The RL diet: Luke Adamson explains how players put on size in pre-season

Drew Darbyshire 14 Dec 2019 11:30 AM

The rugby league diet is our new feature where we give you an insight in to the eating habits of your favourite professional players, in partnership with Heaven ‘N’ Health.

Former Salford, Halifax, Dewsbury, Oldham, Rochdale and Leigh forward Luke Adamson is our sixth guest…

What does a rugby player need to eat when bulking pre-season, Luke?

“In pre-season, we are going to have a massive calorie deficit with how hard we are training. We will have such a high output of energy that our calories are going to drop massively.

“Post training session, you want to be taking a high carb protein drink and eating high carb meals so like chicken, rice and stir fry mix and then whatever sauce you have with it.”

What about if the players are doing a lot of cardio training?

“If you are doing an early hills session or something like that then you should probably look at having something like protein porridge to ensure your energy levels do not drop too low.

“You need to make sure your calorie intake is high, especially if you are looking to bulk up in pre-season.”

Are there any quick ways to get a lot of calories in then?

“There are certain protein shakes that will have extra creatine and carbs in. There is one called critical mass that we have had in the past which is 100g – it has 69g of carbs in it but there are only three grams of sugar, so all the carbs are good carbs if that makes sense.

“It will allow your body to take in carbs and energy without taking in a lot of bad sugars. There will be around 390 calories in one of them shakes which is like a meal in itself but it is actually half the portion size compared to a meal.”

Do you need to have a specific eating routine when bulking?

“If you are looking to put on weight for the season coming then you need to make sure that your carb intake is high but not the sugary type of carbs. I’d suggest having brown rice instead of white because brown rice has more calories, carbs, fibre and protein in it than white rice.

“Bulking-wise, it is just about making sure you are in a calorie surplus. You could start having like an extra 500 calories a day but you don’t need a certain eating routine or anything like that.”