Collier Madaleno recalls the story of a defensive lineman that had put on weight during the pandemic when college football was brought to a halt.

“He used that next year to really focus on nutrition,” she tells Joe and John. “[He] got down and dropped his body fat percentage by 7%, lost 45lbs [20.4kg], and he was a first-round draft pick.

“He just did such a good job at buying in and it made him a faster, more explosive person. He never lost any muscle mass, which meant he was really focusing in on eating enough of just the right things so that we were able to retain that muscle and focus on losing that fat.”

Collier’s pride is palpable, particularly as a native of Athens, Georgia, and long-term Bulldogs fan. “It’s so much fun to see them buy-in and then say ‘C, I feel so much better in practice’. ‘C, I didn’t know I could have this much energy’. It’s probably the most rewarding part of my job.”

In this edition of The People Behind the Tech podcast, Collier lifts the lid on her work as the Director of Football Performance Nutrition at the Georgia Bulldogs, who retained the NCAA national championship in January.

During the course of the conversation, we covered:

• How student-athletes are introduced to performance nutrition on campus [6:00];
• The importance of team leaders buying into her work [11:00];
• The question of recovery and inflammation [21:00];
• How Collier stays current in her work [22:30].

Joe Lemire Twitter | LinkedIn

John Portch Twitter | LinkedIn

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