Nate Myles Nate Myles
Images: Warren Clarke

GOOD BOY FOR SANTA

“I was a good boy over Christmas. I went back to my hometown of Cairns for the whole two weeks we had off. I was pretty disciplined with training. Seeing as though I was on a break, I didn’t do much training by our standards, but I made sure I kept turning the legs over so that when I came back I felt a lot better for it.

“I did a bit of weights with my brother and stuck to a similar weights program to what we regularly do at the Roosters. There was a little bit a cardio, but mainly I tried to stay off my legs because I knew there’d be plenty of running for us to do when we all got back to training in January. So doing work on the bike in the gym up in Cairns was really effective.”

RIGHT TOOLS

“I think supplements I was taking during pre-season, and still do, definitely played their part in helping me achieve my playing weight goal. One of my supplements, LipoBurn Hardcore, has therapeutic doses of various herbal extracts. It’s got Guarana in it, which is a natural source of caffeine, and other good stuff – it’s supposed to help reduce appetite and sugar cravings and stimulate fat metabolism.

“I also take Melibol Branch Chain Amino Acids 2200, or BCAAs for short. They say they’re different from regular proteins because they’re metabolised in the muscle rather than in the liver. Ideally you burn mostly fat and store carbs as fuel, but later your body also relies on protein, especially BCAAs, as your carbs burn up. When you run out of BCAAs it speeds the breakdown of muscle glycogen, which you don’t want, because then you are ‘hitting the wall’, so this supplement is a big help. I also take HydroxyBurn Pro. It’s another protein supplement but it’s released slowly, so it burns fat but feeds the muscles.

“And I also take Multi VMA. It’s a real energizer with heaps of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. It’s supposed to be really good for people with stress and poor diet.

“I hadn’t taken supplements before the last off-season; I’d never had to push through the minutes I am now or perform

a role where I have to do a lot more work. Besides, playing in the front row, I never had to worry about my weight too much.”

FEELING THE EFFECTS

“There are products out there on the market where you can actually feel the effects on your system. They make you want to be active and get active. They give you a bit of a buzz, which is handy. You hit the weights, you rip in and you’re training at a high intensity. With supplements like LipoBurn, though, you can’t really notice how they’re helping you. You take them in the morning or at lunch … if you have them too late in the day you certainly stay awake for a while because of their caffeine content."

“They can be good for boosting your immune system, too, which is really important for athletes. Time off the field because of colds or flu-type stuff affects the team and can also cost you a spot in the side if you’re off while an understudy performs well while you’re away.”

– James Smith