Athletes who go through intense workouts, know food is essential for performance and to complete the exercise routine and not run out of energy.
Did you know most Pro NFL players will eat a couple of times before they hit the weight room. Pro bodybuilders eat every 2-3 hours to build their massive muscle bulk.
Eating a meal prior to training provides you with the energy you need to complete intense workouts. Without adequate nutrition you won't be able to progress with your training. When placing physical stress on your body you will need those extra calories to build muscle.
Just as important as eating a healthy amount of food, it is as important to make sure you drink enough water! Our systems use more water while performing any kind of physical activity, and if you don't drink enough, it will zap your energy and leave you feeling fatigued, unable to finish your exercise.
I know all of us like a little dessert now and then, but if your serious about training, try to eat healthy whenever you can. This means whole fruits, veggies, and healthy foods. Loading up on carbs before training is standard practice. Carbs are digested quickly and help to replace replenished glycogen stores for sustained energy. While diets high in carbohydrates are normally taboo for a person watching their weight, they are not as bad as many believe. Carbohydrates are actually the body's preferred source of energy.
The body breaks down carbohydrates to glucose and stores it in the muscles and liver as glycogen. Our body's main storage tank is in the form of Glycogen. While exercising, our bodies convert glycogen back to glucose and use it for energy with the amount of carbohydrates stored in the body.
In the early stages of moderate exercise, carbohydrates provide 40 to 50 percent of the energy requirement. The initial levels of muscle glycogen is related directly to the ability to sustain extended exercise periods. The body can only store a limited amount of carbohydrates, enough reserves to last for 90 minutes or less. Eating Extra carbs will not help.
For endurance athletes such as cyclists, marathon runners, and triathletes competing in events that require heavy workouts for more than 90 minutes, diets high in carbohydrates eaten for two to three days before the event allows glycogen storage tanks to be filled.
Fats also provide energy for the body.
During moderate exercise, approximately half of your total energy output is derived from free fatty acid metabolism. When a workout lasts for more than an hour, the body will draw mostly fats for energy. How much your body uses fat as fuel depends on the duration of the workout and the condition of the athlete.Protein
Protein provides energy for the body when carbohydrates and lipid resources are low. Strenuous exercising may increase an athlete's need for protein.Americans exercised regularly by working out, playing sports, and other physical activities, thus the importance of proper nutrition is of great interest to athletes and exercisers for optimal performance and long term benefits.
