Nutritional Considerations
In this program, nutrition and the athlete’s intake will be monitored to ensure that they are receiving the proper fuels to
sustain their exercise over this period. The athlete’s carbohydrate, fat and protein intake will be managed to best suit his
fuel requirements during periods of intense aerobic activity and less intense exercise. With this, supplements such as
protein and creatine should also be consumed periodically in order to give the athlete an extra burst of energy, enhancing
their performance during training sessions. The soccer player’s diet should be around 60% carbs, 20% fat and around
15% protein coming from regular foods and meals. The athlete requires high amounts of energy from his energy systems
and carbohydrates are the only fuel sources capable of doing such, thus he should be consuming mainly carbohydrates in
order to perform better in training sessions. Although the body uses fats for lower intensity activity, only some exercises
and sessions are low intensity which explains the dominant fuel source being carbohydrates. With this, the athlete’s
carbohydrates should come predominantly in the form of fresh fruits and whole grains such as wholemeal bread, pasta,
potatoes and brown rice as such foods contain complex carbohydrates, providing more energy than what simple carbs
would provide. The athlete’s protein should come from lean meats, poultry, fish, pulses, beans and nuts. Meals such as 2
chicken breasts with steamed vegetables and rice are very beneficial for the athlete during this training program as
protein, carbs through whole grains and nutrients are consumed. The supplements that the player should consume are
protein and creatine. The player will be receiving protein from their meals, however, additional protein after sessions,
especially leg day at the gym, will assist in the recovery of the leg muscles after the intense workout that the player will
participate in. This recovery will help the athlete perform better on the monday sessions and not be limited due to muscle
soreness. Consuming creatine before leg day will assist in the high release of energy to allow the athlete to perform his
best and improve his muscular strength quicker.