Have you been going to the gym for weeks, but don’t see results in the form of weight loss? Now answer the question: "What do you eat before training?". This is an important factor. Today we’ll talk about how to eat right before a workout in order to lose weight or gain muscle mass.
Meal time
60-70% success of training depends on nutrition. You can devote several hours to gymnastics or performing exercises with weights, but still can not achieve visible results. Is this situation familiar to you? Much depends on what you eat before training.
We will talk about proper nutrition and suitable foods a little later. In the meantime, it is worth determining the optimal time for eating. The expression "before training" does not mean that you need to eat certain foods 5 minutes before classes. Firstly, with a full stomach, it is inconvenient to perform exercises. Secondly, physical activity will slow down the digestion process. Thirdly, belching, drowsiness, and a feeling of heaviness in the stomach may appear.
Professional athletes and fitness instructors advise eating 2 hours before class. Some girls and boys prefer to eat nothing at all. But they make a huge mistake. Exercising on an empty stomach will not be effective. And all because of the lack of necessary resources. Food before exercise should be easily digestible and saturating the body with energy. You can just drink a gainer or have a snack with a small portion of cottage cheese.
What is before training
The body of a person involved in sports needs carbohydrates. They will be used by the muscles during training. A small portion of protein is the main source of amino acids that create an anabolic "background". As for fats, they should not be in the pre-workout menu. They slow down the metabolic processes occurring in the body. And fats do not allow carbohydrates and proteins to be absorbed into the blood.
Calorie content and volume of food
What to eat before a workout aimed at increasing muscle mass? The set of products may be the same as with a regular breakfast (lunch). The main thing is that the body receives a sufficient amount of calories. The energy consumption of different people may vary. It takes into account factors such as age, gender and physique.
Recommended calorie intake before exercise:
- for men - 300 kcal;
- for women - 200 kcal.
Important components of the diet
When compiling any diet or nutrition system, proteins, fats and carbohydrates are taken into account. What do you need to eat before training? And in what quantity? You will find out about this now.
Carbohydrates
Do you want the training to be successful? Then you need to consume 40-70 g of slow carbohydrates. They are called so because of the low rate of cleavage into monosaccharides. For the body, this is the best source of energy. And the safest. If you eat foods that contain complex carbohydrates a couple of hours before your workout , you’ll get a boost of energy for several hours. This is exactly what you need for intense training.
Low carbohydrate foods (10 to 40 g per 100 g of product):
- grapes and apples;
- beets and potatoes;
- fruit juices (without any additives);
- curd cheese.
In vegetables, peas, beans and rye bread, there are 40-60 g of carbohydrates (per 100 g). And the leaders in the content of these substances are corn flakes, rice, buckwheat, oatmeal and other cereals.
Squirrels
During training, the muscles tighten and increase in size. To preserve the anabolic state, it is necessary to consume proteins. They, in turn, contain amino acids - substances involved in the processes of restoration and construction of muscle fibers.
The source of protein are the following products:
- Cottage cheese, milk, cheese and eggs.
- Turkey, goose meat, chicken.
- Lean pork, beef and veal.
- Salami, boiled sausage.
- Trout.
At one meal, you can eat no more than 20-30 g of protein.
Fats
Not only proteins and carbohydrates should be present in the athlete's diet. Without fat, too, can not do. But this does not mean that you need to eat high-calorie foods. We are interested in vegetable fats. They will not cause any harm to the figure and will not reduce the effectiveness of the workout. Olive and flaxseed oils, as well as fish oil, are ideal. These products contain polyunsaturated acids (Omega-3).
"What to eat before training?" - not the only question that interests people involved in sports. Drinking regimen must also be respected. Water is a must for the human body. And especially for athletes. The daily rate is 2 liters of water (without gas).
During sports, we lose a lot of fluid. Therefore, you must definitely replenish its reserves. 1 hour before training, women can drink 0.5 liters of water, and men - 0.8 liters. Not in one gulp, but in small sips.
Another important point is the electrolyte-salt balance. When performing aerobic exercises, a large amount of minerals is lost. To restore electrolytes, you need to drink a little salted water before training.
What you need to gain muscle mass
Do you want your body to become resilient and embossed? Then anaerobic exercises 2-3 times a week are suitable for you. What is there before training? Slow carbohydrates and proteins are needed to restore and synthesize muscle fibers.
Half an hour before the start of classes you can eat:
- one fruit (for example, an apple or a pear);
- a pinch of berries with a low glycemic index (strawberries, black and red currants and others);
- drink all this with a protein drink, preferably whey (thanks to it, food will be quickly absorbed by the body and become a source of energy); the amount of drink is calculated by the formula: 0.22 ml per 1 kg of weight.
Weight Loss Workout
Is weight loss the purpose of going to the gym? You need aerobic exercise. To obtain visible results, one rule must be observed: calorie consumption should be greater than their consumption. But this does not mean that you should not eat before training. What do experts recommend?
As with gaining muscle mass, you need to eat 2 hours before the start of classes. But the amount of carbohydrates and proteins will be different. They need to be consumed less in order to avoid the appearance of excess glycogen in the muscles. The optimal amount of protein is 10-15 g, and carbohydrates - 15-20 g. Do not go beyond this framework.
If you do not eat before training, then you will not be able to perform exercises with the intensity necessary for burning body fat. Too much breakfast (lunch) shortly before classes will also not benefit. After all, the body will spend the energy of food, and not excess fat.
A couple of hours before training, you need to make a meal with the following composition:
- 15 g of carbohydrates and 12 g of protein - for men;
- 10 g of carbohydrates and 7 g of protein - for women.
Such food will allow you to get energy, which is enough to maintain intensity at the very beginning of classes. Any fitness trainer knows about this. After a few minutes, the body will draw energy from fat stores, which, in turn, leads to a decrease in body volume and weight loss.
An additional stimulator of the process of losing weight can be a glass of strong green tea. We drink it half an hour before class. The components included in this drink contribute to increased secretion of norepinephrine and epinephrine. As a result, muscles use fat from body fat as a "fuel".
Prohibited Products
Now you know what is before the workout. It remains to list the products that athletes should not consume. It's about fatty foods. Harmful to training are: fried potatoes, donuts and pies, fatty meats, chips and any fast food.