Elevate Your Game

Big Moves For Massive Gains

Fish of the day

Trout salmon and monkfish are full of low-fat protein to help you recover. But anything deep-fried is like a eating a bowl of free radicals and will delay recovery. Opt for the baked or grilled variety to lessen the fat and help you recover faster.

Jacket potato with tuna

After exercise, inflammation occurs, caused by the breaking down of muscle tissue. The tuna's fatty acids have anti-inflammatory compounds which will stop any silly walks, while the potato will replace the carbs and vitamin C you lost during the match.

Steak and salad

Choose a lean cut of steak, like fillet or sirloin. The greens help digest the iron and protein in the meat, and have antioxidants that neutralise free radicals bouncing around your body after a match.

Recipes: Lamb Kebabs - High Protein Skewers for a major muscle boost

"Lamb is zinc-rich, which makes it the top meat for boosting immunity, stabilising blood-sugar levels and metabolic rate"

Ingredients:
200g lamb cubes
0.5 each red, yellow and green capsicums, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, cubed
to taste salted and peper
Bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes

Instructions:-
- Season lamb, onions, and capsicums
with salt and pepper. Thread along the bamboo. Brush with olive oil.
- Grill over high heat on a hot plate or grill until brown and partly charred.
- Makes on serving.

Per serving:
580 calories
34g carbohydrate
50g protein
28g fat
7g fibre
2.5g sodium

Trick Your Body Thin

It may be as easy as replacing your glass of apple juice with an apple. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity reported that people reduced their daily calorie intake by as much as 20% if they substituted a piece of fruit for fruit juice with their lunch. The reason: Chewing stimulates satiety hormones better, said the study authors, while the whole food takes longer for your intestines to process, helping you stay full. The benefit was also observed when participants ate cheese instead of drinking milk.

Cut The Fluff

You may be able to build bigger biceps with fewer arm curls, report Norwegian scientists. But squat more for stronger legs. In the study, novice lifters who performed three sets of each lower-body exercise built nearly twice as much leg muscle as beginners doing only one set per move. However, for their chest and arms, a single set worked just as well. The researchers speculate that leg muscles require multiple sets, since you condition your lower half with everyday activities.

Blast Your Bench

Forget about what you lift. Instead, focus on how much you can lower. Men can handle 40% more weight on the eccentric, or lowering, portion of a bench press than on the press itself. So you can increase your size and strength gains by targeting the down phase of the lift, according to a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Be sure to take three full seconds to lower your barbell. Lowering thr weight under control forces your muscles to work harder, stimulating growth