Food as Fuel - Getting the Most Out of Your Workouts

Winter is upon us and finding motivation to exercise seems to get that little bit more difficult. Focusing on nutrition based around your exercise routine can help boost your energy levels and improve muscle gains. As a nutrition student who enjoys both weight and cardio training I often get asked what are the best foods to eat around exercise and should the kind of food you eat change depending on your type of training? This post is going to focus on some handy nutrition tips for weights training, to ensure you’re getting adequate nutrients for optimal benefits.

Before Your Workout
Pre-exercise meals vary depending on what type of exercise you’re doing and how long you’ll be on the move for. A good general tip is to make sure you include carbohydrate in your main meal 3-4 hours before your workout. For example, a breakfast of oats topped with sliced banana and a teaspoon of honey, or a whole-meal salad sandwich for lunch. Follow this with a light snack such as a piece of fruit and some raw nuts about one hour before you exercise. These steps ensure you have adequate energy to use while exercising and help delay the onset of fatigue.
Side note: Currently there’s no strong research to suggest that consuming protein before a resistance training session will aid improvement of muscle growth.

During Your Workout
Generally, if your weights session lasts under one hour there’s no need to refuel during training, but it is important to keep your water intake to avoid dehydration. For endurance events, (1-3hours) 30-60g of carbohydrate should be consumed for each hour of exercise, this can be consumed in the form of a 500-600mL standard sports drink such as Gatorade or 11/2 – 2 sports gels (60-70% Carbohydrate) or even 50g of jelly beans. 

After Your Workout
Following a weights session consumption of protein containing amino acids stimulates muscle protein synthesis (MPS) and reduces muscle protein breakdown, assisting with muscular hypertrophy (muscle growth). While protein intake is vital to muscle growth there are a few factors to consider when selecting your timing, type and amount of post workout protein.

• For muscle growth, the standard recommendation is 20grams of protein within the first 30-60 minutes of exercise conclusion. It is important to note this standardized recommendation was developed from research primarily conducted on 70+kg males, thus a female weighing less may not require the same amount of protein (nutrition is highly individualized so this is just a guideline).  

 

• Muscle protein synthesis can continue for up to 48 hours post workout therefore consuming 20g of protein every 6 hours helps to continuously contribute to muscle growth.

 

•  The type of protein you select impacts on muscle growth and repair also. Whey protein, found in meat, dairy and soy products is the most effective form of protein for muscle growth due to its high concentration of essential amino acid leucine, which stimulates muscle protein synthesis. If possible it is always recommended to obtain post workout protein from food sources such as bovine milk, soymilk, yogurt and lean meat rather than in the form of supplementation, however if supplementation is the only option a high-quality whey protein isolate (WPI) powder can be used.

 

• Research has also found combining protein with carbohydrate (such as dairy products, which contain protein, fat and carbohydrate) improves the rate of muscle protein synthesis and additionally refuels glycogen stores. This results in both muscle growth and increase rate of muscle repair and energy due to the combination of protein and carbohydrate.

 

• Can I consume too much protein? YES! Your body will just excrete any protein in excess of roughly 25g per meal. Consistently consuming excess protein can also pose a risk for impairing kidney function. Importantly protein is filling, thus if you have a diet predominately consisting of protein, you may be at risk of displacing fat and carbohydrate from your diet, which will impact on your bodies ability to store glycogen and can result in fatigue and muscle protein breakdown.

 

• Are there specific estimated protein requirements for athletes? Yes. For resistance training males in the early stages (first 6 months of training) the recommendation is 1.5-1.7grams/kilogram/day, with steady state training requiring a lower protein amount of 1.0-1.2g/kg/day. It is estimated female athletes will require 10-20% less protein than males in either early or steady stages of training.
  

So, what should I eat post resistance training?

• A tub of Greek yogurt, topped with chopped nuts/seeds
• A smoothie made with cow’s milk or soy milk, containing fruit, seeds and nuts.
• Meals containing lean meats: lean beef, turkey, chicken and fish.. combine it with some brown rice and vegetables.
• Eggs! Never underestimate the power of a good Omelette.
• Beans and eggs on wholemeal toast
• A green salad with quinoa, chickpeas, feta/halloumi and poached egg.
• If you must have a protein shake choose high quality whey protein isolate. If you want to reduce your protein supplementation you could add half a scoop to a smoothie or a bowl of oats instead of having a whole scoop in a shake. Also, if you are consuming a protein shake consider having it with milk to help repair those glycogen stores.
  

Where can I find more detailed quality information?
There’s a fantastic textbook called ‘Clinical Sports Nutrition’ by Louise Burke and Vicki Deakin, which I would highly recommend if you’d like to learn more about this topic in great detail. There are also reliable websites such as:
Sports Dieticians Australia: https://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/
Nutrition Australia: http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/resources/sports-nutrition
And Australian Institute of Sport: https://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition
 
If you would like to get some general healthy recipes + tips for nutritious cafes and restaurants around Melbourne follow me on Instagram @nutritious_delicious_melb.
 
Happy training!
Hannah.