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We all do some exercise to maintain our good health and stay fit. In doing
so you also know that we have to eat as well, so that our body will have the
energy it needs to exercise and maintain for the everyday tasks of life.
For making the best of your exercise, what you
eat before and after you workout is very important.
No matter if you are going to be doing a cardio workout or a resistance
workout, you should always make it a point to eat a balanced mix of protein
and carbohydrate. What makes that determining percentage of carbohydrate and
protein you consume is whether or not you are doing cardio or resistance
exercise and the intensity level that you plan to work at.
The ideal time for you to eat your pre workout meal is an hour before you
start. If you plan to work at a low intensity level, you should keep your
pre workout meal down to 200 calories or so. If you plan to exercise at a
high level of intensity, you will probably need your meal to be between
4,000 and 5,000 calories.
Those of you who are doing a cardio session will need to consume a mix of
2/3 carbohydrate and 1/3 protein. Doing so will give you longer sustained
energy from the extra carbohydrate with enough protein to keep your muscle
from breaking down while you exercise.
For resistance exercise, you'll need to eat a mix of 1/3 carbohydrate and
2/3 protein, as this will help you get plenty of energy from the
carbohydrate to perform each set you do and the extra protein will help keep
muscle breakdown to a minimum while you exercise.
Eating after you exercise is just as important as your pre workout meal.
Anytime you exercise, whether its cardio or resistance, you deplete energy
in the form of glycogen. The brain and central
nervous system rely on glycogen as their main source of fuel, so if you
don't replace it after you exercise, your body will begin to break down
muscle tissue into amino acids, and then convert them into usable fuel for
the brain and the central nervous system.
Keep in mind that mostly during resistance exercise, you'll break down
muscle tissue by creating micro tears. What this means, is that after a
workout, your muscles will instantly go into repair mode. Protein is the key
here for muscle repair, as you don't want muscle breaking down even further
to create fuel instead of lost glycogen.
Once you have finished a cardio session, you'll need to consume mainly
carbohydrates, preferably those with high fiber. Rice, oatmeal, whole
wheat pasta, and northern fruits are excellent sources.
Also, try to consume 30 - 50 grams of there
types of carbohydrate after you exercise. After your cardio workout, it is
fine to eat within 5 - 10 minutes.
Once you've finished a resistance workout, you will need to consume a
combination of carbohydrate and protein. Unlike cardio workouts, resistance
workouts will break down muscle tissue by creating micro tears.
You'll need protein as this happens to build up and repair these tears so
that the muscle can increase in size and strength. The carbohydrate will not
only replace the lost muscle glycogen, but
will also help the protein get into muscle cells so it can synthesize into
structural protein, or the muscle itself.
After your resistance exercise, you should wait up to 30 minutes before you
eat, so that you won't take blood away from your muscles too fast. The blood
in your muscles will help the repair process by removing the metabolic waste
products.
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