Food plays an important role in achieving goals related to physical activity and wellness.
Preparing for a workout does not only involve warming up or stretching. Diet, hydration, and a good night’s sleep also play an important role in achieving our training goals. If you neglect your diet, you run the risk of negatively affecting your health, well-being, and exercise performance.
Poor nutrition can lead to early muscle fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and poor performance and muscle recovery. According to nutritionist Thaís Barca these drawbacks can increase injury risks over time.
What to eat before working out?
Barca recommends consuming carbohydrates which are energy sources. The ideal meal depends on the time between your meal and your workout. If you are eating an hour before training; ideally, you should eat something that swiftly provides you with energy. Such as oatmeal with a banana and honey; white bread with fruit jam; boiled potatoes with salt; and red grape juice with pulp.
This specialist also recommends avoiding foods containing too much fiber if you eat close to your training time. Such as lentils, chickpeas, pasta, and whole wheat bread.
Post-workout food
Eating after working out is also essential for muscle recovery, energy recovery, and optimization of physical activity results. To this end, Barca recommends consuming protein for muscle and joint repair and regeneration. Protein provides amino acids that regenerate muscle fibers damaged during training.
Chicken, beef, fish, eggs, cheese, yogurt, and food supplements can be consumed when it is not possible to prepare a complete meal. Vegetarians can eat beans, chickpeas, and lentils.
On the other hand, hydration must not be forgotten; the right thing to do is to always have a bottle of water nearby to hydrate during the day, during and after working out.
Barca emphasizes that exercise nutrition is personal and varies depending on the sport and the person’s routine.
Finally, the Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana (International Iberoamerican University) (UNIB) offers the Master in Physical Activity: Sports Training and Management.
Source: Qué alimentos son ideales antes y después del ejercicio
