Food is your fuel.

When you work out determines what kind of meal is the best.  If you are a morning person and love to start the day with a good workout, you need a light snack. You won’t have time to digest a full meal on your way to the gym, or heading out the door for a jog. If you head to the gym mid-afternoon, your lunch is what will be fueling your workout and you should have time to digest between meal time and work out time.

A very simple rule to follow-  less time until you plan to workout, the less you should eat., And try to eat carbohydrates close to your workout rather than fats and proteins. Carbs are easier to digest and you will have less of a chance of getting those fun cramps and indigestion on the treadmill. Look for your next daily fitness tips for some tips on what foods are best for your workout.

Before you even start to plan a meal, remember the most important part of your fitness diet is to stay hydrated. As soon as you wake up, drink a glass of water and continue throughout the day.

If you are an AM “gymmer”, drink a lot of water in the morning and grab a piece of fruit.

Fruits are slow-burning complex carbohydrates, making them perfect fuel for your workout.

This will usually be enough for a moderate workout. If that isn’t cutting it, try a small serving of oatmeal. Grains are another slow-burning carb. Plan on splitting your breakfast in two. Try a small snack before your workout, following up your workout with a more substantial breakfast.

If you are planning on a late afternoon workout, focus on your lunch. A small pasta salad will give you a great source of complex carbohydrates. This helps increase stored energy in your muscles, helping you stay strong throughout the workout. Try a salad with some protein. Because you have a few hours to digest, a salad topped with turkey will give you the energy you need to burn in the gym later.  I hope you enjoyed these pre-workout healthy food menu tips – these are great examples of our free daily fitness tips on how to stay educated, motivated and fired up to be as healthy and fit as you can possibly be.

Make sure you are fueling your workouts right!

To Your Health!

Coach Jim

This entry was posted on June 28, 2011 at 5:44 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Posted in Healthy Food Menu by Jim Kaspari Comments Off on Pre Workout Healthy Food Menu Tips