During Workout Nutrition
There are always many things to consider and juggle while you’re working out. Should you do the weights first? Or should you try and get your cardio in? Or even worse, if you’re swimming in a pool for hours and you can’t even stop to think about what you should be putting in your body while you’re enduring so much. Well luckily, there’s an easy way to think about the proper nutrition when you’re exercising so much. We’ll go over some during the workout nutrition that will hopefully help you stay fueled all the way until you’re done for the day.
Repeat your mantras
There’s a certain mantra that started floating around recently and that is: carbs before, protein after. While you may be wondering what you need to do during your workout, it’s important to always consider what you’re eating before and after you finish your exercising. Generally speaking if you’re doing more than an hour of continuous exercise it’s best to “carb up” as the saying goes. Whenever you’re exercising you burn mostly through carbohydrates because they have glucose and that’s what our body uses to make fuel. You wouldn’t let your car run on an empty tank, so by fueling your body properly beforehand you’ll be on the right road to great nutrition during your workout.
Eating light
Because our bodies are in the middle of heavy exercise, it’s best to keep the things that you’re planning on ingesting during your workout very light and minimal. Water is your best friend because you lose most of your body’s supply because of sweat and keeping your body hydrated. It’s best to start getting in the practice of always keeping a bottle of water with you every time you head over to your place of burning calories. Even during an activity like swimming it’s important to stay hydrated. If anything, it’s even more vital than some of the other sports because although you’re surrounded by water, there are tons of chemicals in the water to keep it clean and sanitary. The chemicals like chlorine and others tend to makes your skin, hair and body much more dry than normal. By keeping a bottle of water near the edge of the pool you can reach for it whenever you need a sip.
This food is b-a-n-a-n-a-s
One of the best foods that you can eat while you’re in mid-workout is a medium sized banana. These are easily digestible and help fuel your body if you need a little pick-me-up. This is especially important if you decided to skip the normal snack before your workout. Another quick and easy thing to eat while you’re in mid workout is to grab a handful of raisins. Again, these are easily digestible. Seeing a pattern? The idea is to not weigh your body down by eating foods that require a lot of energy to digest. Having a simple snack on hand like either of those, or even something like a cereal bar, is a great way to keep the energy up while you’re exerting yourself.
We know that pushing yourself through the hard times in the middle of a workout can be tough, so stopping to refuel is always a great idea. The last thing that you want to do is push yourself too hard so you can’t train or take time to recover the next day. And you may be wondering, do I even need to eat at all during my workout? Sometimes the answer is no. If it’s a simple workout where you aren’t pushing yourself too hard then just having a bottle of water around to keep you hydrated it really all that you need. Otherwise, keeping a snack handy is always the best way to make sure that you’re ready, no matter what happens.
