By Carla Schuit -Registered Dietitian
Timing is everything. This certainly applies to your nutritional needs and their effect on your athletic performance. You want to have the nutrients available that your body needs to perform its best. Eat like a prince in the morning and a pauper in the evening. I heard this general rule of thumb a lot as a kid. This means that you eat the majority of your calories and nutrients when you need them and are most active; in the morning and in turn, in the evening when you are winding down for the day and do not need as much energy to rest you will lighten the calorie load.
When eating for athletic performance you want to time your meals and snacks so that your body has what it needs when it needs it. Depending on when you work out may affect the timing of your meals and supplements. For example, if you work out at 530am your pre-workout nutrition may consist of a protein shake, if you workout at 530pm you may have a small meal 2 hours before and then a pre-workout shake 30min before your workout. Below are some general guidelines that will fuel your body for peak athletic performance.
As an athlete you can break your day up into three segments; pre-workout, during workout and post-workout.
Pre-workout- The “pre-workout” time frame can be broken out in to two sets 2-3 hours and 90-30min before your work out. 2-3 hours you will want to have a meal that is made up of whole, slowly digested foods. Depending on your weight and work out goals it will vary but a good generalization would be 6 oz of protein, ½ vegetables and ½ c nutrient dense carbohydrates. This will provide for you the base nutrients to fuel your body. An example would be 1 medium chicken breast, ¼ c almonds, ½ c carrots and ½ c quinoa. 90-30min- Fueling up during this time immediately before your work out will give you the readily available nutrients your muscles need for peak performance. I usually recommend a protein or supplement shake at this time because they are fast absorbing and easily digested.
During Workout– For exercise under 2hrs hydration will be your main focus. It takes water 10-20min to enter and be absorbed by your small intestine. If you are doing a quick intense 20min interval training hydration will be most important before and after. There are other factors that can come into play as well. If it is hot out and you are sweating more you may want to add electrolytes such as sodium and potassium to hydrate and prevent cramping. Are you trying to gain muscle? Adding branch chain amino acids (BCAA’s) drink during an extended work out may help. Any exercise over 2hrs you will want to add more nutrients. Sports drinks may be beneficial because they provide readily available carbohydrates, sugars and electrolytes for your muscles to use immediately. Gu’s , bars and blocks are also options for endurance events.
Post work out- The immediate 2hrs post exercise is the time to replace and rebuild your nutrients to aid in recovery and muscle building. Again hydration will be important here. Especially for 30-45min intense interval training where you didn’t drink during your workout or especially hot conditions. Post-work you will want to replace your amino acids, electrolytes, glycogen and protein. It is personal preference to use a protein powder, bar, smoothie or whole food snack the importance is to replace the nutrients. You want a goal of 40-36g or protein for men and 20-30g of protein for women. To replace glycogen and carbohydrates fruit or another nutrient dense carbohydrate is optimal. Avoid processed and refined carbohydrates.
Your pre-workout, during workout and post-workout nutrition will help give you the boost you need for your body to be at its’ peak performance. It will be even more effective if you maintain a nutrient dense and balanced daily diet.