Four years of preparation, two weeks of world-class performance and just like that, another Olympics has passed. Our highlights? A spectacular consecutive Gold for Andy Murray, a first gold Great Britain’s Hockey team and another clean-up for British Rowing. We are proud to have fuelled 34 medals at Rio. We’ve been supplying Olympians since 1992 and this year didn’t disappoint – but what have we learned? A lot. Every sport has its individual demands and we’ve continued to innovate our product range to ensure every athlete’s need is met. Here’s an insight into some of the key sports we support and the key nutritional considerations involved: Track Cycling Key Consideration: Preparation in advance Favourite Products: GO Hydro, Energy Bars, REGO Rapid Recovery Nutritionist Insight: Preparation is also key for track cycling as the athletes cannot fuel while racing in the velodrome. From high intensity sprints, to longer team pursuits, athletes will ‘pre-hydrate’ using GO Hydro to ensure performance is not affected. They will also use GO Energy Bars to top up carbohydrate stores – the main fuel for high intensity exercise. Within 30 minutes of their event finishing, REGO Rapid Recovery will be taken by the riders to replenish carbohydrate and electrolyte levels. The protein will assist in muscle rebuild, which is essential for recovery. Athletics Key Consideration: Intensity, duration and time Favourite Products: GO Hydro, GO Energy + Caffeine Gels, WHEY20 Nutritionist Insight: With many disciplines, intensities and lengths, Athletes use a range of nutritional products to hydrate, fuel and recover. Heptathletes, have a 1-3 hours wait between each event giving participants more time to fuel and hydrate. Athletes must take on enough fuel, but must be careful not to overload which may affect an upcoming event. Depending on time between events, athletes will aim to maintain protein intake throughout the day in small, manageable doses. WHEY20 is ideal, providing 20g of protein in a ready to consume format. In the heat, GO Hydro will be used to replace electrolytes lost through sweating and will be consumed throughout the day. With the split times, caffeine may be taken before the event to provide a mental boost, enhancing physical performance. Boxing Key Consideration: Preparation and recovery Favourite Products: GO Hydro, GO Electrolyte, Advanced Isolate + Nutritionist Insight: Boxing requires an incredible amount of endurance, strength and power. To maintain this, athletes will hydrate before heading into the ring using GO Hydro. Between rounds, athletes will sip GO Electrolyte to provide energy for high intensity, physical rounds. Recovery and rebuild is vital. Boxers will use Advanced Isolate+ after gym and boxing sessions to help build and maintain muscle mass. Their protein intake is also important outside of training, with the athletes using the convenience of WHEY20 throughout the day, aiming to take on 20-25g of protein every 3-4 hours. Tennis Key Consideration: In-game nutrition Favourite Products: GO Electrolyte, Energy Gels, REGO Rapid Recovery Nutritionist Insight: Tennis is one of the few Olympic sports that has frequent breaks throughout, allowing players to take on fluid and fuel. Players will often have two bottles, one with water and one with an energy drink. Players will use GO Electrolyte, which provides carbohydrate for energy and key electrolytes to help retain the fluid during play. During longer, more intense games, players will use GO Energy Bars and GO Isotonic Gels to provide fast, available energy. Post-match, players will usually head straight for an ice bath and take an REGO Rapid Recovery shake so that they can prepare for the next match. Often, players will play singles and doubles on the same day, therefore protein intake is vital post game to maintain muscle protein synthesis and prevent muscle breakdown. ROWING Key Consideration: Preparation in advance Favourite Products: GO Electrolyte, Energy Gels, REGO Rapid Recovery Nutritionist Insight: Preparation is key for rowing performance, with often no chance to take on fuel and fluid during competition. Athletes will hydrate using GO Hydro in the hours before a race. They will top up carbohydrate stores using GO Energy Bars and GO Electrolyte when required. Athletes take REGO Rapid Recovery immediately after an event in order to replace carbohydrate and electrolytes, including protein for muscle rebuild. Lightweights will often use WHEY20 to maintain lean muscle mass between events, with minimal carbohydrate and fat. What was your favourite Olympic moment? Leave a comment below! Written By Ted Munson (Performance Nutritionist) Ted is a Performance Nutritionist here at Science in Sport.
