Carbs! They are your Friends!

09 Nov Carbs! They are your Friends!

Do you find yourself dragging after the strength work or even worse through the middle of the conditioning? It might not just be because its at the end, middle or beginning of your day, there is a high probability your body is just underfed or better yet under fueled.

We all know that the food we eat directly affects your performance in the gym, that’s a no brainer. Ben has been quoted as saying “no one ever got strong from eating out of a vending machine.”   Remember Food is Fuel not just stuff you mindlessly stuff into your face. If you consider yourself a high powered vehicle, which we hope you do, it is important that you are adequately and appropriately fueling yourself to best perform in and out of the gym.

With this in mind do you give the timing of when and what you eat much thought?

Many of you have pre or post workout protein shakes and these are great ways to fuel or replenish your body. Protein is extremely important to help build and maintain healthy muscles, but carbohydrates are our main fuel of choice when it comes to working out at a higher heart rate. Examples of these starchy carbs could include sweet potatoes, squashes, yucca root, carrots, parsnips etc (these fall into the category of roots, tubers and bulbs).

After workouts, most of us generally eat these heavier carbs to replenish our glycogen stores – AWESOME. Keep doing that. Now consider eating some or all of these carbs earlier in the day to help fuel your workouts. Eating these heavier carbs before your workouts will provide the necessary fuel for pushing through even the hardest Friday workouts. 

If you train at 6 or 7am, this may be tough for you to do but it is possible. But if you train during the day or evening, then this is easy to implement. Since these starchy carbs are higher on the glycemic index (meaning they break down into sugar/energy faster) they just might be the perfect source of energy pre workout.  Try eating these carbs with your meal before you train, allowing 60-90 minutes to digest if possible. My personal favorite is to drink coffee and eat some starchy carbs pre workout.