You exercise to maintain good health. It is important to have a healthy diet so that the exercise and the food will give you energy that you need for everyday living. To get the most out of your workout you need to make the most of what you eat before and after exercise.
Whether you do a cardio workout or a resistance workout you need to eat healthy, balanced meals. You need to make sure that you eat lean proteins and carbohydrates so that you can get energy. Your carbohydrate to protein ratio is determined by how intense of a workout you are doing.
Your pre workout meal should be consumed an hour or so before you get to the gym. If you are planning a low intensity workout your meal should be small, probably a couple hundred calories is fine. The higher the intensity of a workout you plan the more calories you will need to consume in your pre workout meal.
If you are doing cardio exercises you will need to keep the ratio of two parts carbs to one protein. With your calorie breakdown at those ratios you will be able to utilize the carb calories right away for energy during your workout and you will have enough protein to protect your muscles from breaking down while you are working out.
If you are planning on doing a resistance session you will need to change the ratios to one carb to two proteins to allow you to have enough energy from your carbs to perform the planned sets and you will have enough protein to protect your muscles from being broken down during the workout.
Your post workout meal is just as important if not more important as the pre workout meal. When you do any type of exercise you are depleting your energy and stores of glycogen. Your brain and CNS use glycogen as the main source of energy and if it isn’t replaced immediately your body will start breaking down your muscles to convert into amino acids and then use them as fuel to feed your brain and CNS.
After a cardio session you should consume a post workout meal that is made up primarily of carbohydrates. These carbohydrates should also be high in fiber. Rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta and fruits are all good choices. Multiple sources of carbohydrates can be eaten within minutes of a cardio workout.
During resistance exercise you breakdown muscle and create micro tears. After a workout your muscles start repairing themselves, this is when they are doing the actual building up part of bodybuilding. Protein is needed for your muscles to repair themselves and you don’t want your body breaking down your muscles further to use them for fuel in the place of the glycogen you have used up.
Consuming a post workout meal that consists of high glycemic carbohydrates and protein is important to muscle gains. This meal should consist of rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, and lean protein preferably in liquid form to get it into your system quickly. If you are able to bring along a liquid post workout meal with you that is even better. Your post workout meal should be eaten within a few minutes of finishing a cardio session or up to 30 minutes after a resistance session.
