Training Nutrition with Professional Netball Player Greer Sinclair

Although the PURE range was originally developed with sports such as cycling and running in mind, the applications for the range are limitless. We are seeing a huge trend with team sports using PURE, from rugby and cricket to softball and netball. We talked to professional netball player, Greer Sinclair, about her training nutrition and how she incorporates PURE into her daily routine.

Beginning at age seven, Greer started to progress up the netball ladder through school, club, regional representative, and national aged group teams to a professional contract in the ANZ Premiership. It's fair to say her nutrition knowledge has also grown through her career as Greer recalls "Looking back through high school, I thought I was eating healthy but there is no way I would have been meeting my body's needs to support the training load".

Once out of high school the pace of the competition took a considerable leap and nutrition became a key area of focus for Greer. Through solid planning with the support of team nutritionists, Greer was able to make adjustments and was rewarded with noticeable improvements to her performance.

We caught up with Greer to get the inside scoop on how she fuels a heavy training day.

7:00am:
Start the day with plenty of water (Greer aims for 3.5L a day) and a black coffee.

7:30am:
A large breakfast to fuel the day's training. Greer's current go-to is oats, protein powder, cinnamon, berries, peanut butter and maple syrup. Greer's fav PURE protein flavour is chocolate however the vanilla works best here - "The choc protein is delicious!!!! Looove it all"

9:00am:
One-hour strength session usually including plenty of squats, upper body and heavy weights. 750ml water or electrolytes on a heavy training day.

10:00am:
A speedy recovery is the priority here so a protein smoothie with a combination of banana, frozen berries, spinach, almond milk and honey is the go.

11:00am:
A high-intensity 2-hour court session calls for electrolyte hydration to help replace those electrolytes lost in sweat and also provides some quick fuel for muscles. On game day Greer would also mix in a PURE Energy Gel at half time.

1:00pm:
Lunchtime generally includes plenty of protein, carbohydrates and vegetables to help with recovery. Daily options include a donburi bowl, wraps, homemade pizza or dinner leftovers to change it up.

The afternoon includes a recovery window where Greer heads to the pool with a sauna session before plenty of stretching and foam rolling. If she requires additional fuel a few boiled eggs on rice cakes keep that protein intake up and spread nicely over the day.

Dinner is nice and early and also includes plenty of protein, carbohydrates and vegetables. When it comes to dessert Greer has creatively invented some nutritious variations on some old favourites.

Banana chocolate Ice cream: Blended frozen banana, protein powder, peanut butter and cacao.

Molten lava cake: Mix together two Weet-bix, protein powder, cacao powder, maple syrup and a dash of water. Pop in a square of dark chocolate and microwave for 30-40 seconds.

During peak training Greer is in bed by 9 pm, aiming for 9-10 hours of sleep.