Dr James Morehen - Fueling Strategies for Elite Performance

Episode 207: In this episode, Andy McDonald speaks with Dr. James Morehen, Lead Performance Nutritionist for England Rugby and an SENr-registered practitioner working at the forefront of elite sport.

James has supported athletes across Premiership Rugby, international rugby pathways, professional boxing, motorsport, and endurance sport — previously serving as the Performance Nutritionist for Bristol Bears Rugby Union before moving into his current national-team role. Through his company, Morehen Performance Ltd, he also consults privately with athletes and high-performing individuals seeking clear, practical nutrition systems that fit real life.

James shares his journey into performance nutrition and the evolving expectations placed on practitioners — from managing game-day fuelling to navigating alcohol and recovery, and from educating players to integrating seamlessly within multidisciplinary teams. He also discusses the difference between textbook knowledge and applied practice, and how identifying simple, high-impact nutritional wins can drive meaningful performance change.

Drawing on his experience in both elite and private settings, James unpacks the realities of modern nutrition support, the myths that distract athletes, and the principles that consistently move the needle.

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Topics Discussed:

• Common nutritional challenges in athletes
• Alcohol and recovery: finding the balance
• Bridging the gap between textbook knowledge & applied practice
• Game-day nutrition: a full walkthrough
• Identifying “low-hanging fruit” for quick performance wins
• Debunking trends, myths & overcomplicated advice

Key Points

• Strategic Recovery Timing and the First Four-Hour Window: In high-stakes tournament scenarios where recovery between matches is compressed, the first four hours post-competition represent a critical opportunity to maximize muscle glycogen replenishment. Practitioners should aim for approximately $1\text{g/kg}$ of body mass in carbohydrates during this period. Because athletes often find it difficult to consume heavy meals immediately after intense exertion, delivery should focus on liquid-based options, like chocolate milk and smoothies, or "finger foods" like sushi and chicken goujons. This aggressive early intake is paramount when turnaround times are less than 48 to 72 hours to ensure substrate availability for the subsequent bout.

• Addressing Impact-Induced Muscle Damage in Collision Sports: While standard exercise-induced muscle damage is common, collision sports introduce "impact-induced muscle damage" caused by blunt force trauma. This leads to unique inflammatory markers that require specific nutritional support beyond basic caloric replacement. Effective strategies include the use of antioxidant-rich supplements like cherry gels or New Zealand blackcurrant powder to manage the inflammatory response. Additionally, combining protein with omega-3 fatty acids can leverage their anti-inflammatory properties. Addressing both the metabolic and traumatic damage ensures athletes can maintain physical output throughout a grueling season or a congested tournament schedule.

• The Protein-Carbohydrate Synergy for Glycogen Resynthesis: To kickstart muscle recovery effectively, carbohydrate intake should be paired with $20\text{g}$ to $40\text{g}$ of high-quality protein in the immediate post-match window. This combination not only provides the building blocks for repairing damaged muscle fibers but also enhances the rate of glycogen uptake into the muscle cells compared to carbohydrates alone. In professional rugby players, metabolic demand remains significantly elevated the day after a game as the body repairs tissues. Practitioners should advocate for a substantial "recovery breakfast" the following morning to support this increased resting metabolic rate and ongoing physiological repair processes.

• Relative Dosing Strategies for Creatine Monohydrate: Conventional "one-size-fits-all" dosing of $3\text{g}$ to $5\text{g}$ of creatine is often insufficient for large, elite athletes common in professional sport. Current evidence suggests a relative dosing strategy of $0.1\text{g}$ to $0.14\text{g}$ per kilogram of body mass. For a $100\text{kg}$ athlete, this equates to a $10\text{g}$ to $14\text{g}$ daily dose to fully saturate skeletal muscle. Beyond muscle power, this higher dose is increasingly recognized for its cognitive benefits. Because muscles are "greedy" for creatine, higher dosages are required to ensure enough of the supplement crosses the blood-brain barrier to provide neuroprotective and cognitive-enhancing effects during competition.

• Nutritional Support for Cognitive Load and Decision-Making: Although the brain accounts for only 2% of total body weight, it consumes roughly 20% of the body's daily energy needs, primarily as glucose. In elite sports, millisecond decision-making is heavily dependent on glucose availability and creatine reservoirs in the brain. Proper fueling ensures athletes do not suffer from "cognitive fatigue," which can lead to poor scanning, slower processing, and inaccurate technical execution late in a match. High doses of creatine have specifically been shown to mitigate the negative effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive processing speed and memory, making it a vital tool for traveling athletes or those in high-pressure environments.

• Overcoming Carbohydrate Phobia in Elite Populations: A significant barrier in professional sport is "carbohydrate phobia," where athletes under-fuel because they fear fat mass gain. Many athletes unknowingly compete "under-fueled," which results in premature fatigue and a significant drop-off in second-half high-speed running performance. Nudging athletes to increase carbohydrate intake—sometimes shifting from minimal intake to $60\text{g}$–$100\text{g}$ per hour—can lead to subjective reports of feeling significantly better in the final quarters of play. Practitioners should emphasize that for competition, shifting the ratio to more carbohydrates and slightly less protein can provide more fuel for performance without necessarily increasing total daily calories.

• Game Day Fueling and the Shift to Liquid Carbohydrates: On game day, the primary goal is to top up liver and muscle glycogen, as the bulk of "loading" should have occurred on Match Day Minus One ($6\text{g}$ to $8\text{g/kg}$ of carbohydrates). Modern elite athletes increasingly prefer liquid carbohydrate sources—such as juices, cordials, and electrolyte solutions—over heavy meals to avoid feeling sluggish during competition. While a pre-match meal is typically consumed three hours before kickoff, athletes often benefit from "nibbling" on carbohydrate-dense, low-fiber foods like pancakes with honey, banana bread, or white chocolate porridge to maintain steady blood glucose levels without experiencing gastrointestinal distress or heaviness.

• The Ergogenic Role of Caffeine Periodization: Caffeine is a powerful ergogenic aid, but its effectiveness can be blunted by high daily habitual use. In elite environments, athletes often consume multiple coffees socially, leading to desensitization. A more effective performance strategy involves "caffeine periodization," where athletes lower their intake in the days leading up to a match to ensure they receive a maximal ergogenic "hit" on game day. This ensures the central nervous system response is optimized when it matters most. Practitioners should look at the total caffeine "footprint" of an athlete across the week to ensure that the match-day dose provides a genuine performance advantage.

• Contextualizing Alcohol and the Psychological De-load: While the physiological consensus is that alcohol does not benefit recovery, its impact is highly context-dependent in professional team sports. A single celebratory beer post-match is unlikely to cause a detrimental effect on 24-hour recovery and can actually facilitate social bonding and psychological "de-loading." Interestingly, some research suggests that the sugars and electrolytes in a single beer can be rehydrated effectively, though this is not a recommendation for heavy consumption. The priority for practitioners is to ensure that "good nutrition" (protein and carbs) and adequate hydration are consumed before any alcohol to negate potential negative effects.

• Navigating Nootropics and Clinical Weight Loss Medications: The emerging field of nootropics (e.g., Lion's Mane, Ashwagandha) and clinical weight loss medications (GLP-1 agonists) requires an evidence-based approach. Many nootropics lack robust ecological validity in elite human cohorts. Regarding weight loss "jabs," there is a significant risk of losing skeletal muscle mass alongside fat mass if the user is not concurrently engaging in resistance training and maintaining high protein intake. For athletes or staff using these, the underlying nutritional behaviors must be addressed; otherwise, stopping the medication often leads to a rebound in fat mass with a compromised, "unhealthier" body composition due to the prior loss of lean tissue.

Where you can find James:

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

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Sponsors

VALD Performance, makers of the Nordbord, Forceframe, ForeDecks and HumanTrak. VALD Performance systems are built with the high-performance practitioner in mind, translating traditionally lab-based technologies into engaging, quick, easy-to-use tools for daily testing, monitoring and training

Hytro: The world’s leading Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) wearable, designed to accelerate recovery and maximise athletic potential using Hytro BFR for Professional Sport. 

Gameplan Performance, Gameplan Performance is a rehab Project Management & Data Analytics Platform that improves operational & communication efficiency during rehab. Gameplan provides a centralised tool for MDT’s to work collaboratively inside a data rich environment.