higher protein, moderate carb diet and supplementary HIIT
workouts to your players. Avoid doing long-duration cardio to
create an energy deficit because this can elevate cortisol during
caloric restriction and create a catabolic environment so that
muscle is lost.
2. Higher protein, low carb whole foods consistently work
well for the majority. Protein raises your metabolism because
it costs the body more calories to process protein than carbs
or fats. It is filling and reduces cravings for sugar. It triggers
protein synthesis, sustaining lean muscle mass for better performance and a higher metabolism. Be sure however to
eat enough calories, as they are needed for recovery and
hormone balance – the optimal for your players will depend on body weight and training volume, but never go
below 1500 calories per day. Eat enough healthy fat when
on a low carb diet as your body won’t shift to burning fat
instead of glucose and you feel sluggish. Ensure enough
fibre and nutrients to support hormone balance for effective low-carb transition.
Hannah van Buuren has worked with international, national and developmental athletes, in the UK, Australia
and South Africa. She provides research and sport science support to athletes to enhance sports performance,
by monitoring training loads, education to manage athlete commitments, sport science testing, and strength and
conditioning services. Some of the well-known teams that
Hannah has worked with include SA Proteas (Cricket),
Kaiser Chiefs, British Triathletes, Warratahs, Manly Sea
Eagles Rugby League, and various British Olympic Athletes.
EXERCISE
Research has shown that high intensity sprints produce
significant fat loss. In a study comparing a sprint interval
protocol to endurance running program over 4 months,
body fat, resting heart rates and peak oxygen uptake (fitness) were improved more so in the sprint interval training group. In addition the sprint interval training group
improved their running speed. Sprint training elevates
fat-burning hormones such as growth hormone; it increases excess post exercise oxygen consumption (the
amount of energy burned in the 254 hours after exercise as
the body recovers) much more than steady state training;
and it takes less training time. An example of a session to
introduce to the players with excess fat prior to your team
training sessions would be:
• 10 x 30s all out sprint with 90s of active rest = 20minutes; and mix it up each day.
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