a lot of what’s include in poorer quality mince is fat and connective tissue, making this a less efficient creatine-glutamine-loading option.
5) Before the Match: Bars- Mule Bars
On match-day, you really need to be thinking about loading your muscles with carbohydrate. Restoring muscle-glycogen is the main factor determining how you perform during intense exercise. However, carbs can increase water-retention in the muscle and can therefore cause short term weight-gain. A good strategy to get round this is to eat very small, carb rich snacks. Bars and gels are great as they will give a lot of energy, although one or two servings won’t register on the scales. Although providing some quality protein, the overall amount isn’t too excessive: A study on high-intensity training showed that high protein intakes close to exercise can impair lactic-acid clearance and reduce performance.
Matt
Tags: matt lovell blog, nutrition strategy rugby, Rugby nutrition plan, rugby player snack foods, rugby snacks
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Sunday, April 17th, 2011
This amino-acid is a versatile, multifunctional marvel. Glutamine will keep you lean and mean, support your immune system, and even help heal your guts!
Many of these properties stem from the fact that glutamine is used as a signal in the body. Higher levels indicate all is well with protein metabolism in the body, while the body breaks down and converts proteins into glutamine during starvation. It’s all about nitrogen…
Protein is rich in nitrogen, and so when transporting proteins from one part of the body to another, nitrogen is often striped off other amino acids and formed into the nitrogen-rich amino called glutamine. It acts as a carrier. This can happen when the body needs to break down aminos to create extra blood sugar during weight-loss or starvation, and this is why you can lose muscle when dieting hard. Giving the body glutamine convinces it that it doesn’t want to continue breaking down muscle-proteins. It acts as a signal that all is well!! Studies on trauma patients have shown that providing 10-30g glutamine per day reduces muscle-breakdown and opposes inflammation. Glutamine also helps improve the balance of protein synthesis, compared to break-down, following exercise.
In addition, glutamine is an important metabolic fuel for the immune system. This includes fuelling white blood cells, as well as some of the defences in our gut-lining that filter out the baddies that could invade our bodies from our food!
Finally, the chemical signals from glutamine also have a positive hormonal effect; when used in combination with lysine, glutamine has been seen to stimulate the release of growth-hormone in the body. This hormonal boon to body-composition has the effect of stimulating fat oxidation while maintaining lean mass during weight-loss.
conducted in humans demonstrate glutamine to be well tolerated without adverse consequences, even during times of stress. Although glutamine has shown promise in select groups of catabolic patients, additional studies are needed to define which patient populations derive the greatest benefit from supplemental glutamine and the mechanisms by which these effects are exerted.
Matt
Tags: aminos, glutamine, nutrition, nutrition strategy rugby, Rugby childrens nutrition
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Thursday, February 17th, 2011
Broccoli
Broccoli gets a bad rap! It’s become the stereotype of a tasteless health-food, universally hated by kids and everyone bar tofu-loving hippies; although nothing could be further from the truth! Treated right, this vegetable can transform a dish, even to the point where I’ve seen kids lapping it up! It’s a good source of vitamin A, meaning it can help support healthy eyes and the functions of the retina. As well as this, it’s actually very high in vitamin C and glutathione, making it another anti-oxidant Ace, perfect for supporting general health day to day. Will all this goodness, there’s actually a remarkably low carb content, meaning that slimmers and the carb-conscious can chow down till the cows come home. As many people on diets end up under consuming vitamins and minerals, an ORAC score of 890, and a carb content of 2g (per 100g) make broccoli an energetically economical addition to your diet. As a serving suggestion, melting goats cheese in the florettes, or stir-frying with soy and peanuts both make Kid-(and adult!) friendly broccoli recipes. Enjoy!
Coconut oil
Most people are gradually coming to accept that not all fats are equal. While trans-fats have been implicated with heart–disease and cancer, most athletes realise that they need “good fats” like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids to provide their bodies with the building blocks they require. However, in the same way, not all saturated fats are equal; while most cause the health problems listed above, medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs – eg those from coconut) are different. They may actually increase your body’s capacity to burn fat and aid fat transport in the body, so helping protect against heart disease and disorders such as celiac disease, Whipple’s disease and Crohn’s disease.
Certain studies have a relevance to athletes or those reducing their body-fat. A well known paper is Seaton’s study from 1986 which adopted a strategy of replacing dietary fats with coconut oil (Seaton, Welle, Warenko, & Campbell, 1986). Seaton replaced 400kcal of other dietary fats with MCFAs in a breakfast meal-replacement drink, which led to greater metabolic rate and rates of fat-oxidation in these athletes!
There are several great suppliers of pure virgin coconut oil on the market (make sure you go for pure virgin oils to ensure an unadulterated, quality product), such as Coconoil. This is a particularly high grade product that can be used for cooking, spreading or even used cold in deserts and shakes. Go on…go nuts!!
Matt
Tags: matt lovell blog, nutrition, nutrition strategy rugby, Rugby nutrition, Rugby nutrition plan, super foods
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Thursday, February 10th, 2011
Salmon/mackerel (wild)
Oily fish is the best source of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, or LCPUFAs. These are the physiologically active members of the Omega-3 family that go on to make up the membranes of our cells (especially those in our brains). They are used as the building blocks for hormones that support muscle-metabolism, immune function and help stabilise mood. You can really see why people call fish “brain food” – and deciding whether or not to eat more of it really is a “no-brainer”! A portion of salmon may have as much as 2-2.5g LCPUFAs, consisting of up to 750mg EPA. Several studies have shown that EPA can reduce inflammatory illness in athletes undergoing severe training (Mickleborough, Lindley, Ionescu, & Fly, 2006). What’s more is that fish consumption has been shown to correlate inversely with rates of Depression, Homicide and Crime, presumably by regulating mood and cognitive function (Hibbeln, 2001, 2007, 2009). However; steer clear of farmed fish – we’re not the only creatures influenced by optimal nutrition. Algae and plankton are needed in a fish’s diet to get a high LCPUFA content, which aren’t as included in farm-feed.
Don’t believe people that tell you that fish have short memories!
Whey protein
Whey-protein supplementation has been shown to result in significantly more rapid gains in lean body mass (LBM) compared to casein (Cribb, Williams, Carey, & Hayes, 2006), while whole milk was better than supplementation of a mixture of carbohydrate, casein and soy in both young and elderly participants (Phillips, Tang, & Moore, 2009). Whey is at the heart of these additional benefits…
The reason for whey’s superiority has been proposed to be leucine stimulation of insulin release (Norton & Layman, 2006). Whey causes larger and more rapid peaks in leucine, insulin, and essential amino acid levels in the blood compared to other proteins (Norton & Layman, 2006; Norton, et al., 2009; Tang, Moore, Kujbida, Tarnopolsky, & Phillips, 2009). However, leucine also has muscle specific effects, amplifying insulin signalling in muscle cells, on top of just increasing insulin release. This means that whey, compared to carbohydrate for example, is less likely to cause insulin-mediated fat accumulation: it directs insulin more specifically to muscle! Don’t you just love getting your own whey?!
Matt
Tags: nutrition, nutrition strategy rugby, Rugby nutrition, Rugby nutrition plan, super foods
Posted in A, Adult- Community, Adults, Age, Category, Coaches, Colts- U18-19, Food, General, Midi- U11-U12, Nutrition Tips, Nutrition tips, Parent, Player, Role, Ruckipedia, Site Articles, rugby development | View Comments
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011
Yoghurt (live)
Live Yogurt contains various strains of lactobacillus; good bacteria that aid gut health and immune-function. They form an integral part of the “innate immune system”, the first line of defence in your body’s arsenal against infection. Yogurt is also a great source of calcium which underpins muscular function and makes up a large proportion of our bones. In addition, it prevents the excessive absorption of fat, helping you stay lean. It is also a rich source of vitamin D. This vitamin is almost more like a hormone, travelling round the body and turning genes on and off that may impact on many different area of physiology. One well known effect is to increase calcium absorption, acting in a synergistic way to support bone health. However, vitamin D levels vary dramatically between individuals, even when consuming the same dietary amounts, due to the genetic influence on the body’s ability to synthesise this vitamin. Supporting your dietary intake with yogurt will be sure to make you a real Live-Wire!
Turkey
Turkey is a very lean, pure source of protein, so much so that around 95% of the energy (calories) in turkey comes from this macronutrient! These proteins are high in leucine, the most insulin-stimulating amino acid. This makes it extremely anabolic, stimulating muscle-growth. Turkey is also a good source of glutamine, and sulphurous amino acids, which make it ideal for fuelling and stimulating immune function. This would make it ideally suited for counteracting the catabolic environment caused by exercise and infection, perfect for recovery, injury or sick-day menus!
Matt
Tags: matt lovell blog, nutrition, nutrition strategy rugby, Rugby nutrition, Rugby nutrition plan, super foods
Posted in A, Adult- Community, Adults, Age, Category, Coaches, Colts- U18-19, Food, Midi- U11-U12, Nutrition Tips, Nutrition tips, Parent, Player, Role, Ruckipedia, Site Articles, rugby development | View Comments
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