Workout Supplement
You know carbs are essential for energy and protein is essential for muscle growth, but certain foods are better than others for fueling up before and recharging your body after certain workouts. Having good pre- and post-workout nutrition is essential for fitness success. Of all the meals you consume during the day, both of these might be the most important. What you eat just before hitting the weights influences your performance during a workout session, and what you eat afterward influences how good you recover. Together, these are essential components to determining your overall progress.
If you aren’t quite sure what foods you should (or shouldn’t) eat to fuel your goals, it helps to have a look at how the experts do it. Rather than compartmentalizing foods into “good” and “bad” categories, you need to develop a strong nutritional foundation that supports your current fitness goals.
The nutrients you consume before, during and after your workout have a huge impact on your energy levels, workout intensity and recovery. In this article we are going to explain how to use food and supplements correctly to ensure that you get the most out of every workout!
Protein
As many of you weight trainers may already know protein is the body’s main fuel for muscle synthesis as well as an essential for muscle growth, whereby most post work-out nutrition and supplementation plans suggest the intake of whey protein for maximal progress. However, research also suggests that the consumption of protein, whey protein in particular, just before training can also enhance training results.
There are many reasoning’s for this; whey protein is the protein that’s most quickly absorbed by muscles, having a high concentration of essential branched chain amino acids, such as leucine. By quickly raising the concentration of amino acids in the blood whey protein creates anabolic signalling effects within the body, which can prevent muscle breakdown during your workout. By not incorporating adequate protein into your pre workout meal, you take the risk of establishing a negative nitrogen balance, which can result in muscle breakdown, increased risk of harm and a waste of your valuable time.
Carbohydrates And Fat-The Energy Boost
Carbohydrates and fat are primary sources of energy which are often neglected within pre workout nutrition. Physical performance is highly determined by an individual’s carbohydrate status, that is solely determined by the total daily intake and also the timing of consumption with regards to exercise. Carbohydrates are crucial within the production of energy, they offer us with a combination of simple sugars, including glucose, fructose and galactose, that directly play in the synthesis of ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate). When glucose is unused, it’s converted and then stored in the liver like a crucial chemical called glycogen.
Carnitine
This naturally occurring substance is made from amino acids, and it is present in almost every cell in the human body. Its primary function would be to transport fatty acids in order to assist the body with energy production. Maintaining a high energy level is important while doing CrossFit training, so it’s not surprising that so many people have begun using the liquid or pill type of this supplement. It is recommended for most people to ingest 2 to 3 grams per day.
The main reason for taking carnitine is to help reduce the decrease of plasma lactate that’s commonly experienced after working out. This supplement may also speed up the process of recovering from a workout related injury, also it can make it easier for people to increase their ability to attain a high level of exercise output.
Glutamine
While glutamine is one of the most abundant and common non-essential proteins in the body, that certainly does not necessarily mean it isn’t important. It’s used in a number of different processes so when you throw your workout into the mix, glutamine levels get zapped quickly. So why is it so important as it pertains to weight training and fitness? Two words: protein synthesis. When glutamine levels are high, you body is able to efficiently make use of the ingested protein, getting it to where it must go: your muscles. The result is greater endurance, increased lean muscle mass, that has been enhanced strength.
Essential Pre and Post Workout Supplement
Vitamin C
Most commonly known as the supplement people reach for once they feel a common cold coming on, vitamin C plays an essential role in helping the body cope with stress, whether from environmental factors or a strenuous workout schedule. Vitamin C is definitely an antioxidant, which helps with dealing with metabolic stress – and training is metabolic stress. Anytime you’re putting the body within stress load, having things within the system to help deal with that stress load can be helpful. Vitamin C also may help reduce an athlete’s likelihood of developing coughing or wheezing pre and post exercise.
