Rugby

Many rugby players take one or two protein shakes per day to keep levels of protein in the body high to boost energy and ensure muscles recovery and grow to the best of their ability. They are also great ways of keeping hunger at bay without overloading your system.

One of the most popular supplements in Rugby, creatine provides muscles with great recovery and explosive power, such as those required on the rugby pitch. It also improves endurance and can add a few vital pounds of bodyweight.

Like all strenuous sporting activity, exercise can deplete natural sources of vitamins and minerals and multi-vitamins are a great, cheap and easy way of maintaining a healthy balance. Glucosamine is also a great supplement, easily taken with meals, which helps strengthen and repair joints and bones. Rugby is one of the toughest sports on all parts of your body and you need all the help you can get.

TALK JOINTS HERE

Again, natural glutamine levels are depleted during intensive exercise so it is important to supplement glutamine as it can prevent muscle deterioration and is highly beneficial to the immune system, both key to any Rugby player. Again, Glutamine is also converted to glucose when the body requires more energy.

NOTE: Currently, there are a number of legal supplements the IRB considers illegal such as pro-hormones and ephedrine, so if you are a player susceptible to drug testing, carefully consider which supplement you take before commencement. The supplements listed above and other like it should be all you need to give your body the edge in the sport of Rugby.

In 1823 at Rugby School, England, a 16 year old schoolboy, whilst playing a game of English football, picked up the ball and ran toward the goal line, thus Rugby was born. Nearly 200 years later Rugby is played in over 120 countries and is fast becoming one of the world’s most popular sports in all countries and climates. It is a game that develops leadership, team spirit and courage, and injects a sense of national pride into its players. More so than the ever-popular game of Football, Rugby in itself is a game of values and traditions that lead to a life-long passion. Sportsmanship and mutual respect for the players, referees and coaches exists like in virtually no other sport.

Rugby is an incredibly tough game of continuous flow. Two teams of 15 players continuously carry, kick, pass and ground the ball in a clash of raw power blended with speed and skill. Strength, stamina, speed, and agility are all needed if you are going to make it anywhere near the top in one of the world’s toughest contact sports. For 80 minutes, players are continuously involved in the battle for ground. Each player must have the mental focus and endurance to hold the line together, one slip and the other team takes full advantage. Mental focus and co-ordination is needed to produce accurate kicks and passes, raw strength is essential to take ground, forcing the opposition back in the Ruck and explosive pace and power is required at the flick of a switch to break away from defenders and score those vital tries that can decide a game.

With all this in mind, to reach the top of the game, not only must you ensure you are eating a great diet, more and more so the top players are turning to sports supplementation to provide themselves with that extra edge in focus, power and endurance. Here we will try and outline some of the dietary requirement rugby players need to provide these assets and the sports supplements that can give you the edge and enable you to reach the very top of your game.

The Rugby players’ diet:

When contemplating a Rugby player’s diet, a couple of things immediately become apparent. Firstly, they eat good, healthy foods – and lots of them. Secondly, Rugby players at virtually all levels supplement their diets with one or more sports supplements.

Fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates, fats and proteins are all essential to provide the energy required to keep up with the daily demands of the sport. The most essential elements are that you get the right foods in high volumes, and you drink excessive amounts of water. Rugby player’s usually eat 4 meals a day, plus several snacks in between. They rarely drink alcohol up to a week before a game and would look to drink twice the amount of water recommended for a normal person i.e. 4 litres. Remember, if you are dehydrated by as little as 5%, it will affect your performance.

Fats are also important, as in any diet, in moderation and mainly sourcing from fish, nuts and dairy products.

Breakfast: A standard breakfast 24 hours before a match usually consists of eggs, bacon, porridge, beans and bananas. Essentially they are loading up on carbs and energy foods to supply their bodies with the fuel to train and play.

Lunch: First lunch of the day usually consists of foods packed with carbs, with a supply of protein as well, such as rice, spaghetti bolognaise, potatoes and some kind of meat option.

Although this may not be relevant to the non-professional rugby player, full-time players follow up a training session with a similar lunch consisting of protein and carbs to keep energy levels high and aid recovery.

Dinner: Again, fruits/vegetables, protein rich foods and plenty of carbs ensure energy levels remain strong and recovery begins well for the next day.

Remember, the above example shows what a typical pro Rugby player eats. Regular players wont require the second lunch and should focus on plenty of healthy foods, water and eating a low GI meal a few hours before a game i.e. pasta or cereal. Nerves are natural in all forms of sport but it shouldn’t prevent you eating, this will only cause you problems during the match.

Supplements for Rugby