Wolverhampton Wanderers' Head Nutritionist Dr Mayur Ranchordas explains what endurance athletes can learn from Premier League footballers when it comes to nutrition and recovery...
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\nChris is particularly interested in the mental side of sport with a Masters in Sports & Exercise Psychology from the University of the West of England, Bristol.
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\nMayur discusses the challenges of getting fuel on board during games, post-match nutrition and recovery...
\nGood question! That's a tricky one because the two sports are so different. Football players rarely train on their own so the team sessions are great for competitiveness, team work and general camaraderie.
\nSo, I guess there's some crossover for endurance athletes in that training as part of groups and teams can help you develop your competitive edge.
\nIn terms of nutrition and recovery, players have access to the latest sport science and recovery hardware as they usually work with great practitioners. So, the recommendation for endurance athletes here would be to find their own sport science support team in order to access the latest cutting edge strategies.
\nA lot of players lose their appetite after the match so it can be tricky to get them to eat enough. The 15-minute break at half-time doesn’t offer much of a window but for a normal league match, most players would consume around 20-30g of carb at half-time. The format varies based on player preference, so some players will use gels, bananas or isotonic drinks, while some like to mix and match. For cup games we try to encourage players to consume a bit more at half-time and advise players to take on a gel and isotonic drinks in the second half when they can, just so they're well fueled if the game goes into extra time. We rarely use carbohydrate during training sessions. Exceptions to this are when we have fixture congestion (i.e. 2-3 games with 2-3 days of recovery in between and sometimes during pre-season where we train twice per day). For matches, we educate the players and recommend carbohydrate intakes based on weight (i.e. g/kg) and playing style. For example, the players that cover more distance at higher intensities (e.g. midfielders) tend to eat more carbohydrate than central defenders. It's worth bearing in mind that not all of this distance will be high intensity and there are periods of walking and jogging. We advise players based on their weight (i.e. g/kg) and playing style and they usually start adapting their diet from lunchtime onwards on the day before the game. We give out individualised PH drinks with the players’ evening meal the night before and again 3 hours before the match. The weather on match day will usually dictate the hydration strategy but this will also be individualised based on the testing we’ve done on their sweat rates and electrolyte losses. We collect data on sweat rates to help inform players of their individual hydration strategy a couple of times a season. We do it in warm conditions and cold conditions so players have a good idea of their sweat rates and how much they need to drink. Unless training in warm conditions, the data I’ve collected is similar to Rollo's study.I imagine getting fuel on board during games is difficult too, so how much carb would players typically consume during a half-time break?
\nOn a similar theme, Rollo’s recently study showed players consumed ~15g of carbs on average during 60-70 minute training sessions. In your experience, how individualised are players’ nutritional intakes?
\nInteresting, stats show PL players cover an average of 10.5km per game, with midfielders covering about 11km during a 90-minute match. Pre-match nutrition and hydration will be important to fuel such sustained efforts, so how individualised are players’ nutritional intakes before the game?
\nFinally, Rollo's study found that players don't develop hypohydration of more than 2% in training sessions. Is that consistent with what you’ve seen when working with PL players?
\nThanks for your time Mayur, it's been great to get an insight into how Wolves approach fueling for recovery.
\nFurther reading
\n","timeToRead":5,"headings":[{"depth":3,"value":"Hi Mayur, you’re a keen triathlete and work with Premier League footballers on a daily basis, so you're well placed to answer our burning question - 'what can triathletes learn from pro footballers'?"},{"depth":3,"value":"On the subject of nutrition and recovery, how do players approach post-match fueling in order to improve recovery?"},{"depth":3,"value":"Recovery was vital when some Wolves players played 3 games in 9 days for their country during the European Championships. What are the challenges of trying to maintain performance during such a busy period? "},{"depth":3,"value":"I imagine getting fuel on board during games is difficult too, so how much carb would players typically consume during a half-time break?"},{"depth":3,"value":"On a similar theme, Rollo’s recently study showed players consumed ~15g of carbs on average during 60-70 minute training sessions. In your experience, how individualised are players’ nutritional intakes? "},{"depth":3,"value":"Interesting, stats show PL players cover an average of 10.5km per game, with midfielders covering about 11km during a 90-minute match. Pre-match nutrition and hydration will be important to fuel such sustained efforts, so how individualised are players’ nutritional intakes before the game? "},{"depth":3,"value":"Finally, Rollo's study found that players don't develop hypohydration of more than 2% in training sessions. Is that consistent with what you’ve seen when working with PL players?"},{"depth":3,"value":"Thanks for your time Mayur, it's been great to get an insight into how Wolves approach fueling for recovery."},{"depth":4,"value":"Further reading"}]}},"reviewer":null}},"pageContext":{"slug":"premier-league-footballers-wolves-endurance-athletes-recovery","noIndex":false}},"staticQueryHashes":["1095528202","1204021508","142052947","1485196607","1527722960","2488678560","266977044","2746441856","2932112381","3035445994","3266792109","3683832922","3998591504","4055654595","4087350428","473255425","608825219","657160472"]}