When England’s most famous boxer, Ricky Hatton, steps into the ring against Mexican-American scrapper Juan Lazcano on May 24th, no one at Manchester’s City Stadium will be watching harder than sports nutritionist guru Kerry Kayes, founder of the CNP Professional sports nutrition range.
Decades of nutrition research will be on demonstration as ‘Hitman’ Hatton battles it out with ‘The Hispanic Causing Panic’. His nutrition program upturns many conventional ideas about what a boxer should be eating and drinking during training.
Kerry Kayes, who studied nutrition when he himself was a champion bodybuilder of the 1970s and 80s, took the younger Ricky under his wing six years ago. At the time the boxer was already gaining a name as much for his ‘relaxation’ with his mates and his traditional English breakfasts as for his world-class boxing.
So when Ricky returned to the gym in February after his world title fight last December and an uproarious Christmas and New Year, his nutrition program was really under test. But his phenomenal self-discipline in training amazes the sports world, and it seems that no one has the ability to train harder and come out fighting more fiercely.
The daily meals of lean chicken, fish, pasta and fresh vegetables won’t be a surprise to the superfit. What marks out Ricky Hatton’s whole diet is an intensive daily course of what he calls his "super magic shakes" – protein and other supplements from CNP Professional – and the insistence on drinking lots of water – upwards of four litres a day – even though many boxers fight shy of drinking plenty of water.
Kayes is going against the flow in focusing on protein supplements and water consumption, because for years boxers have cut down on food and water to reach target weights. That’s completely the wrong attitude, he argues. Starving the body might burn fat to start with, but the body adapts and slows metabolism, and it actually becomes harder to lose weight. What’s more, the lack of nutrients doesn’t allow muscles to recover after training.
His solution, which is at the heart of Ricky Hatton’s training, is a big increase in supplements, particularly protein supplements.
"If you are working out hard, your body really needs those nutrients. But you have to keep the Kcalories down to lose the weight. If you only have the solid food, it comes with those Kcalories attached, as fat. The protein supplements ensure your body will recover properly after the exercise without adding fat."
Kayes says his diet gives Ricky Hatton around 2,700Kcal, and just over 200g of complete protein daily. For training this allows the weight to drop off while nourishing and restoring the body after exercise – and developing peak physical fitness.
Ricky Hatton’s match isn’t the only one on May 24th that’s using CNP and Kerry Kayes’ expertise. Matthew Hatton, Ricky’s brother, who is also under the Kayes nutrition program, is on the same bill, and will be battling the biggest fight of his career against Craig Watson for a Commonwealth Welterweight title.
Kerry Kayes emphasises that the Hatton diet is not only for pro sportsmen. "Anyone working to peak physical fitness can benefit," he says.
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) 161 320 1212 for sports nutrition advice and +44 (0) 161 320 8145 for sales.
Notes for editors
CNP Professional is a leading supplier of sports nutrition supplements ranging from 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 including boxer Ricky Hatton, Sean Long of St Helen’s RLFC and David Dunn of Blackburn Rovers.
CNP Professional supplements are carefully formulated to ensure that the body is able to make best use of the nutrients. Unlike some protein supplements, CNP Professional’s products are easy to drink – in fact, the Pro Slam only takes 5 seconds.
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.
The Ricky Hatton training diet for the Lazcano match:
At the heart of the training /weight-loss Kerry Kayes approach is the CNP Professional ‘Pro’ range of protein supplements. It starts off in the morning with Pro CLA, capsules of a healthy fat that have been shown to help reduce bodyfat whilst retaining and possibly helping to increase muscle tissue.
For breakfast the sportsman enjoys Pro MR or Pro Peptide – blends of undenatured "fast and slow" proteins – sometimes with porridge, as well as Pro Vital (high strength multi-vitamin/mineral/antioxidant formula capsules) and Pro Lipid, an EFA supplement delivering unique ratios of Omega 3, 6 & 9 and cholesterol-lowering plant sterols. Around 45 mins before training, on leaving home, he will take Pro GF, a formula of creatine and nitric oxide which helps water hydrate the body during the workout.
Immediately before all hard exercise comes a serving of Pro Slam, a ready-to-drink vial that delivers 27 grams of protein without carbohydrates or fats in only 86ml. It comes in three delicious fruit flavours and can be drunk in seconds, delivering a ‘tingle’ that shows it’s working quickly. Immediately after the workout Ricky takes a Pro Recover, a recovery drink containing fast-acting carbohydrates and proteins that aid muscle repair and growth, as well as antioxidants that help to limit the muscle damage caused by intense exercise.
If Ricky feels really hungry for a snack, he’s advised to eat a Pro Flapjack, combining the complex carbohydrate of oats, with a high-protein blend, without the high sugar and fat content of most commercial products.
The biggest meal of the day usually comes in mid-afternoon, with chicken, fish or turkey accompanied by potatoes, rice or pasta, and – naturally – plenty of green vegetables, followed by relaxing to digest the meal properly.
An evening run is bookended by a Pro Slam before and a Pro Recover after the run, with more Pro Vital and Pro Lipid capsules during the evening, and Pro MR again shortly before bed, to ensure the body has nutrients to repair and recover during the night.