The Match Day Fueling Blueprint

On average Gaelic football players will run 9 kilometres a match, with around 17% of play occurring at high speed (>17 km/hour). Over the game, for an 80 kg player, previous research has shown the average energy cost of play would be in the region of 1100 - 1350 kcal. 

An awareness of this energy cost and activity profile is our first step to understand how to fuel for the work required. When we get this right, there’s several key benefits, such as:

• Helping to delay the onset of fatigue (more common in the second half)
• Reducing the perception of effort during play
• Helping you feel physically and mentally sharp during the game

Now that we understand the importance of fueling before match-day, you might be wondering, what type and quantities of foods you should be consuming? Let’s get into that below.

The Most Important Nutrient For Performance

When we break down the activity profile of Gaelic football, we can see a large percentage of the game occurs at high speed. These bursts of activity (e.g. sprints) are anaerobic in nature. Therefore, basic physiology will lead us to understand that carbohydrates (glucose) will be used to fuel these actions. 

In the body, we store carbohydrates in the muscle and liver as glycogen. You may have heard this being conceptualised like the fuel tank of your car. However, recent research has shown it’s slightly more complicated than this. Unlike your car, you don’t need to completely “run out” of fuel for performance to be impacted. In our muscles, there appears to be a threshold, below which, muscle contraction becomes affected. Which can lead to decrements in your performance. 

This illustrates the point that the primary goal for the high performance Gaelic Footballer should be stepping onto the pitch with adequate glycogen (carbohydrate) reserves. 

#1 Mistake To Avoid

You may already have been aware of the importance of glycogen to performance. However, most players tend to translate this knowledge through practices such as eating a bowl of spaghetti the night before their game. Unfortunately, this isn’t going to cut it. 

Imagine that your body is a bucket, and water represents the glycogen you store within your muscle. Filling the hypothetical bucket happens by placing it under a drain that steadily drips water. Each drop increases the water content in the bucket until it fills up. You cannot force the process or hope that the drain will suddenly start pouring more water. All you can do is wait.

Glycogen accumulation in muscle is similar. Even if you consume a lot of carbs, it will take your body time to process and convert these carbohydrates into their stored form (glycogen). Therefore, to ensure proper fueling, any conversation about optimal fueling should start (at least) the day before your game.

Match Day Fuelling Blueprint

Match Day -1

The day before your match can be viewed as a window of opportunity to consume sufficient carbohydrates and fill your glycogen reserves. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have the research to show exactly how much glycogen is used during Gaelic Football games. Therefore, the exact quantity of carbohydrates to consume, which will lead to “sufficient” glycogen reserves, is still up for debate. 

However, using research from other sports, recommendations for my athletes sit between 6-8 grams per kg bodyweight. Therefore, for the 80 kg player, we’re looking at 480 - 640 grams of carbohydrates. 

From research we conducted through Ulster University, the average club player only consumes around 3.6 grams per kg bodyweight. Therefore, this “fueling” recommendation may represent a significant increase for the average player. 

As a result, using the lower end of my recommendations may be a more realistic starting point for many. Also consider that meal frequency can also be manipulated to break down these targets. For example, aiming for 100g carbohydrates over 5 meals (e.g. Breakfast, AM Snack, Lunch, Evening Meal, Supper), will be more sensible for the hypothetical 500 g target, versus cramming this target into 2-3 meals. It’s also worth mentioning that to achieve this absolute intake of carbohydrate, the quantity of protein and fat will indirectly decrease to contain the amount of calories consumed.

Hydration should follow general guidelines, with a target of 35 ml / kg bodyweight (e.g. 80 kg = 2.8 L), assuming no fluid losses through exercise on the day before the match.

Match Day 

Depending on the time of throw in, you’re unlikely to significantly change muscle glycogen levels on match day. Therefore, you want to keep things simple, avoid excessive portions and stick with foods with which you are familiar.

The timing of meals also matters. To avoid gastrointestinal (stomach) upset, taking your solid pre-workout meal around 3-4 hours before the match is sensible. We always need to appreciate that it takes time for food to transit our stomach, into the small intestines (where nutrients are absorbed). Therefore this timing recommendation will help avoid the dreaded feeling of “food sitting in your stomach.” 

To apply these guidelines, here’s a few example meals below:

3-4 Hours Before Throw In 

Opposed to providing generic meals, which lack the context of portion size required to deliver the correct amount of carbohydrate, download the GAA Pre-Game Nutrition Handbook below. Inside this resource, I've done the leg work of providing everyday meals, suitable for the Pre-Game period. Everything has been analysed on professional nutrition software, so you can simply trial the options that are suitable for you.

Within this 3-4 hour timeframe pre-game, it's also important to get enough fluid on board, to ensure hydration before throw in. 

My recommendation is around 5–7 mL/kg bodyweight of fluid. For most people, this will be around 400 - 600 ml fluid. Although water is a good choice, it's not limited to only water. Squash, milk, smoothies, sports drinks and even coffee will all count towards this fluid target. 

Timing this fluid intake will allow time for excess fluid to be voided prior to the game. The target is urine colour that is pale yellow in colour.

1-2 Hours Before Throw In 

If you’ve done everything correct up until this point, my general recommendations are to avoid solid foods during this period. Liquids, however, should continue to be consumed, to ensure hydration.

If you're using caffeine, this is the time period to include. It takes around 45-60 minutes for caffeine to peak in the bloodstream, where it lasts in significant quantities for 5-6 hours. Therefore, the use of caffeine must be timed for optimal effects. If you want to find out more about caffeine and other performance supplements, you can check out another free guide here. 

If you’re feeling hungry, or simply feel better eating during this period, aim to keep to a small snack that’s low in fat & fibre, so it’s easy to digest.

To apply these guidelines, here’s a few snack examples:

• Fage Yogurt with Coffee
• Banana and Lucozade Sport
• White bread toast, jam and glass of milk

Closing Remarks 

Remember, fuelling yourself correctly cannot become a last minute afterthought. Through adopting a more systematic approach to your diet, you’ll no doubt feel and perform better on the pitch.

If you need individual advice to take your performance up a notch, you can send me an email here.