Good Food to Eat Before and After the Gym, Note for You

The right foods before and after exercise can boost your results. Like a car uses gas, your body burns carbohydrates for fuel. They give you the energy to power through that jog or fitness class. When you’re done, refueling with a combination of protein and carbs can help you rebuild muscle. 

Aim to have a snack or mini meal 1 to 3 hours before your workout. You can have tummy troubles if you chow down right before. That’s because more blood goes to your muscles during exercise, leaving less for digestion. After exercise, your body is ready to refuel and rebuild muscle tissue. 

Before Going to Practice

Beets

Beets offer unique compounds – nitrates and betalains – which can help the body transfer oxygen to muscles more efficiently, aid muscle contraction, lower blood pressure and act as potent antioxidants. Studies show that beetroot juice, as well as cooked beets, can improve performance when eaten pre-exercise, but they also have post-exercise benefits.

Beets are packed with important antioxidants, like betalins, which are associated with important cardioprotective benefits and may help temper inflammation associated with muscle-damaging exercise.

Eggs

Nutrient-packed eggs are considered a “perfect protein,” meaning that the protein found in eggs is of the highest biological value and serves as the gold standard by which all other proteins are measured against. Since eggs provide all nine essential amino acids, eating a meal with eggs post exercise can aid in repair of body tissues and in gaining muscle strength.

Indeed, studies show that the protein in eggs promotes a significant increase in resistance muscle strength among athletes. One large egg provides 70 calories, 6 grams of high quality protein and 5 grams of total fat, and athletes are encouraged to eat about 20 to 30 grams of protein at each meal (especially after exercise) to help encourage muscle repair protein synthesis.

In addition to its high protein content, eggs are also rich in a wide variety of important vitamins and minerals, including iron, vitamin D, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin and choline, as well as beneficial antioxidants.

Supplements

In addition to fresh foods, gym supplements are the products that ensure your daily nutritional intake. Use 20 grams of whey just 45 minutes before exercise so that the body can be ready to operate at maximum performance. Today, the purchase of gym supplements is not strange to everyone. If you don’t own these, take advantage of gym supplement discount codes to get these products at the best prices.

Salmon

Salmon is best known for being an excellent source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Additionally, omega-3s have been shown to help improve glucose tolerance and promote lean body mass. While fat often gets a bad rap, good fats, like the ones found in salmon, play an essential role in hormone production – think testosterone and growth hormones – and can thus aid in muscle growth and strength gains.

Further, the good fat found in lean protein helps to elevate your metabolic rate, which can help you to shed additional fat and build lean muscle mass.

More Energy After Exercise

Greek Yogurt

With a whopping 14 grams of protein and just 100 calories per 6 ounce serving, plain, nonfat Greek yogurt boasts an ideal protein to calorie ratio, which makes it a great post-workout treat. Greek yogurt is an easy, portable snack you can enjoy after working out or use to make great recovery drinks.

Avoid sugary “fruit on the bottom” varieties, as these are loaded with refined sugar and unnecessary calories. Instead, add natural sugar from fresh fruit for that optimal protein/carbohydrate combination so beneficial for exercise and muscle growth. If you want a change of pace from yogurt and berries, oats or granola are great options.

Watermelon

It’s no surprise that watermelon slices are a staple at most endurance events. The sweet fruit is 92% water making it the perfect choice to help rehydrate. Two cups of watermelon have just 80 calories. The fruit is a good source of vitamin C, lycopene, potassium and vitamin A.

What’s more, studies have found that an amino acid in watermelon, L-citrulline, helps maintain healthy blood vessels, increase nitric oxide and improve blood flow. In one study, athletes experienced up to 40% less muscle soreness 24 hours after exercise compared to athletes who didn’t consume watermelon juice.

Berries

Berries are rich in immune-boosting, disease-fighting antioxidants, which can help squash the oxidative stress the body endures after intense bouts of exercise. The antioxidants in berries help mitigate the high level of oxidative stress, which leads to further muscle tissue damage associated with exhaustive exercise. Fortunately, by increasing intake of antioxidant rich foods like berries, studies show that exercise-induced muscle damage and inflammation caused by free radicals is diminished.

In addition to being rich in antioxidants, berries provide a substantial amount of carbohydrate, which helps replenish muscle glycogen stores. One cup of fresh berries provides around 20 grams of carbohydrate.

Supplements

The golden time to take supplements is within 30 minutes of exercise. During this time, drink about 20-40 grams of Whey. Don’t let your body fall short of nutrient supply. Grab some gym supplement deals and get yourself some whey!