It’s important to keep your body fuelled when training. There is a lot of research available online and in print as to what to eat and when to eat.

All evidence suggests that there should be a clear 2 hour window between eating a meal and training. The body needs time to digest food before exercise.

Eating too much too soon before exercise can lead to feelings of sickness and in extreme cases the body will look to get rid of what it has eaten. Physiologically, this is because the body needs blood to aid in digestion – the same blood that it needs to transport oxygen to and remove lactic acids from working muscles. The body sees supporting exercise as more important – as part of its fight or flight response – and will therefore look to remove any obstacles to maintaining muscle efficiency.

We recognise that with the younger players starting training at 6pm it is difficult to achieve a 2 hour gap, but please can meals be kept light to minimise the risk of any unpleasant moments on the mat.

Image by KamranAydinov on Freepik