Lancashire County Cricket Club boosts play with CNP Professional supplements
The importance of sports supplements and hydration is now recognised as essential to enhance performance in most sports and cricket is no exception. Cricket is played for long periods with short bursts of intense activity, especially in batting and bowling. Players benefit from a balanced intake of fluids for hydration, carbohydrates for sustained energy and proteins power and muscle repair.
Alex Horn, sports scientist and nutritionist at Lancashire County Cricket Club is responsible for putting together a carefully targeted dietary programme for the players. To ensure optimum health and fitness he has started the players on a regime of CNP Professional supplements alongside their carefully controlled diet.
“While cricket may appear to be quite a low intensity sport to the lay person, the reality is that the forces exerted by some of our players and the duration players spend in the field causes significant fatigue and can easily lead to injury,” Horn explains. “By starting them on CNP supplements such as Pro Recover, Pro Hydrate, Pro Peptide and the Pro Flapjack and Pro Energy bars we are giving them the best possible chance of excelling.”
Concentration is a major issue in cricket. Keeping players hydrated not only aids concentration, it reduces the onset of fatigue and limits the occurrence of soft tissue injuries. On batting days, the four opening Lancs batsmen take Pro Hydrate prior to going out and the rest of the team take Pro Hydrate as necessary, depending on how the match is progressing.
Pro Hydrate is a complex carbohydrate drink that provides sustained energy for exercise plus electrolytes to replace lost salts and improve hydration. It actively pushes fluids and carbohydrates into the blood stream. Seam bowlers use Pro Hydrate prior to the start of play on fielding days to keep their energy and concentration channelled particularly during a long stint at the crease.
Some players find they need a quick snack out in the field during a long match, so Horn makes sure there is a good stock of Pro Energy and Pro Flapjack bars in the dressing room. These bars contain quality proteins and complex carbohydrates to give the players sustained energy without inducing a sugar rush.
Following a fielding session or a day’s play CNP’s Pro Recover is used by all players. Pro Recover contains a blend of high glycemic (fast acting carbohydrates) and fast acting proteins to aid muscle growth and repair. It’s convenient to take as it can simply be shaken up with water.
“During the season maintaining weight in the form of lean tissue is a priority for all cricketers and particularly seam bowlers,” says Horn, “We’ve found the CNP supplements have helped these players achieve their weight goals.
“The player’s reactions to the CNP supplements have been very positive,” says Horn. “They know what they like. The chocolate Pro Peptide is more popular than the strawberry flavour. However both chocolate and strawberry are popular in the Pro Recover range and the seam bowlers enjoy Pro Flapjack bars.”
The match and travelling schedule is pretty gruelling during the season and Horn explains that they have to carefully pick when to schedule fitness sessions so as not to over-train athletes.
“I am confident that the players are getting the best nutritional guidance of any first class country cricket team,” says Horn. “And that the move to CNP supplements has assisted us in our quest for peak performance.”
CNP Professional is one of the UK’s leading sports nutrition specialist companies. For more information visit www.cnpprofessional.co.uk, or call +44 (0) 161 368 0942 for sports nutrition advice and +44 (0) 161 368 3850 for sales.
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Notes for editors
CNP Professional is a leading supplier of sports nutrition supplements including protein shakes, protein bars, creatine supplements, meal replacements, mass gainers, weight loss supplements and post work out shakes, all designed for the ultimate in sports nutrition.
Kerry Kayes, the founder of CNP Professional, is a former national bodybuilding champion. He has been involved in sports nutrition for many years and his dietary expertise has established him as ‘the man in the know’ to sportspeople worldwide. He advises athletes as varied as premier league footballers, rugby clubs, triathletes, round the world yachting teams, runners, boxers, cyclists and motor sports teams.
CNP Professional supplements are carefully formulated to ensure that the body is able to make best use of the nutrients. Unlike many nutritional supplements, CNP Professional’s products are easy to drink.
There are several articles explaining protein nutrition supplements on the CNP website – go to the home page and click on ‘nutrition’ under the articles section.