Nutritionist who helps Galway team eat for glory

Health, Beauty and Lifestyle with Denise McNamara

So, what do you feed the boys to ensure they bring home the Sam Maguire? Performance nutritionist Sinéad Bradbury is the lead nutritionist for the Galway GAA Senior team for the last three years. A native of Castlegar on the edge of the City, she has been working in the health and wellness industry for over 15 years having completed the first Masters Programme in Ireland at the former GMIT or newly named Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Galway in Sports and Exercise Nutrition.

She revealed that she approaches the whole area of nutrition with the players through an ongoing process of education, support and enjoyment.

“Players need to understand the science and ‘why’ behind recommendations and advice. Once they know how this will impact their health and performance they will apply and execute. If they are enjoying the process and seeing the gains, they will keep it up.”

There is no one size fits all when it comes to overseeing what they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“Players have different nutritional needs at different stages of the season. Pre-season there is a focus of achieving certain body composition goals to support optimum performance. In-season there is a focus on fuelling and recovering correctly to support intense training and competition,” she explains.

“There will always be protein with meals and snacks and carbohydrate intake will vary depending on training schedule. As a management and backroom team, we place huge emphasis on the health and wellness of all players, so lots of healthy fats, fresh vegetables and fruits are encouraged also.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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