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Nutrition for Sports Workouts

Sunday, November 22nd, 2009

By Adrienne Carlson

You don’t have to be a pro to be into sports in a major way; all you need are an interest for the game, a passion to work on your skills, and a certain amount of talent to keep you going. Playing a sport is a great way to exercise and stay fit – it does not get monotonous like a gym routine; it allows you to connect and mingle with friends and family; and it gives you a general sense of physical and mental well-being. But as amateur sportspersons, we do tend to make a few mistakes, some of which could end up being more costly than we bargained for.

For one, we may injure ourselves if we forget to warm up or cool down correctly before playing the sport, and for another, we fail to provide our body with the right nutrition before and after a game.

Playing the game and taking part in workout drills and practice sessions takes a lot of energy and stamina; you lose water and tend to become dehydrated if you are not careful; and you’re liable to cramps and muscle pulls if your body runs low on minerals and salts. So if you are into sports big time, here’s how to keep up with your nutrition needs:

• Pre-game or workout nutrition: Drink enough water to keep you hydrated, and if your workout is going to be intense or if you think you need extra energy for a game that could go on for some time, try a sports drink that is packed with carbohydrates and electrolytes.

It’s important to stay hydrated in situations where your body is bound to sweat a lot and lose water and essential salts. Avoid eating close to game time or just before a workout. Ensure that your meal is fully digested before you begin working out in order to avoid heartburn or other symptoms of discomfort. Eat carbohydrates that are easy to digest like pasta and bread, fruits that are high in sugar content, juices or other liquids that provide energy.

Although it may seem to perk you up, avoid loading up on caffeine because when it leaves your system, you feel a drop in your energy levels. Also avoid foods that are high in fat and difficult to digest.

• Post-game nutrition: Remember to spend enough time cooling down and relaxing your body if you’ve been involved in an intense game or an energetic round of exercise. Eat food that is rich in protein and which helps repair and rebuild worn and aching muscles. Drink water slowly instead of gulping it down to prevent cramping. Also remember to drink water and other energy fluids during the game or workout to prevent dehydration and loss of essential salts.

You may not be a professional, but that’s no reason not to be professional about your nutrition needs when it comes to playing a sport.

This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of physical therapist assistant schools . Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson1@gmail.com

Tags: Adrienne Carlson, carbohydrates, Columbus, energy, Exercise, hydration, jason yun, Nutrition, post-workout, pre-workout, prograde nutrition, protein, speed, Sports, supplements, workout, workouts
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Pre-Workout Nutrition For Ultimate Performance and Fat Loss [ARTICLE]

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Everybody probably knows what the #1 most important meal of the day is. It’s breakfast. That fact has been drilled into us since we were little. It sets your body’s tone and metabolism for the day. Fat loss is virtually impossible with out it.

Problem is a lot of people don’t know about this little fat loss secret I’m about to share with you. What you eat before a workout is one of the most important things you can do during the day for ultimate fat loss. Without a solid pre-workout nutrition regiment your post-workout meal will be a lot less effective.

The questions I get asked the most are ‘what’ and when’ to eat this meal. First off let’s talk about why you need to be eating this meal.

The pre-workout meal ensures that you will have adequate nutrition to make it through your workout. You should concentrate on getting fuel into your body. And the body’s best fuel source is carbohydrates. Most importantly you want to concentrate on complex or fibrous carbs, which are the carbs that give you sustained energy. What you are doing with these carbs is making sure that your glycogen levels (stored carbohydrates) are full, because when you workout your body pulls the carbs out of glycogen storage to be used as energy. So if you your levels are depleted, like when you wake up in the morning, and you skip the pre-workout meal then you have no glycogen to pull out. So the body will resort to pulling lean muscle tissue off your muscles to fuel the workout, which results in less muscle mass, decreased metabolism, and increased fat gain.

You also need to get a lean source of protein. Protein should be consumed with every meal regardless, to keep the protein (amino acid) stores up.

If you workout on an empty stomach your body doesn’t have any energy. You can’t give 100% intensity, and if you do you will most likely feel sick, light-headed, and nauseous. You will reach fatigue a lot quicker also.

When to eat this meal ideally would be at least 60 minutes before hand. And about 60-90 minutes is a good time range. This will give the body enough time to digest the meal and give the body a full dose of energy for the workout. If this is not possible, as in an early morning workout then 20-30 minutes should suffice, but the meal should be a lot lighter. Early morning workouts are ideal for a meal replacement shake, especially if you have trouble eating so early.

Now to the part you probably care, and want to know the most about—what to eat. The best carbohydrate source to eat before a workout would be oatmeal in milk, or some added whey protein if lactose intolerant. It supplies long lasting energy and is a good source of protein when combined with milk. Other things you could consider would be a bowl of cereal, peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat, fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and energy bars. But be careful with the bars, I only really recommend Lara Bars, Luna, Cliff Bars, and Prograde Cravers, other then that it pretty much is just eating a bunch of sugar and chemicals.
supplements are good fuel for a workout

Good choices of protein would be whey protein shakes, chicken breast, turkey breast, lean cuts of steak, fish, or meal replacement shakes or bars.

The meal replacement shake I use is Prograde Lean. It’s definitely the best tasting one I’ve found. And the whey protein I use is Buy Bulk Whey. It’s a natural protein, which is good because you can mix it with almost anything and it will maintain its flavor. I add it to yogurt, pancakes, Gatorade, fruit juices, and a lot of different recipes.

Jason Yun, a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Sports Nutritionist, is the owner of Yun Strength and Fitness Systems, LLC and runs Yun Fitness Bootcamps in Columbus, OH and the Metabolism Makeover Nutrition Course. Please visit the website for more information about pre-workout nutrition at:

http://www.Yuntraining.com/lean.html

http://www.Yuntraining.com/whey.html

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