High Energy Sports Require
Thoughtful Diet

Sport Nutrition

Rugby. Some love it, others feel it is too rough a game to watch, let alone play. Working with the Kenya national rugby teams has been a fulfilling experience, and the interaction with Kenya's best has been invaluable.

Recently, I got a rare opportunity to chat with recently-retired international and current Kenya seven-a-side team manager, Oscar Osir.

As we started our chat, Osir made an interesting statement: "It is amazing how we are so careful with our cars, gadgets, and other valuable possessions, but very careless with our very own bodies.

"You hardly see anyone in their right senses drive "their" car through potholes at high speed, or go swimming with their cell phones." And I couldn't agree more; here is his story.

"In my nine-years of international rugby, diet played a big role in my playing career and my humble achievements in the game were purely out of a dietary change," He narrates.

"Just before departure to the 1999 IRB Series, I partially tore my quadricep during training; I did not recover and was promptly dropped the following week after not playing a single game in Dubai.

"During a lamentation session at Impala, a rugby supporter asked me whether I have enough potassium in my system as a lack of it can create imbalance in my body causing muscle injuries. Two facts glared at me."

He continues, "One, I rarely drank water, two, my metabolic rate was very high. I needed five meals as opposed to the usual two. I increased my water intake and my meals including fruits, boiled egg, vegies and chicken sandwiches as snacks while checking my meal composition more carefully.

"My training abilities and energy levels changed dramatically, my cramps disappeared hence I trained harder and played with ease."

In a serious tone he stated "Up to three years ago, sports nutrition support had been lacking and after seeing what the dietary choices did for me I learnt to do a lot of research. A good diet goes with a level of discipline.

"Discipline is key in rugby and because it's only played socially in Kenya some of us underestimate its involvement seriously as a contact sport."

While winding up I still couldn't let him off the hook about his ideal body fat percentage of 13 even in his 30s, "My body fat condition is purely due to the fact that I am only six weeks into my international retirement."

As Oscar would say, If we give some consideration to what we allow our bodies to consume perhaps we'll have, faster, stronger athletes or just add that extra edge to our competitiveness in sports.

From Oscar to all you great players out there;

• Eat enough whole foods.
• Eat plenty of high-quality protein
• Don't let the 'low fat' myth ruin your goals
• Fuel your workouts with carbohydrate and creatine
• Don't burn away your muscle gains with too much cardio
• Take advantage of the vital post-workout muscle-building period

Copyright 2006 AllAfrica, Inc. Africa News

Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media. (www.allafrica.com)
BYLINE: The Nation Kenya; December 2, 2006