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There is a lot of evidence that shows how important nutrition is for exercise, from promoting performance to improving recovery. But it is often difficult to know whether it is best to eat before or after training.
To answer this question, you should first consider what you are training for, as your goal may influence whether to eat sooner or not. Second, you need to consider what level you are at. The needs of an elite athlete are different from those of a beginner and likely affect the amount of energy needed from food and even the number of meals eaten. Third, you need to think about what works for you. Some people thrive when exercising on an empty stomach, while for others it’s the other way around.
Eat first
When we train, our body needs energy. This energy is provided by fuel, stored in our body (in the form of carbohydrates in the liver and muscles, or from fat stores), or by the food we eat. If exercise is challenging or if we train for a long time, we use more stored carbohydrates (known as glycogen).
Studies show that carbohydrates in our diets are important for replenishing our glycogen stores between periods of exercise and even when consumed before exercise sessions.
So, if your energy is a little low, or you are having a longer or more demanding session, consuming foods rich in carbohydrates – such as pasta, rice, cereals or fruit – about three to four hours before exercise can help. to provide you with the energy you need to keep moving.
There is also evidence that the type of carbohydrate can help improve metabolic responses to exercise. While this may not necessarily affect performance, eating low-glycemic foods (foods that produce a slower-releasing carbohydrate effect, such as oat porridge or wholemeal bread) can support energy better and provide benefits (such as less use. of glycogen stores) during exercise for some.
But eating right before exercise could cause indigestion, cramps, or nausea. Eating an easily digestible, carbohydrate-rich meal (for example, blueberry porridge) about three hours before a training session can help sustain energy and improve training quality without necessarily leading to intestinal problems. Pre-refueling also helps support blood sugar levels during exercise, which can positively impact performance.
If your goal is to build strength or muscle, evidence also suggests that eating protein before exercise can improve overall recovery responses. By providing essential amino acids before they are needed, it could support early recovery and could be relevant for those undertaking intensive workouts.
Eat after
On the flip side, however, recent research has shown that fasting training – for example, first thing in the morning before breakfast – can actually lead to positive adaptations related to efficient fuel use and fat burning.
This doesn’t necessarily mean greater weight loss, but it could optimize fuel efficiency, which can be important for those training for a marathon, for example, to help delay fatigue. Fasting training could also have other health benefits such as improved blood sugar and hormone regulation.
But if we think about the point of training, it all depends on how we recover and adapt from it. This is where nutrition has a significant role to play. Early research has shown the benefits of consuming carbohydrates after exercise to restore muscle glycogen. This not only affects our ability to train many times a week by helping muscles recover faster, but it has also been shown to affect our performance.
Studies have also shown that eating immediately after finishing exercise (as opposed to waiting a few hours) can help maximize recovery, particularly if you consume a carbohydrate intake of around 1.3 grams per kilogram of body weight at all. now during the 2-6 hour short-term recovery phase. This could be helpful in knowing if you are having another session that day or within eight hours.
If your training sessions are more spread out, early carbohydrate replenishment is less important, as long as you aim to meet the suggested guidelines, which, for moderate activity, is around 5-7 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram. of body weight per day.
But there is also an overwhelming amount of evidence pointing to the importance of protein nutrition when recovering from exercise, both for maximizing muscle growth and for supporting glycogen replenishment (if protein is consumed with carbohydrates). Research also shows that if training is done later in the day, consuming a small protein meal (such as a smoothie) before bed can also help with acute recovery leading to muscle growth.
Before and after
Unless you’re exercising fast for a particular reason (for example, metabolic adaptations or personal preferences), there seem to be clear benefits to eating before (and during) a longer duration exercise. This can also be the case with more trained athletes looking to gain a performance advantage. But using nutrition to strategically recover should be a must for those who are serious about maximizing their workouts.
But what about both? In the case of resistance training, such as weightlifting, research shows that consuming a combination of the major carbohydrates, protein and creatine immediately before and after training provided better muscle and strength gains in ten weeks than consuming these nutrients away from training.
While eating after exercise is important for muscle building and recovery between workouts, eating before a workout can be just as important for those doing demanding or long workouts. But regardless of the type of exercise, it’s important to make sure you’re eating enough carbohydrates, proteins, and other key nutrients to fuel yourself.
This article was originally published in Justin Roberts’ The Conversation at Anglia Ruskin University. Read the original article here.
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