Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
LBU support Leeds Rhinos with pre-season training
Tests including body fat, muscle mass, and bone density DEXA scans are taking place in the university’s Carnegie School of Sport building as part of a comprehensive partnership, which also involves Leeds Rhinos Women’s rugby league team.
Lauren Delany, who combines studying for a PhD at Leeds Beckett University, working as a performance nutritionist for Leeds Rhinos and playing international rugby union for Ireland, oversaw the tests.
Lauren Delany said: “We do a mix of DEXA scans and skin fold assessments. The DEXA scans are something we’ve started this season to get more detailed information in terms of the player’s body composition.
“In the skin fold tests we are assessing fat mass under the skin, whereas with the DEXA we can get an idea of internal fat mass and we get an exact reading of kilos of muscle mass. We get a really good picture of how training is impacting them.
“The players are really competitive. We’ve been doing skin fold tests for years with them, so they are used to what the targets are and what the results are. Usually it starts a good conversation about last season, where they think they will get to this season and where we want to get to long term in terms of their development and their training as well.
“The performance nutrition is quite individualised but there is quite a lot of team strategy. We’re in a ten week block of pre-season at the moment so the focus is getting them back into training and work on the timings of the food that they are eating throughout the day.
“Because they are training so much there is a big emphasis on recovery as well. They are all sore quite a lot of the time, quite fatigued so we’re trying to help them as much as possible to help their recovery, whether that be hydration, sleep or nutrition. We provide recipe ideas, meal ideas and how to eat on the go advice. With some of the less experienced players we go into more detail about what they should be eating day-to-day.
“We work from a performance backward approach so everything that we advise is focussed on their performance, getting the most out of the athlete, but also out of the team as a whole so we normally try to take a team focused approach.
“Everything we advise is focussed around game day performance, maximising what they can do and achieve. Are we able to optimise what they are able to do in training for game day, reduce the risk of illness and injury and help them come back from injuries as quick as is appropriate.
“There are so many areas that nutrition can impact and every time that we eat or drink something it can impact the physiology of the body so it can help a player fuel better, recover better, stay away from illnesses, potentially reduce the risk of injury or help them with a chronic injury as well.
“It’s probably the element of sports science that people engage with the most because it’s really easy to understand as everyone eats and drinks.
“The real benefit of performance nutrition is the relationship with the player, the support they give behind the scenes within the performance environment as well. It’s a lot more than advising someone what to eat and when.”
The Carnegie School of Sport building boasts a wealth of outstanding facilities including dedicated research laboratories, a hypoxic laboratory, a health and wellbeing studio, a covered rooftop 60m sprint track, enhanced strength and conditioning spaces, and changing and recovery facilities.
The facility at Leeds Beckett University’s Headingley Campus is a base for the Carnegie School of Sport’s undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes and provides a hub for the elite athletes who use the university’s sports performance expertise.