When youexercise, you do it in order to try to maintain good health. You know that youhave to eat so that your body has the energy to perform the workouts that youdo as well as for everyday tasks. But, just what you should eat before andafter you workouts is important for making the best of your workouts. Also, howlong you eat before and after each workout is equally important.
Whether you are going to be doing a cardio workout or a resistance workout, youshould try to make it a point to eat a mix of carbohydrates and protein. Whatdetermines the percentage of carbohydrates and protein you should consume iswhether you are doing cardio or resistance and the intensity level you will beworking at.
The ideal time to eat your pre workoutmeal is 1 hour before you start. If you are working at a lower intensity level,keep this meal down to around 200 calories or so. If you are working at ahigher intensity level, you may need this meal to be as high as 400 to 500calories.
If you are doing a cardio session, youwill need to eat a mix of around 2/3 carbohydrates and 1/3 protein. This willgive you longer sustained energy from the extra carbs with enough protein tokeep muscle from breaking down during your workout.
If you are doing a resistance session, you should eat a mix of around 1/3carbohydrates and 2/3 protein. This will give you enough energy from the carbsto perform each set you do and the extra protein will help keep musclebreakdown to a minimum during your workout. It has been shown that your bodymost effectively uses protein during exertion meaning that taking in moreprotein before resistance workouts aids in faster recovery as well.
Now, eating after a workout is just as important as the pre workout meal.Remember that when you exercise whether it is a cardio or a resistance session,you deplete energy in the form of glycogen. Our brain and central nervoussystem relies on glycogen as their main source of fuel so if we don’t replaceit after exercise, our bodies will begin to break down muscle tissue into aminoacids, then convert them into usable fuel for the brain and central nervoussystem.
Also, mostly during resistance workouts,you break down muscle tissue by creating micro tears. This means that rightafter a workout; your muscles go into a repair mode. Proteins are the keymacronutrient for muscle repair and so you don’t want muscle breaking downfurther to create fuel in place of lost glycogen.
If you have just finished a cardio session, you will need to consume mostlycarbohydrates, preferably ones with high fiber. Oatmeal, rice, whole wheatpasta, and most northern fruits are good sources. Try to consume around 30 to50 grams of these carbohydrates after a cardio session. After cardio, it is okto eat within 5 to 10 minutes of completion.
If you have just finished a resistance session, you will need a combination ofcarbohydrates and protein. Because unlike cardio workouts, with resistanceworkouts you are breaking down muscle tissue by creating micro tears. Theprotein is needed to build up and repair these tears so the muscle can increasein size and strength. The carbs not only replace the lost muscle glycogen, butalso help the protein get into our muscle cells so it can synthesize intostructural protein, or muscle itself.
Chicken or fish with a potato, eggwhites with a piece of fruit, or a protein shake with fruit mixed in are goodmeals after resistance workouts but remember to keep the fiber low here. Highfiber slows down digestion, meaning the protein will take longer to reach themuscle cells.
After resistance, it is recommended to wait 30 minutes before eating so as notto take blood away from your muscles too soon. The blood in your muscles helpswith the repair process by removing metabolic waste products from them.
Any fats should be consumed well before and well after exercise.
