What do rugby players eat before a game

Typical protein sources such as chicken, turkey and tuna are all excellent at providing a source of protein. Fruit and vegetables are a great source of vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber and complex carbs. Rugby players require a vast amount of vitamins and minerals in order to aid recovery and to maintain the body's natural functions. Foods such as broccoli, carrots, apples, banana and eggplant are amongst the favourite foods for professional rugby players.

Consume a large breakfast; omelettes, cereals, fruit and high quality meats provide good levels of carbs, protein and fat. Try to avoid salty foods at least 24 hours before a game as this causes dehydration. Try also to avoid dense foods such as heavy meats that will lie in your stomach and take hours to digest. For those players who suffer from nerves and as a result cannot eat, try to eat something. A lack of food will only make you feel worse during the game.

A high fiber breakfast can help with an upset stomach caused by nerves. Drink plenty of water ; Hydration levels need to be at their peak. Your urine should be clear. Try to avoid diuretics and especially alcohol at least 24 hours before a match. To avoid muscle cramping, eat raw dark green vegetables. You can also consider taking a slow-release magnesium supplement. Studies have shown caffeine to provide performance benefits in rowers , cyclists, and endurance athletes.

Wallabies halfback George Gregan was famously criticized in the late 90s for his use of caffeine tablets before rugby games. An attractive benefit of caffeine use is the perceived performance benefit.

However, over-consumption more than 2 cups of caffeine can cause significant stress on the adrenal gland. The minimum effective dose of caffeine for a lb rugby player would be one small cup of coffee. If you forget everything else in this article, the one thing we urge you to take away is that you need to eat something at half time in your rugby game!

It can be a gel pack, an orange, some gummy bears or a cereal bar. But it needs to be something. We also suggest adding a small amount of sea salt to the water you drink at half time. These two tweaks to your rugby-day nutrition can have significant benefits just on their own. During a rugby game, most players will burn between and calories.

Preparing for this kind of energy depletion should take place well in advance of kick off. We recommend increasing your calorie intake on the Friday before your rugby game. Avoid excessive protein consumption. Stick to complex carbohydrates, pasta, rice and spinach for the magnesium content. If you have an early start before pm , then your meal plan will vary considerably from a standard pm or pm kick off. You should eat a high-energy breakfast 3 to 4 hours before the game which should provide lots of carbohydrates, fluids and micronutrients.

With 60 minutes before kick off, you should eat a second, smaller meal. This gives it enough to be absorbed and deployed. But you can grab a quick top-up at halftime. Therefore for a kg player, approximately g of carbohydrates is considered sufficient for game day preparation. Of note, the body can only store up to g of glycogen at any time. Therefore consumption above this level may result in glycogen being converted and stored as fat, which can effect body fat composition… ultimately negatively affecting performance.

Many rugby players can relate to struggling to eat on game day and visiting the toilet frequently due to nerves!!! Jon Williams offers some sound advice on this….

Fruits Apples, pears, mango, nashi pears, watermelon, nectarines, peaches, plums. Vitamins and Minerals are essential for good health and physical performance. Fluid intake should always be maintained during strenuous exercise and should be consumed before, during and after the activity.

Water is necessary for proper functioning of the body. It helps maintain body temperature, which is particularly important during the summer months. Heat is produced as a byproduct of work. This heat must be dissipated to keep the body at its preferred temperature. Sweat is produced to help cool the body. Fluid lost via sweat must be continually replaced to enable this cooling process to continue.

In addition being well hydrated is essential in order to benefit form training. Frequently, Irish players approach training and games in a semi-dehydrated condition. Ensuring that all players are well hydrated for training and games will impact positively on their performance.

It is a good idea to monitor all players body weight before and after training or playing. A 1 kilogram reduction in body weight is roughly equivalent to a lose of 1. Use these changes in body weight as a guide to how much fluid a player should consume following training and games. This is particularly important when training and playing on consecutive days — players can quickly become chronically dehydrated when they are required to train and compete frequently and this will have a negative impact on their ability to perform and recover.

This is the strategy for loading more water into the body so as to be insured against dehydration especially during a game. It is important to become accustomed to this strategy during training. Remember, do not try any unusual strategy for the first time on match day. All strategies should be well rehearsed and practised long before the playing season begins. Thirst is not always a good guide of your fluid requirements, so it is advisable to drink more than normal.

A good yardstick for daily fluid requirements is ml per kilogram of body weight. For an average 70 kg young player this means drinking between 2. The simplest and most practical drink is water. However, water does not provide the most rapid form of water replacement in the body.

A dilute carbohydrate and electrolyte drink will deliver water faster to the body, eg specially formulated sports drinks. However, sports drinks should only be consumed during and immediately following training or a game. They should not be consumed regularly throughout the day. Excessive consumption of sports drinks can have adverse long term effects on teeth and can also contribute to excess fat storage.