Fitness fanatics, especially athletes and trainers, all around the world, will vouch that a good pre workout meal rounds up a well-planned routine. So, if you are not observing any gains yet, it is time to ask yourself if what you are consuming is enough to fuel your body to benefit from the intensity of the routine itself or are you missing a major component that contributes effectively to how your body responds to the routine. While you may be spending hours in the gym sweating it out to achieve your desired results, you may have to up your diet game to yield maximum benefits. So, what are the benefits of preworkout and how does it affect your body? Keep reading to know the importance of preworkout meals and how you can stop your body from stalling a session.
Benefits of Preworkout
Listed below are some of the ways in which preworkout meal benefits you:
1. Enhances performance
Working with heavy gym equipment requires a lot of strength and endurance and going for a workout without providing your body with the right amount of nutrition can prove to be extremely challenging. A good preworkout meal is a recipe for everything that your body will need to get through a taxing workout session. A balanced preworkout meal ensures that your body is energised and boosts your performance. When exercising, the glycogen in your body is converted to glucose which contributes significantly to the contraction of your muscles. To minimise the exhaustion of glycogen, it is imperative that you provide your body with sufficient carbs.
2. Reduces Exhaustion
It becomes quite tiring to motivate yourself to complete your workout when tiredness is overtaking you and to combat the lethargy. It is important to include all the nutrients your body needs to reach its optimum potential. Supplying your body with the right quantity of nutrition can prevent fatigue and quick burnout.
3. Say No to Quick Protein Depletion
When working out, the end goal is not to achieve quick gains but to also maintain those gains. However, you cannot maintain those hard-earned gains if the protein in your body is breaking down rapidly and that the synthesis of protein is equal to or greater than the protein breakdown. The amino acids in our body can be described as the foundation of protein in our body. However, to impede complete depletion of protein, there are a number of options available that can help counter this process. So, what are the best preworkout options when you are looking to source protein? Poultry, meal, dairy products, fish, soy, nuts as well as seeds, and legumes.
Timing of Preworkout Meal
Is timing and what you consume important depending on which time slot of the day you’ve dedicated to your workout? What and when you consume can differ as per the goals you’ve set for yourself on a particular day. Preworkout meals should ideally be tailored to cater to the form of workout you’ve planned for the day.
For example, for strength training day, it is best to avoid fats as they take longer to get digested and won’t provide adequate energy your body will need to push through a high intensity strength training session. If you are focusing on cardio for the day, then avoiding the intake of sugar pre workout will prevent your body from crashing within 15-20 minutes of proceeding with your endurance routine.
Preworkout meals undoubtedly play a colossal role in your performance during working out. So, it is important to know how to make the most of it without compromising on your fitness goals.
Do you generally prefer going to the gym in the mornings? In that case, snacks that are light on your stomach but rich in carbs will be your best friend. Include energy providing foods like bananas, cereal, granola, fresh juice, etc. in your breakfast. However, make sure that you give your body enough time (preferably an hour) to process the food before you start working out.
Conclusion
A number of people live with the misconception that preworkout meals must contain a source of protein to meet the demands of your training. However, did you know that protein in fact is not the best source of energy to cope with your training requirements? Unlike carbs and fats, protein is not the ideal choice to fuel your body for intense training. So, to reap the most benefits of preworkout meals, it is best to include more food items that supply fats and carbs before your session and keep rich protein sources rebuild and re-energise yourself post workout.
