The Importance of Pre and Post Workout Nutrition
Athletes must plan and time their meals and snack very carefully to reach their performance goals. But what about those of us who just participate in 30-60 minutes of exercise most days of the week?Maybe to your surprise, you too have to be careful about what you eat before and after workouts. At the best personal training studio in Atlanta, Brad Kolowich Jr Fitness, we encourage each of our clients to put these nutritional guidelines into place.
Usually, if you are eating a healthy diet and getting enough calories to support your activity level, you can rely on your own intuition, appetite, energy levels and experience to tell you what and when to eat before exercise. For optimal energy levels and metabolism it is recommended that your eat every 3-4 hours. Make sure your workout falls into that time window. Never come into a workout with Brad, Andy, or myself (Mandy) hungry or not only will you be counter productive in the results you are trying to achieve but you definitely won’t have the energy required to sustain the workout. The body works to build muscle (and recover) 24 hours a day, not just during that one-hour session at the gym. Luckily, smartly timed snacks can give the body the fuel it needs to gain muscle, burn fat, and recover as best it can.
After a tough gym session, post-workout snacks are an important way to restore energy and rebuild muscle too. Downed within 30 minutes after exercise, protein-packed shakes and snacks are a great way to rebuild tissue that breaks down during exercise. Refraining from eating a post workout meal OR indulging in high calorie/low nutrient foods can too be counter productive in seeing the results you are aiming for by exercising. After working out you need a protein and carbohydrate rich meal. Exercising depletes your body of stored muscle glycogen (carbohydrates), so post workout is the time to replenish this depleted muscle fuel. If you have a favorite high-carb food this is a good time to have them. Your body can digest refined carbs faster during your “refueling window”. However, don’t force yourself to indulge if you generally don’t eat processed foods.
Pictured above is one of our house specialty shakes, the Protein Frappaccino. In order to help our clients get that super important protein rich meal after their workout, we offer a variety of post-workout options for them. At Brad Kolowich Jr Fitness, we have weekly in-house protein shake specials. These shake specials change frequently, are generally inspired from the season or various special events occurring in the lives of our staff or clients, and ALWAYS deliciously packed with all the vital post-workout nutrients you need. For our “on the go” clients we also carry pre-packaged protein shakes, sports recovery drinks, in-house protein bars (frozen and great post-workout snack), and a variety of other beverages.
Brad Kolowich Jr and his staff of certified personal trainers provide their clients with the education, motivation and inspiration through training and nutritional advice to help their clients reach their full potential!
~Mandy Malool
ISSA-CFT, SFN