Pre-Workout Foods You Should Be Eating
We all know how exhausting a challenging workout can be, but if you don't have enough energy for your exercise routine, it can be even more difficult than usual. To maximise your performance, you should fuel up with a proper diet before your workout, so you get all the essential vitamins and minerals you need to help power through. Here are some foods you should incorporate into your pre-workout routine:
Bananas
While protein is one of the typical go-to's of a pre-workout session, one of the best pre-exercise foods is the banana. A banana is power-packed with nutrients, with enough carbohydrates, fibre, and protein that provide tons of digestible fuel before you exercise. Bananas strike the perfect nutritional balance: Its fast-acting carb count gives immediate energy, and the fibre makes it more sustainable for that whole workout. As a bonus, it also contains potassium to help you regulate your fluid balance after strenuous exercise. If you want to mix things up, try pairing it with nut butter and bread, or mix it into a refreshing peanut butter smoothie.
Protein Bars
A protein bar is a typical staple of pre and post-workout diets. They help keep you fuller for longer and reach your daily protein target while providing the much-needed growth and repair for your tired muscles. However, some are just glorified candy bars that contain huge amounts of added sugar in the form of sugar syrup, glucose syrup, sorbitol syrup, and glycerol. As we all know, excess sugar can lead to weight gain. It's always important to check the nutrition facts label and compare it with your typical chocolate bar to see the actual benefits you're getting.
Oats
If you're an early bird, you should ensure that you have a proper breakfast before your morning workout. To save time in the morning, you can make vanilla almond steel-cut oatmeal in a rice cooker. It's the ideal pre-workout meal because oats have the necessary complex carbohydrates and fibre to keep cholesterol levels low, while the natural sugars can refuel your glycogen levels. Eating oats around two hours before your routine can keep you satisfied, and is an excellent source of slow-releasing energy to keep you going.
Blueberries
This super-food fruit is relatively low in sugar content and make a great healthy addition to your pre-workout routine. Blueberries contain complex carbohydrates, which digest slowly during your workout, leading to higher levels of energy and endurance. They also have a high water content, which helps you stay hydrated during exercise while fighting post-workout fatigue. There are a ton of ways to incorporate blueberries into your diet. One healthy method is to mix some in your cup of Greek yogurt along with a small spoonful of honey and chia seeds. You can also throw them into your oats or breakfast smoothie for an energetic morning.
In the end, paying more attention to your pre-workout nutrition is the key to longer-lasting and more effective exercise routines. If you're looking for other ways to improve your diet, check out this list of high cholesterol foods to avoid for good health.
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Exclusively written for Gym and Fitness
Author: Reese Jones