Cereal, sushi and Vegemite – they’ll help you make your marks.
The Australians are settling into life in Ireland ahead of Saturday night’s International Rules Test and, even if the weather isn’t to their liking, at least there is some home comforts available here.
The Aussies travelled to New York as part of their preparations for the Test against Ireland at Croke Park, as they try to stay in tip-top shape for the battle with Joe Kernan’s side.
One of the key men for the visitors is sure to be Luke Breust, who this year helped Hawthorn to a third straight AFL title.
Just last month we got the lowdown on Colm Begley’s AFL diet, so we decided that we’d ask Breust how he’s managing his food balance now that he’s thousands of miles from home.
Importance of diet to a professional sportsperson
“When I started first at Hawthorn I was around 70KG or so and that was a big challenge for me to try and get up the weight because I’m now around 81 or 82 KG now. Putting on weight early on is a hard task for anyone when they get to AFL and are starting out like some of the Irish lads.”
Breakfast
“I always try to have something decent in the morning. For me it’s usually cereal with some toast and some fruit as well.”
Lunch
“This is nearly always straight after a workout for us in the morning, which is probably a bit different to most people. We’re lucky to have lunch supplied so I don’t have to worry too much but it’s normally a mix of lasagne, sushi or maybe a salad as well.”
DINNER
“It’s pretty much whatever you would like for dinner, but obviously good stuff, you know, so you try and get at least three good meals a day.”
RECOVERY
“We would try and get protein in as quickly as possible after doing weights, which is just common sense really.”
SNACKS
“Our dietitians are really big on snacking and making sure you’re never really hungry as such during the day. If you do something in the gym or anything on your own we’re told to make sure that you eat something afterwards.”
“It’s all about putting fuel back in the body.”
In 2014 the Australian squad only gathered together for a week before they beat Ireland in Perth. This time however they bonded together over a much longer period, which means they could be missing some home comforts.
However, Luke admits that he’s glad at least one Aussie favorite has made it to Ireland to make their time here a bit easier.
“It’s been fine for us not missing anything too much from home. We’re lucky that the crew we have brought over has helped us with the food and we’ve had plenty to go around and there’s been no issues there. We haven’t tried any local sweet things yet but I’m sure we could find a few things yet. We found some Vegemite though so that’s pretty good.”
