I was sat in the back of my mate’s car on the way home from 5-a-side covered in sweat, nursing a strained groin and feeling the effects of a post-match pint. My first run out after the spring lockdown hadn’t exactly gone to plan. The lowlight in a 2-0 defeat came when I tried to lob the goalkeeper from the half-way line but scuffed it out for a throw-in.
In an attempt to avoid further embarrassments like this, or at least more strained groins, I enlisted the help of Chelsea Football Club.
I’m not entirely sure I was the athlete the nutritionists of the six-time champions of England had in mind when they launched their new range of Blue Fuel products “designed to revolutionise the way budding sportsmen and women train and perform”.
As well as the odd game of football, I do try my best to keep in shape through running, cycling and weight training – but none of them could be described as anywhere near Olympian in standard.
But that is the point of the range: to help keen amateurs with information built up for Premier League players. Can it make a difference for me?
Protein time
In the Skoda, I tucked in to one of their post-exercise protein bars. Bewildering list of ingredients aside – including fibre polydextrosesirup, bovine gelatine (yum!) and something called humectant – the bar is covered in chocolate, tastes delicious and apparently helps with “muscle maintenance and growth”.
Over the course of the next month I slowly work my way through the box of goodies that arrive in the post.
As well as the chocolate bars, there are cola gummies (perfect for a pick-me-up during long runs, bike rides… or a particularly boring Zoom meeting in the home office), some lemony pre-exercise hydration salts and two different types of protein powder – one chocolate flavoured and another strawberry.
“I struggle with off-day snacking, so these are a lifesaver,” says former Wales rugby international and Iron Man competitor Gareth Thomas, one of the proper athletes the enlisted to test out the products.
“There are times where I do struggle to eat post-workout, so I’ve always used shakes. The Blue Fuel ones taste like milkshakes, so I see them as more of a treat.”
Can the products help?
Not only do they taste good but there can be some health benefits too, as part of a fitness regime. “Sports nutrition products fundamentally offer the same building blocks regular foodstuffs do, but in formats that are easier to digest than whole foods and provide a more convenient option around training and playing,” explains Emma Barraclough, one of the brains behind the brand.
“When exercising at high intensity, blood flow to the digestive system is deprioritised to maintain oxygen demand to the working muscles and cardiovascular system, so products that provide energy whilst being absorbed easily are required.”
As my own hapless antics on the football pitch attest, these supplements should not be seen as a quick fix.
“Users may choose to take them before, during and after training to enhance performance and improve recovery, add them to meals to boost their protein, or drink them between meals as a high-protein snack,” writes Azmina Govindji from the British Dietetic Association on the NHS website. “But they could get the same benefits from introducing high-protein foods to their diet as snacks or adding them to their normal meals to enhance the protein content.”
This is where Blue Fuel’s app comes in, with over 300 healthy recipes that are tailored to the training goals I enter when logging in – with recommendations for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between.
Training and diet regimes can be hard work
It all sounds very easy, and some of the meals are delicious, though while many sporting activities have been banned again in parts of the UK recently, leaving people with nothing to train towards, I for one have found that keeping up the motivation and discipline to stick to such a regimented diet has been difficult.
With a 40-hour work week to contend with, keeping up with a plan as detailed as this sometimes felt impossible. Although it is of course easier for professional athletes.
“Like everything in life, it’s all about balance,” England netball star and Blue Fuel ambassador Jodie Gibson tells i. “When training towards a big game for example, it’s important that we’re eating the correct food to help fuel us effectively to perform our best. But everyone deserves a treat every now and again. Whether it be a few drinks or an ice-cream, as long as it’s factored into your training regime then it’s fine.”
Perhaps keeping up with the plan will be easier when Covid-19 is no longer such a worry and we are back to some normality.
“The pandemic has definitely broken up my usual routine,” says Thomas. “But at the same time I have enjoyed the challenge of finding ways to adapt and being forced to vary it. In the beginning it does seem like a tedious task but the results speak for themselves in the end.”
Sadly, I think it’ll take something more akin to a miracle than a few protein bars to get me on the plane to Tokyo next summer.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2JiBL0l
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