Eating Before and After Exercise
Anytime you exercise, you do so in an effort to maintain good health. You're also aware that you need to eat, so your body can access the fuel it requires to exercise and maintain itself for the day-to-day chores of living. To make the most effective use of your exercise routine, what you consume for nutrients before and after you exercise is extremely important.
Irrespective of whether you're intending to do a cardio routine or a resistance exercise, you ought to ensure that you eat a mixture of protein and carbohydrates that is balanced. What determines the ratio of carbs to protein you eat is whether or not you're exercise is resistance or cardio and the degree of intensity that you intend to work at.
The best time for you to consume your pre exercise dinner is approximately 60 minutes prior to your starting time. If you intend to exercise at a low intensity level, you ought to keep your pre workout repast under approximately 200 calories . If you plan to activity at a high intensity level, you'll likely require your food to be between 4,000 and 5,000 calories.
People doing a cardio workout session will want to ingest a mixture of 1/3 protein and 2/3 carbs. In doing this it will afford you increased and prolonged energy from the additional carbs with sufficient protein in order for your muscle not to begin breaking down during your exercise.
During a resistance exercise, you will want to have a combination of 1/3 carbs and 2/3 protein, as this will aid you in getting abundant energy from the carbs to execute each repetition you do and the surplus protein will assist in keeping the muscle breakdown to a minimum during your exercise.
Having something to eat after you exercise is as cirtical as the meal you eat before your exercise. Whatever exercise you choose whether cardio or resistance, energy, in the form of gloycogen, is depleted from your body.The central nervous system and the brain both depend on glycogen as their number one source of fuel, so if that glycogen is not replaced after you exercise your body will start to take apart the muscle tissue and change it into amino acids which is converted into fuel that can be used by the brain and central nervous system.
Remember, during resistance exercise muscle tissue is broken down by creating micro tears. This means that when your workout is over, the muscles will start to go into repair mode immediately.
This is why a higher percentage of protein is important before a resistance workout, because you don't want to have further muscle break down to replace glycogen for the brain and CNS.
When you've completed a cardio routine, you will have to ingest primarily carbohydrates, preferably those containing high fiber. Whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, rice and northern fruits are first-class sources of fiber. Also, try to eat 30 - 50 grams of carbs when you have finished your exercising. It is fine to eat within 5 - 10 minutes after your cardio workout is finished.
When you have completed a resistance workout, you'll want to take in a mix of carbs and protein. Contrary to cardio exercises, resistance workouts will break down muscle tissue by producing micro tears.
You will need protein as this is used to build up and mend these rips so that the muscular tissue will gain in strength and size. The carbs will help put back the glycogen that the muscle lost, and will also aid the protein in getting into the muscle cells so it can be synthesized into structural protein, for the muscle itself.
You should wait up to 30 minutes after your resistance exercise, before you eat, this way you won't carry blood away from your muscles excessively fast. The blood flowing in your muscles helps the mending process by getting rid of the metabolic waste material.
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