In this episode, David is joined by Dr. Reid Reale. 

Reid Reale is the Performance Nutrition Manager for the UFC Performance Institute Shanghai. The UFC Performance Institute Shanghai provides interdisciplinary services of MMA technical training, sport science, strength & conditioning, sports nutrition and physical therapy for professional and academy UFC athletes. The UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai and Las Vegas also share best practices for performance optimization with athletes and coaches around the world in other sports.

Recognized as a leading expert in sport nutrition research and practice, in particular combat sport nutrition, Reid Reale has over 10 years’ experience working with elite, professional and Olympic athletes. Prior to joining the UFC, Reid was most recently employed as a Senior Scientist with the Gatorade Sports Science Institute at the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida; where he conducted research and provided sports science and nutrition services to elite and professional athletes, including those in the NFL, NBA and MLB. Prior to his role with GSSI, Reid was the lead dietitian for the Australian Institute of Sport’s (AIS) Combat Centre, working with the country’s best Judo, Boxing, Wrestling and Taekwondo athletes in the lead up to the 2016 Rio Olympics and beyond.

In addition to working with Australia’s best combat sport athletes, Reid provided services to many of the top combat sports nations in the world’s elite teams, including; Japan Judo, New Zealand Judo, China Judo, Philippines Boxing, Brazil Boxing, Ireland Boxing, Thailand Taekwondo, Egypt Taekwondo, as well as many high performing individual Olympic and World Championship medalists.

During his time at the AIS, Reid also completed his PhD which focused on acute weight management (weight cutting and post-weigh-in recovery) in Olympic Combat Sport athletes. As a researcher and speaker, Reid has published heavily cited work on the topic of weight management for combat sports, and has presented this work at a number of sports science and nutrition conferences around the world.