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What Are You Eating Prior To Exercise? Maximize Your Results.
By
Kim Miller |
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People will often ask me what they should eat before they train. It's a good question because what and how much you eat prior to working out should depend on which fitness component you will be working on. For example, say that your emphasis on a particular day is going to be muscular strength, and so you will probably be lifting free weights and or a machine weights. It is a known bit of information in the world of strength that what you eat prior to strength training has a direct correlation on your ability to lift. First and foremost one has to eat prior to strength training because it aids in keeping the blood sugar levels up so we do not feel weak or faint when exerting the energy. Secondly, however by eating prior to strength training, we are able to jump start or what is often called priming the muscles for the workload that is ahead. It is true that most of our energy comes from food that we have eaten the day prior as it is stored in the muscles in the form of glycogen. This glycogen is what fuels our energy especially when we are engaged in endurance events. When it comes to strength training though, scientists know that there is a direct correlation between what we consume one hour - 30 minutes prior to a strength event and how we actually perform.
So the question is,
What Do I Eat Prior To Strength Training?
1. Protein
2. Carbohydrates
3. Fat
Here's some good examples of the three eaten together- see if any will work for you. And by the way, if you are not used to eating before you workout or real early in the morning before you train, just start with a small amount of food. Ideally depending on your size, 250- 500 calories should be sufficient. You should not feel full as if you are too full, all your digestive organs will be using the blood and energy that you really need for the muscles you are aiming to strengthen.
* One slice whole grain toast-1-2 TBLS peanut butter- an orange or 6 oz.orange juice.
* One slice pumpernickel toast- one poached egg - 4 to 8 oz. cantaloupe.
* Half cup to one cup steel oats - half cup soy milk - half cup berries
* Small bran and flaxseed muffin - 1 to 2 oz low fat cheese - small apple or other fruit.
* Smoothies made with yogurt, fruit and low sugar protein powders.
What To Eat When Working Cardiovascular System Mainly?
When you are mainly training the cardiovascular system and using the largest muscles of your body in a continuos motion, eating is a little different just prior to working out. If you are doing a long slow bike ride or long slow elliptical or jogging walking training day, then you'll want to eat a little more simply and definitely a little less if you are eating just one hour prior to your training. You'll have to experiment with your timing, but general quidelines say that you should eat more simple carbohydrates if eating 1-2 hours before a cardiovascular training day. You should also know that Proteins and Fats tend to take much longer to digest than carbohydrates and so for this reason, they are not a good choice if eating one to two hours before training. However, let me add that at the same time, if you are diabetic or prone to low blood sugar, or older, adding a small amount of protein or a good fat is a good choice regardless. It will keep your blood sugar from dropping. You should experiment. People with regular blood sugar levels will most likely feel better doing endurance activities with small amounts of simple and or complex carbohydrates depending upon the time or distance of the event. There are variations of how you can best eat prior to training when it comes to the use of cardiovascular intervals, or even flexibility training but we'll take that up another day.
Author's Bio
Kim Miller is a certified wellness coach and certified personal trainer through the American council on exercise. She resides in St. Augustine, Florida as a full time freelance trainer and coach. It is her intent to change the way people view dieting and aging and begin to see healthy aging and wellness as a lifelong enjoyable endeavor. She can be contacted at bodysmartpersonaltraining@yahoo.com or by calling 904 501 6002. To receive her weekly health newsletter and or a complimentary coaching training consultation go to betterhealthbetterlivingcoaching.com
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