The Pre-exercise Meal
Weight trainers don’t usually expend the amount of energy that a an endurance athlete does in training, so one doesn’t have to be as acutely aware of the intake of carbohydrate required to fuel such effort. For example, a heavy-training marathoner or triathlete may require 7-10 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram body weight per day (3-5 grams/pound/bw/day). Take it from me that this is a lot of carbohydrate – more than 32 slices of bread equivalent for a 150 pound (70 kilos) athlete minimum.
Even so, here are some principles for meals prior to exercise as generally supported by sports nutritionists and modified for the strength athlete. Remember, this is for eating before you train or compete.
- Experiment and find your tolerance for various foods before and during exercise. This is important because many of us react differently to fiber, foods like beans, milk, various fruits and so on.
- Eat meals low in fat and fiber with some protein and carbohydrate. Fiber can and should be part of a healthy diet in other meals.
- A main meal should be eaten 3-4 hours before exercise.
- A smaller meal can be taken 1-2 hours before exercise.
- Within an hour of activity, liquids such as sports drinks and gels, or protein shakes or foods that are not too heavy may be best.
- A very small percentage of people get a reactive blood glucose drop if they eat a high carbohydrate meal, so this may not be suitable for some people near to exercise. The number of athletes that suffer from this condition, called hypoglycemia, is much lower than once thought. Adding protein to the meal can prevent this.
- Running type sports seem to churn the gut up and produce discomfort more than stationary or supported sports like weight training, swimming or cycling; so the pre-meal variety can be greater if you’re not a runner. (I still wouldn’t have the goose liver pate followed by the fried chicken and rice though.)
- Consume around 10-20 grams of quality protein within 30-60 minutes of the weights session. Research has shown that an intake of 6-12 grams of essential amino acids, which is equivalent to 10-20 grams of a complete protein, promotes enhanced muscle protein recovery and rebuilding after the workout. One gram per kilogram body weight (about 0.5 grams/pound) of carbohydrate taken with the protein may assist this anabolic boost. Some trainers call this a protein 'shooter'.
Here are some foods and combinations that provide at least 10 grams of protein and 50 grams of carbohydrate.
- Flavored low-fat milk, 17 fl. ounces (500 ml)
- 1 cup fruit salad with 7 ounces or 200 grams flavored yoghurt
- A large glass of skim milk and two slices of bread and honey or jam (no butter)
- Various protein bars and protein shakes and powders – check the labels for percentages and quantities.
Refueling During a Weights Session
Unless you do extreme sessions for considerably longer than an hour, include intense cardio or strength-endurance weights programs, or ate poorly in the hours leading up to the session, you probably don't need anything other than water to get you through in good shape. And good shape means not letting your blood and muscle glucose get too low at which point cortisol and other hormones will be looking to break down your muscle.
It's a fine point but one that's worth considering. You don't need expensive and probably useless supplements to protect you from catabolic cortisol surges, all you need is some carbohydrate from a sports drink, gel or bar.
The Post-Exercise Meal
How you eat to recover from exercise is one of the most important principles in exercise nutrition. If you don’t refuel sufficiently after each session, your glucose (glycogen) stores in muscle can get depleted leading to tiredness, poor performance and even immune system suppression and infection. Glucose is the athlete’s and exerciser’s main fuel. You get it from carbohydrate foods and drinks. What's more, inadequate refueling after your session won't take advantage of that hard muscle work by giving those muscles an anabolic boost that repairs and builds.
Weight trainers do not use as much glucose fuel as the higher intensity or higher duration aerobic sports like track and endurance running and cycling, but even so, it pays to keep those glycogen stores topped up if you want to be at your best in training. You will notice glucose depletion more after muscle-endurance and hypertrophy programs where higher repetitions, perhaps to failure, are slated rather than the low-rep strength sets where direct ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is likely the main fuel. Low numbers of repetitions with heavy weights are used to develop strength, whereas lighter weights and more repetitions are used to build muscle size and muscle endurance. The latter is likely to expend more energy.
