By When it comes to pre and post-workout nutrition, ensuring you have a well thought out strategy is key to getting results from your workout. Most people aren’t familiar with certain things they can do to enhance their workout. I’d love to share tips that I’ve been doing for many years that could benefit you.
Considering we all have nutritional preferences, the basics still apply to anyone who wants to lose weight or build muscle mass. Although men and women both have different dietary needs, sticking to the basics will be highly beneficial.
Two top pre-workout essentials to follow
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Proper hydration. When you lose water through sweat and perspiration during your workout, the amount of water in the blood drops. As this happens, plasma volume declines, resulting in a reduction of blood flow to the skin. Cardiac output is impaired, as well as the blood pumped to the heart with each heartbeat. Your heart rate may increase, and exercise performance begins to suffer. It’s essential to think about hydration as something we have to keep on top of all the time. That could mean drinking a lot more water during the day or allocating a hydration protocol before, during and after your workout. Some instances may call for electrolytes and recommend for those who fast regularly. I suffer from dehydration a lot, and rather than putting a lot more salt in my foods, I use hydration powders & are low calorie. Most people may not need added hydration, and water should be enough. You can discover your recommended daily water intake anywhere on the internet. A ballpark figure would be 3 litres per day (and more depending on the climate you are living in as well as your exercise levels)
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Energy-dependent nutrition. If your workout is low impact, you may not need the added nutritional impact of most athletes. Lifting very heavy weights and highly intense training will most likely need some form of nutrition. Most of us can get by with little or no food before training. I fast every day and only alter this over the weekend. The weekend leaves me extra time to smash my workout, and therefore, I will need some added nutritional value. That comes in the form of carbohydrates from oats. Protein powder is also a good choice when you don’t have a lot of time. If you are on a keto or low carb diet, it’s best to consume carbs several hours before your workout to improve your glycogen and get the most benefits out of your lower-carb diet.
Four top post-workout essentials
When it comes to post-workout nutrition, you want to ensure you have the best environment for exercise recovery, restore energy sources and maximise your caloric expenditure. That’s everyone’s dream, but if you follow a few simple rules, you will be able to live it out after every workout.
1. Take vitamin C. Straight after my workout, I take vitamin C to decrease cortisol and help my body recover from exercise. It’s something I’ve been doing for years, and I recommend you do so as well.
2. Stay hydrated. Making sure you still keep drinking water after your workout will help you reduce stress levels. Drink a glass of water every hour, and that should top you up for the whole day.
3. Eat healthy carbs post-workout. I love to have my oats in a porridge. This combination helps elevate insulin just a bit so that cortisol can plummet. Carbs also restore glycogen which is essential for muscle recovery
4. Get enough sleep. Rest means your body has time to repair and rejuvenate. Try to get as much sleep as possible, and you will notice a massive difference in your workout potential and energy levels throughout the day.
These simple yet very effective tips will help you get the most out of your workout every time. I believe that’s what we’re all striving to achieve.
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