The major source of fuel for active muscles is carbohydrate which gets stored in the muscles as glycogen in the days before working out. This is one reason that the post-workout meal is critical to recovery and being ready for the next workout session.
Exercising on a full stomach is not ideal. Food that remains in your stomach during an event may cause stomach upset, nausea, and cramping.
To make sure you have enough energy, yet reduce stomach discomfort, you should allow a meal to fully digest before the start of the event. This generally takes 1 to 4 hours, depending upon what and how much you've eaten.
Everyone is a bit different, and you should experiment prior to workouts to determine what works best for you. If you have an early morning race or workout, it's best to get up early enough to eat your pre-exercise meal.
If not, you should try to eat or drink something easily digestible about 20 to 30 minutes before the event. The closer you are to the time of your event, the less you should eat.
You can have a liquid meal closer to your event than a solid meal because your stomach digests liquids faster. Because glucose is the preferred energy source for most workouts, a pre-exercise meal should include foods that are high in carbohydrates and easy to digest.
This includes foods such as pasta, fruits, breads, energy bars and drinks. Planning is essential if you are competing in an all-day event, such as track meets or other tournaments.
Consider the time of your event, the amount of your meal and the energy required. Also, be aware of the amount of fluid you consume.
You should plan ahead and prepare meals and snacks that you have tried before and know will sit well with you. Do not experiment with something new on the event day.
Eating before exercise is something only the athlete can determine based upon experience. Some general guidelines include eating a solid meal 4 hours before exercise, a snack or a high carbohydrate energy drink 2 to 3 hours before exercise, and fluid replacement 1 hour before exercise.
If you eat an hour or less before competition than stick to fresh fruit such as apples, watermelon, peaches, grapes, or oranges. You could also try energy gels or up to 1 1/2 cups of a sports drink.
If you eat two to three hours before competition than stick to fresh fruits, bread, bagels, pasta, yogurt, or water. When eating 3 to 4 hours before competition than have fresh fruit, bread, bagels, pasta with tomato sauce, baked potatoes, an energy bar, cereal with milk, yogurt, toast/bread with a bit of peanut butter, lean meat, or cheese.
You should also stay hydrated by drinking water. If you are an endurance athlete, evidence suggests that eating some sugar 35 to 40 minutes before an event may provide energy when your other energy stores have dropped to low levels.
However, you should experiment with such strategies before competition because some people do not perform well after a blood glucose spike. Caffeine acts as a stimulant on the central nervous system.
It had been thought to boost endurance by stimulating a greater use of fat for energy, and thereby reserving glycogen in the muscles. Research, however, doesn't seem to support that theory.
When caffeine improves endurance, it does so by acting as a stimulant. Caffeine can have serious side effects for some people.
Those who are very sensitive to its effects may experience nausea, muscle tremors, and headaches. Too much caffeine is a diuretic, and can result in dehydration, which decreases performance.
Any foods with a lot of fat can be very difficult and slow to digest and remain in the stomach a long time, and should be avoided before a race. They also will pull blood into the stomach to aid in digestion, which can cause cramping and discomfort.
Author Resource:-
Jack R. Landry has been writing about the exercise and health industry for years. He recommends using an elliptical to stay healthy and fit.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.massagebyben.com/articles/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites 