The Nelson Giants are on the juice, but there's no need to phone drug testing agency, Wada.

Far from dallying with doping, Nelson's elite basketballers are getting a daily dose of blackcurrants in an effort to aid their recovery in their pre-season training.

Tahunanui company Sujon Berryfruits is supplying a blackcurrant powder that is being tested with the national basketball league squad in the two months leading up to the new season. Last week, players took a blood test to get baseline readings – those tests were repeated again at training last night.

Giants trainer Claire Dallison said the product is basically "dried and smooshed-up currants in powdered form".

It is mixed with water or juice and is taken as part of a daily diet plan.

"The boys are guinea pigs for it on the basis that it certainly can't hurt and could well have some positive effects.

"There seems to be some really hopeful gains there in the areas of cardiovascular fitness and recovery, but we'll see what comes out as the testing continues."

The Giants, along with other rep basketballers and Olympic boxing hopeful Dawn Chalmers, have been getting stuck into beach training almost every day of the week, but last night was to be the first of Dallison's "chunder sessions".

"It's an hour, with a high percentage of sprinting and very little recovery time. We'll bring more lateral movement in soon, but this will be a major test of where the guys are in fitness terms." She said fronting up to blood test needles was a challenge in itself for a couple of squad members, but they were the only way to measure potential benefits from the blackcurrant extract.

"Some improvements will be because the boys are getting fitter, but if we see signs that certain indicators are strongly different from where they would be expected to be, then we might all become blackcurrant believers."

Point guard Mike Fitchett joined the squad last night, after travelling through Europe since the end of the last NBL season, while American forward Michael Harrison is due in Nelson in early February, a full month before the start of the new campaign.