What Entails A Workout Diet

The main reason why people exercise is to keep fit. One also has to ensure that they eat a well balanced diet to provide the body with the energy it requires to exercise and to gain strength for day to day activities. Whatever you eat before and after an exercise is therefore very crucial. Regardless of the type of exercise you plan to undertake, whether it is a resistance or a cardio workout, your diet must be rich in both carbohydrates and proteins. The percentage of these two constituents in your diet will be determined by the level of intensity that you are planning to exercise at.

An hour before starting a workout is the right time to eat your meal. For a low intensity level workout, 200 calories in your meal will suffice while a high intensity level workout will require a calorie intake of 4,000-5,000. Further, for a resistance kind of exercise, a mixture of 1/3 carbohydrates and 2/3 protein will be the right amount. The high carb content will provide enough energy to execute all tasks, while the protein will help prevent the muscles from breaking down during workout.

For a cardio kind of exercise, a mixture of 2/3 carbohydrates and 1/3 protein will be the right amount of consumption. The protein will help the muscles not to break down in the process of working out while the carbs will provide energy for sustenance. A post-exercise meal is as important as a pre-exercise meal, regardless of the form of exercise. This is because any exercise session diminishes energy from your body in form of glycogen. Biologically, the main source of fuel for your central nervous system and your brain is glycogen. Failure to replace glycogen after exercise will force the body to breakdown muscle tissue into amino acids in order to provide fuel after the amino acids are converted.

A point to remember during exercise, particularly resistance exercise, is that the body creates micro tears by breaking down muscle tissue. This means that immediately after the workout, your body muscles automatically go into repair mode. Muscle repair will be done by the protein you’ll consume. The protein will repair the micro tears in addition to fortifying the body. Carbs on the other hand will replace glycogen in addition to assisting the proteins penetrate into muscle cells in order to synthesize into muscle or structural protein.

After a cardio workout, you will need to consume a lot of carbs, particularly those rich in fiber such as whole wheat pasta, rice, oatmeal and northern fruits. 30-50 Grams of any of these sources of carbs will be ideal after the exercise. You can take your post-workout meal anytime after the exercise, even for the first 5-10 minutes for a cardio exercise, while a resistance exercise post-workout meal should be taken after 30 minutes or so. This way, you will not rid your muscles off blood very fast as blood also plays a role in muscle repair by excreting metabolic waste products.