PERFORMANCE PARTNERS The NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) aims to support Australian athletes to become world’s best. As an official NSWIS Performance Partner, Musashi works alongside the Institute’s leading experts and dietitians to assist in the provision of a world class service delivery to athletes. Sports nutrition can play a key role in the success of an athlete’s career and Musashi continues to impact a wide range of NSWIS athletes, as detailed in our case studies.

Muscle recovery for Para Canoeist medal prospect

NSWIS and Australian para canoeist Dylan Littlehales competed in Rio at 2016, at just 17 years of age, achieving a semi-final result. His success at the 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships secured an Australian quota spot for Tokyo and has his sights firmly set on podium success.

Identifying performance improvements

A large part of Dylan’s preparations has been working with NSWIS dietitians to identify and address strategies and solutions to overcome a number of nutrition challenges, including being unable to consume any food prior to morning training, experiencing cramping due to suboptimal hydration, and a limited cooking repertoire to provide nutrition diversity since relocating to Sydney. With NSWIS, Dylan had;

• Worked to now tolerate breakfast before training
• Developed consistent and effective hydration habits to aid recovery and preparation for training through participation in hydration testing to understand fluid needs
• Learned to support his nutrition intake by increasing his product knowledge and expanding his cooking skills

Dylan was nailing his nutrition strategies around his morning sessions however still found he needed more support with his afternoon training sessions in the gym to help improve his recovery and maximise muscle growth, in order to back up for training again the next day.

Expert intervention

NSWIS provided Dylan with batch-tested Musashi Bulk Powder, which provides an equal balance of carbohydrates and protein for recovery and refuelling. The powder was a beneficial addition to compliment the nutrition strategies already in place. It provided the 0.4g of protein per kg of body weight required to maximise the recovery of working muscles; especially when training multiple times a day. Additionally, the whey blend contains an amino acid leucine which specifically supports short buffered muscle recovery, of which Dylan was seeking. Not only does the powder’s protein assist with mending micro-tears, which naturally occur with training, but it also contains ~20g of carbohydrate (as much carbohydrate as you would find in a banana) to begin the immediate replenishment of muscle glycogen. This means that as soon as Dylan finishes training, he instantly starts refuelling and recovering, ready for his next session.

Performance outcomes

Following the addition of the Musashi Bulk Powder, Dylan reportedly felt healthier and stronger during his training sessions on the following days, with:

• Less muscle soreness
• Less cramping
• Less fatigue

His skinfold measures also came down despite his weight increasing, and he showed obvious improvements in strength and power through his national title results. This demonstrated that he was able to effectively build more lean mass with Musashi. This sports nutrition case study and associated intervention was conducted by NSWIS Dietitian Ashleigh Brunner. Ashleigh is a passionate accredited Sports Dietitian and ISAK accredited Anthropometrist who graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Science (Nutrition), Bachelor of Science (Exercise and Sports Science) and First-Class Honours in Nutrition.