Why pre-workout nutrition checklist matters?
Structured, planned strength and conditioning training should be part of every gym-goers fitness lives. In this way, it will keep their body strong and mind sharp.
When it comes to pre-workout nutrition, it is important to know the strategies on eating the right foods before a workout. Our fitness experts have revealed the food types to include in a pre-workout nutrition checklist.
They have also included tips regarding proper hydration and digestion. Fast facts, fuelling your body with the right amount of nutrients prior to exercise will give you the energy and strength you need to perform at your best.
To boot, exercising with an empty stomach is not advisable as you’ll lack the energy you need from carbohydrates to achieve your peak performance. You have to try keeping the appropriate portion size to your fitness goals, as well as handling pre-workout nutrition correctly.
Nutrition Checklist
What you eat before a workout is important. Look at your body as you would any other machine, for instance, a car.
You wouldn’t attempt a non-stop 100-mile journey with just 20-miles in the tank, would you? Failing to do so, it can make you dizzy, lightheaded, nauseated or lethargic.
This can also make you more likely injure yourself. Similarly, re-fuelling after the workout will provide your body what it needs to recover from the exertion and build bigger stronger muscles.
Pre-Workout Nutrition Checklist
If you’re mindful of what you eat before and after exercising, this will maximise the benefits of all your hard work at the gym, so try and tick off of these six points. Fitness junkies have been offered a pre-workout nutrition checklist detailing what they should always aim to consume when it comes to pre-workout nutrition.
1. Carbs
Carbs mean energy. Carbs break down into glucose, enters our muscle cells and gives us fuel to exercise at our maximum capacity when we eat them. If you feel weak, tired, and being tempted to call it quits, it only means that you’re strapped for glucose during your workout.
2. Protein
We create small tears in our muscle fibres whenever we do strength training exercise such as weightlifting. When we rest, our body repairs those microtears, building up your muscles bigger and stronger than they were before.
This wouldn’t be possible without protein—meaning, it needs protein to do so. However, that doesn’t mean you want to devour a huge burger before a workout.
Instead, go for sources of protein that are easily digestible and don’t eat too much. In this way, you won’t end up getting an upset stomach halfway through.
3. Acetylcholine and High Dopamine
Did you know that every state if mind and emotion are mirrored by a chemical? Focus and drive are the names of the game during the most training sessions.
This means you’ll crave for high acetylcholine and dopamine levels. Red meat and nuts are the best food to achieve this. Eggs might not be the best option even though they are high in acetylcholine.
4. Fats
Fat takes longer to digest than carbs and protein which means fat provides a longer stream of energy. The amount of fat you choose to consume before you exercise will depend on when you’re eating and your type of workout.
Let’s say you’re eating a pre-workout meal at least two hours before your workout, it is recommended to include some source of fat. That’s also the case if you’ll be exercising at a moderate-to-low intensity (e.g. walking, hiking, biking for 1-3 hours) for an extended period of time.
5. Digestion
You need to give your body enough time to digest all the foods you eat before your workout session, especially before exerting yourself. 30 minutes to three hours is the ideal time to eat before you workout.
In that way, you’re not digesting when you hit the gym floor. However, you haven’t gone and used up all those helpful calories yet.
6. Hydration
Staying hydrated is very important. Also, keep in mind that you have to stay hydrated before, during and after your exercise.
A good place to start is drinking about two cups of water 2-3 hours before exercise. One cup of water 10 to 20 minutes before working out is advisable.
The goal here is to minimize dehydration. Dehydration can cause low energy and muscle cramps—without drinking too much.