Eat to Compete - Top boxers benefit from Institute led performance nutrition workshop

29 Jul 2011
Nutrition plays a vital part in maintaining and driving athlete performance on the international stage. The ability to select and prepare the right nutrition is a key athlete life skill that forms a central part of the Institute of Sport's athlete support ethos. Prior to the 2011 European Championships, members of the Irish Boxing team were taught how to prepare high quality meals as part of an Institute of Sport partnership with top restaurant chain Wagamama.
Top boxers Ray Moylett and Joe Ward cooking up a storm as part of the Institute of Sport performance nutrition workshop

As part of the performance nutrition workshop, athletes engaged in an interactive cooking demonstration with top chefs from Wagamama. Key cooking techniques and athlete friendly recipes were discussed as part of a workshop led by Institute of Sport Performance Nutritionist Sharon Madigan. 'Our objective for this workshop was to show each athlete how to make food which tastes good and allows them to train harder whilst managing their body weight. Having a partner like Waggamama on board allows us to take the learning experience to new level with top professionals trained in the art of high quality food preparation' stated Sharon Madigan, Performance Nutritionist.


Christine Chung, Operations Director of Wagamama stated: "The Wagamama ethos is to combine fresh and nutritious food with helpful, friendly service, and value for money. This fits right in with the healthy lifestyle that boxers maintain in order to box on the world stage."


In preparation for the workshop, Sharon Madigan worked closely with the Wagamama group trainer Juan Carlos Manteca in creating the workshop content. Key learning themes included meal planning, food safety, healthy cooking methods and basic Asian ingredients like ginger, garlic, chilli, coriander, lemongrass, miso paste and teriyaki marinade many of which are low in fat and can add flavour without the calories.
Top boxer Joe Ward with Juan Carlos Manteca Waggamama's chef displaying their fine end product

Billy Walsh, the Head Coach of the Irish boxing team said, "Maintaining a healthy diet is central to a boxer's performance. Nutrition provides the energy to repeatedly train at a high level in a highly demanding training environment. In addition, it also fuels an athlete's recovery from training. The ability to select the right food and the appropriate cooking method can have a real impact on athlete performance in our sport. I want to thank the team from Waggamama and Sharon Madigan from the Institute of Sport for facilitating such a fun and interactive learning experience for all of staff and athletes attached to the Irish boxing team'