How to eat like a Warrior

The physical demands on these athletes is not just two, forty-minute halves of jogging, high intensity sprinting and hard-core body contact on game day.

Balin Cupples, Head of Athletic Performance for the Vodafone Warriors explains that there is no underestimating how important good nutrition and diet is, especially for performance and recovery – quite simply, if you want to play like a warrior, you must eat like one too.

Balin likes to ensure the players eat ‘real food’, sticking as closely to the natural source as possible, and control the amount of processed foods and additives they consume, such as sugar and salt.

At an elite level most players eat based on their position, using a similar framework containing protein rich foods, moderate carbohydrates and good fats, plenty of vegetables and some fruits, whilst drinking good fluid choices and keeping alcohol to a minimum.

Here’s a typical ‘Day on a Plate’…

Breakfast

When you need to get going in the morning, you need a quick, nutritious breakfast that will set you up for the day. As the boys undergo rigorous training sessions, we recommend they eat protein rich foods and avoid high sugar intake, such as the following.

OATS: Oats help manage your cholesterol and blood sugar levels as well as being high in fibre. Sprinkling oats over your muesli, yogurt or in your smoothie is an easy step to feeling fuller.

EGGS: Eggs are one of the highest sources of protein, however you must eat the whole egg, including the yolk! One egg contains 3.5 grams of protein, which isn’t enough if your protein levels are significantly low, however it is beneficial to eat eggs as a ‘top-up’.

NUTS & SEEDS: These nuts and seeds have the highest protein levels: sunflower seeds, pistachios, peanuts, and almonds. In each serving, they each provide over six grams of protein. In addition to having high protein, they are also packed with potassium and vitamins.

PROTEIN SHAKES: Choose a whey protein that contains vitamins and minerals, as well as digestive enzymes, prebiotic fibre and probiotics for nutritional and digestive balance. The Vodafone Warriors’ favourite is IsoWhey Sports 100% LEAN WPI+ mixed with berries, banana, spinach, avocado and chia – depending on the player’s goals.

Lunch

For active and performance-driven athletics, lunch is an important meal to refuel after a demanding morning of training. The Vodafone Warriors incorporate the following into their menu:

LEAN MEATS: Poultry, fish/seafood, red meat and other protein rich foods such as tofu are good choices when trying to keep body-fat percentage down and increase lean muscle mass. They’re also packed with important B vitamins, which helps the body’s metabolism, aid in red blood cell formation and play a crucial part in our nervous system.

GREEN VEGETABLES/SALADS: Green vegetables have a lot of nutrition and make up a significant source of vitamins and minerals. They are also a rich source in fibre and provide an excellent source of protein.

RICE/QUINOA: Quinoa is a gluten free grain that is also highly nutritious and is a fantastic source of iron. It also contains a number of different vitamins including calcium, magnesium and Vitamin E which is considered to be a very powerful antioxidant that helps fight against free radical damage in the body.

Snacks - During/Post Training

The team have a protein shake incorporating BCAA powder to assist with muscle repair and regeneration. Other easily digestible foods such as boiled eggs, tuna/salad wraps using lettuce as the wraps, raw vegies, and some fruits are also promoted.

Dinner

After a heavy day of training and tactics talk, the boys are knackered – so it’s important to go for nutrient dense foods that are rich in protein, complex carbohydrates to provide energy needed for training the next day.

PROTEIN CHOICE: similar to lunch

COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES: The players incorporate high carbohydrate foods which are full of nutrition – staying away from empty carbs including fats and unnecessary sugar. Vegetables such as sweet potato, pumpkin and potato are great, as well as legumes, wholegrains, such as brown rice and again quinoa.

Post Dinner

A protein shake or smoothie – with whey protein.

IsoWhey Sports is the Official Supplement Partner for the Vodafone Warriors.