Fueling for performance is crucial for everyday athletes. It provides the necessary energy to power workouts, improve endurance, and aid in muscle recovery.
Have you ever started a workout and quickly realized that you didn’t have enough in the tank to finish it?
Have you ever hit that wall and just looked at the clock wondering why it’s moving so slow?
Odds are, you have experienced that feeling before!
Let’s talk about energy, your recovery, hydration, and ultimately the function that fuel provides in performance for your workouts!
Proper nutrition provides the fuel your body needs to perform at its peak during exercise. Carbohydrates are the primary energy source for muscles.
Consuming carbohydrates before and during prolonged exercise can help maintain blood sugar levels, delay fatigue, and improve endurance.
What types of carbs are going to provide the BEST energy sources?
Simple carbohydrates such as:
📍Fruit
📍Unsweetend Applesauce packets
Complex carbs such as:
📍Oatmeal
📍Rice
📍Potatoes
📍Beans and Legumes
By understanding how carbs fuel your body, you can more effectively tailor your nutrition to match your workout demands, leading to better performance, quicker recovery, and improved fitness outcomes.
Next, we have recovery.
First up in recovery is muscle repair and growth, which leads to protein’s essential role in building and repairing muscle tissue after workouts, energy replenishment, and restoring hormone balance.
Recovery helps prevent injury and reduce stress, increase motivation and focus, and improve performance and speed.
Recovery is an essential component of any successful training or performance plan. Prioritizing recovery is an investment in your long-term health, well-being, and performance.
A well-balanced diet with a whole foods focus, rest, stress management, and hydration are a few key recovery strategies.
Hydration also plays a vital role in the importance of fueling for activities. Dehydration can negatively impact your workout by up to 20%.
Water and electrolytes are fundamental for maintaining fluid balance and preventing dehydration, which can significantly impact performance.
Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day, especially in the hours before and during exercise. Replace electrolytes lost through sweat, especially during intense or prolonged workouts.
Adequate nutrition supports brain function, improving focus, concentration, and reaction time during exercise.
Now you know why fueling is important let’s address the impact of poor fueling.
Not only can under-eating lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, and decreased endurance, but also underperforming.
What about injury?
According to research in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2016), athletes who fail to meet their protein needs are at higher risk of injury, particularly during high-intensity training or long-duration activities. Protein helps repair damaged muscle fibers and build new ones. Without sufficient protein, muscles weaken over time, making them more prone to injury.
Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances can also increase the risk of muscle cramps and other injuries.
Not only can insufficient protein intake can hinder muscle repair and growth, injury prevention but it can also impair recovery time which is essential is there is an event or competition on the horizon.
Finally, your mood, energy levels, and overall well-being can be affected by poor nutrition, both in athletic performance and daily life.
A balanced meal 2-4 hours before exercise provides sustained energy. Include a combination of carbohydrates and protein, and keep fats and fiber low to avoid digestive issues during exercise.
Eating carbohydrates 1-3 hours before a workout can help ensure you have readily available glycogen for energy. I hope you are starting to see how these pieces are coming together 🤫
Examples are oatmeal with banana, protein powder, and nuts, chicken with sweet potato and green beans, or a smoothie with fruit, yogurt, and protein powder.
While some of these examples do contain fiber, they are relatively low in fats, which take the longest to digest of any macronutrient.
This meal can help fuel your muscles, maintain blood sugar levels, and improve endurance and strength.
If you struggle with feeling nauseated if you eat before, try liquid sources such as a smoothie, apple sauce with protein powder, or nonfat Greek yogurt with berries.
Liquid sources are easier for our body to digest and utilize for energy.
Here are additional tips to prevent nausea and ensure you are adequately fueled!
💪🏾Opt for smaller meals or snacks that are easier to digest.
💪🏾 Try eating 90-120 minutes beforehand instead of 30-60 minutes.
💪🏾 Avoid Dairy (if sensitive such as bloating or digestive discomfort occurs)
💪🏾 Avoid Spicy foods
💪🏾 Sometimes, nausea results from dehydration. Drinking water or electrolyte-rich drinks like coconut water can help prevent discomfort.
Hydration: Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day, especially in the hours before and during exercise.
How much water should you consume before, during, and after workouts?
💦Pre-exercise: Drink 16-20 oz of water 2-3 hours before activity.
💦Aim to drink at least 8 oz (250 mL) of water 30 minutes to an hour before your workout.
💦During exercise: Aim for 8-10 oz of water every 10-20 minutes.
💦 Post-exercise: Rehydrate with water or a sports drink containing electrolytes. Aim to drink 16-24 oz for every pound lost during exercise.
If you sweat a lot, it is a good idea to replace electrolytes lost through sweat, especially during intense or prolonged workouts.
When considering performance and recovery, even a mild dehydration of 1-2% body weight loss can impair strength, endurance, and cognitive function, which can, unfortunately, lead to muscle cramps, dizziness, and fatigue.
Fueling for performance does take attention to detail and some timing, but once you have nailed down the basics, you will have a solid foundation to enhance your performance!!
Keep these key tips in mind as you get started.
⭐️ Don’t leave out essential carbohydrates
⭐️ Plan your pre-workout meals
⭐️ Hydration is key
⭐️ When in doubt, use the plate method to fuel up!
If you would like to learn more about the best way to fuel your body both before and after your workouts, schedule a free nutrition intro with our Nutrition and Wellness Coaches and learn how upping your nutrition game can have a significant impact on all areas of your life.
Up Next…What is a Nutrition and Wellness Strategy Session?
