1. What should be eaten prior to intense competition or training?
In the 1-1.5 hours before training, eat a large snack (100-300 kcals) containing
moderate protein, healthy fat, and, most importantly, high-fiber carbohydrates (all loaded
with vitamins and minerals). An example pre-training snack is whole grain bread with
peanut butter and a piece of fruit) (Need a verb in this sentence). Drink several cups of
water slowly in the hour before training after the snack, and 5 minutes before the training
begins, initiate intake of your training drink (at the same rate that you expect to drink it
during the training itself). Don’t start drinking it sooner than 5 minutes before training
begins because then an insulin response will initiate.
2. If there are training sessions in the morning and evening, what are the
eating times recommended?
For morning, breakfast is key, 1-1.5hours prior to training, with slow water intake for
the next hour. For evening sessions, see question (1).
3. Why is fiber so important for the pre-workout meal and / or snack?
Fiber slows digestion. (How about just: “Fiber slows digestion.”?) The faster that food
digests, the faster blood sugar rises after a meal, and the greater the insulin response
by the pancreas. A large insulin response lowers blood sugar too far resulting in loss of
mental focus, loss of energy, and increased hunger. These things are the opposite of
what you want during training and competition. In a study of the effect of digestion rate of
meals on exercise performance, ten trained cyclists fasted (ate nothing) overnight (for
12 hours) and then ate 600 kcals one-half hour before 2 hours of cycling at 70% VO2
max (70% of maximum effort) [DeMarco HM et al., Med Sci Sports Exerc 31 (1999) 164].
The meals were either high glycemic index (low fiber: corn flakes, low-fat milk) or low
glycemic index (high fiber: All-Bran, apples, and low-fat yogurt). . The athletes that ate
the corn flakes had double the insulin spike, a lower availability of sugar for fuel during
training, a higher perceived exertion (they were in as much pain during the ride as those
who had no breakfast at all), and during the all-out cycling at the end (100% VO2 max)
were only able to go an average of 123 seconds instead of the 206 seconds that the
athletes eating the fiber were able to do. In addition to high fiber content, digestion is
slowed by protein and fat. Bottom line: your pre-workout meal and / or snack should be
(1) hard-core whole grains and fruit or vegetables, particularly those with tough skin like
an apple and (2) healthy, solid protein and fat, such as nuts or tofu. Eating something
like this 15 minutes before training will, of course, make you sick. Go with at least a half
hour prior. The closer to training time, the fewer the calories you should take in so that
you have time to digest. Eating too much fruit in the hour or two before training can
result in osmotic diarrhea when you start exercising (because of the fructose in fruit).
4. How do I “carbohydrate load”?
Carbohydrate loading is the process by which large amounts of glucose are sent into
muscle so that the sugar can be stored as glycogen in large amounts. Glycogen stores
can be doubled with carbohydrate loading, and this has been shown numerous times in
research to improve endurance performance significantly. Bussau VA and coworkers
[Eur J Appl Physiol 87 (2002) 290] showed that when ingesting 10 g of carbohydrate / kg
body weight each day, it takes only 1 day to top off glycogen stores. One pound = 2.2
kg so a 130 lb person weighs ~60 kg and a 170 lb person weighs ~77 kg. These latter
individuals would need 600 g and 770 g of carbohydrate on their carbohydrate loading
day, which correspond to 2400 kcals and 3100 kcals of carbohydrate, respectively. On
hard training days these individuals would eat this much carbohydrate (plus another
couple thousand kcals of fat and protein), but carbohydrate loading is done on a REST
DAY before competition. That way, sugar is loaded into the muscle for higher storage
rather than just replacing what is burned during another exercise session. In the study
quoted above, eating 10 g carbs / kg body weight for one rest day doubled glycogen
stores (from 90 to 180 mM glycogen in muscle), but three days only raised glycogen
slightly (to 190 mM). The latter was not significant since that extra 10 mM above 180 mM
was smaller than the measurement error. Again, it is important that NO exercise is
done on your carb-loading day so that sugars are conserved and it is important that you
have been training recently. Some light tapering down of training will likely have
occurred, and this is enough to put some stress on the muscles (i.e. lower the glycogen
levels enough) so that they will be stimulated to carb load. In the study the trained
athletes ate high glycemic index carbs i.e. white bread, white pasta, white rice, and sugar
(see the last question, #3 of this section, and question #3 of section 10) on their carb
load day. As you can imagine, it is tough to get all the calories eaten and digested when
loading this much, particularly if it is all high fiber food. My suggestion is this: try to eat
as much high-fiber grains, fruit, and vegetables as you do every day for training
recovery and health. Then, on your carb load day, simply ADD to this REFINED
carbohydrates: white pasta, white rice, white bread, potatoes (yams are better because
they contain potassium and vitamin A) and sugar. Space the refined carbs out so that
no single meal will have a super-huge insulin spike. The latter will result in “fat loading”
rather than glycogen (“carb”) loading. Summary: normal, healthy, high-fiber diet PLUS
refined carbs to achieve 10 g carb / kg body weight, split into as many meals as is
reasonable for your time schedule for one day of rest.
In the 1-1.5 hours before training, eat a large snack (100-300 kcals) containing
moderate protein, healthy fat, and, most importantly, high-fiber carbohydrates (all loaded
with vitamins and minerals). An example pre-training snack is whole grain bread with
peanut butter and a piece of fruit) (Need a verb in this sentence). Drink several cups of
water slowly in the hour before training after the snack, and 5 minutes before the training
begins, initiate intake of your training drink (at the same rate that you expect to drink it
during the training itself). Don’t start drinking it sooner than 5 minutes before training
begins because then an insulin response will initiate.
2. If there are training sessions in the morning and evening, what are the
eating times recommended?
For morning, breakfast is key, 1-1.5hours prior to training, with slow water intake for
the next hour. For evening sessions, see question (1).
3. Why is fiber so important for the pre-workout meal and / or snack?
Fiber slows digestion. (How about just: “Fiber slows digestion.”?) The faster that food
digests, the faster blood sugar rises after a meal, and the greater the insulin response
by the pancreas. A large insulin response lowers blood sugar too far resulting in loss of
mental focus, loss of energy, and increased hunger. These things are the opposite of
what you want during training and competition. In a study of the effect of digestion rate of
meals on exercise performance, ten trained cyclists fasted (ate nothing) overnight (for
12 hours) and then ate 600 kcals one-half hour before 2 hours of cycling at 70% VO2
max (70% of maximum effort) [DeMarco HM et al., Med Sci Sports Exerc 31 (1999) 164].
The meals were either high glycemic index (low fiber: corn flakes, low-fat milk) or low
glycemic index (high fiber: All-Bran, apples, and low-fat yogurt). . The athletes that ate
the corn flakes had double the insulin spike, a lower availability of sugar for fuel during
training, a higher perceived exertion (they were in as much pain during the ride as those
who had no breakfast at all), and during the all-out cycling at the end (100% VO2 max)
were only able to go an average of 123 seconds instead of the 206 seconds that the
athletes eating the fiber were able to do. In addition to high fiber content, digestion is
slowed by protein and fat. Bottom line: your pre-workout meal and / or snack should be
(1) hard-core whole grains and fruit or vegetables, particularly those with tough skin like
an apple and (2) healthy, solid protein and fat, such as nuts or tofu. Eating something
like this 15 minutes before training will, of course, make you sick. Go with at least a half
hour prior. The closer to training time, the fewer the calories you should take in so that
you have time to digest. Eating too much fruit in the hour or two before training can
result in osmotic diarrhea when you start exercising (because of the fructose in fruit).
4. How do I “carbohydrate load”?
Carbohydrate loading is the process by which large amounts of glucose are sent into
muscle so that the sugar can be stored as glycogen in large amounts. Glycogen stores
can be doubled with carbohydrate loading, and this has been shown numerous times in
research to improve endurance performance significantly. Bussau VA and coworkers
[Eur J Appl Physiol 87 (2002) 290] showed that when ingesting 10 g of carbohydrate / kg
body weight each day, it takes only 1 day to top off glycogen stores. One pound = 2.2
kg so a 130 lb person weighs ~60 kg and a 170 lb person weighs ~77 kg. These latter
individuals would need 600 g and 770 g of carbohydrate on their carbohydrate loading
day, which correspond to 2400 kcals and 3100 kcals of carbohydrate, respectively. On
hard training days these individuals would eat this much carbohydrate (plus another
couple thousand kcals of fat and protein), but carbohydrate loading is done on a REST
DAY before competition. That way, sugar is loaded into the muscle for higher storage
rather than just replacing what is burned during another exercise session. In the study
quoted above, eating 10 g carbs / kg body weight for one rest day doubled glycogen
stores (from 90 to 180 mM glycogen in muscle), but three days only raised glycogen
slightly (to 190 mM). The latter was not significant since that extra 10 mM above 180 mM
was smaller than the measurement error. Again, it is important that NO exercise is
done on your carb-loading day so that sugars are conserved and it is important that you
have been training recently. Some light tapering down of training will likely have
occurred, and this is enough to put some stress on the muscles (i.e. lower the glycogen
levels enough) so that they will be stimulated to carb load. In the study the trained
athletes ate high glycemic index carbs i.e. white bread, white pasta, white rice, and sugar
(see the last question, #3 of this section, and question #3 of section 10) on their carb
load day. As you can imagine, it is tough to get all the calories eaten and digested when
loading this much, particularly if it is all high fiber food. My suggestion is this: try to eat
as much high-fiber grains, fruit, and vegetables as you do every day for training
recovery and health. Then, on your carb load day, simply ADD to this REFINED
carbohydrates: white pasta, white rice, white bread, potatoes (yams are better because
they contain potassium and vitamin A) and sugar. Space the refined carbs out so that
no single meal will have a super-huge insulin spike. The latter will result in “fat loading”
rather than glycogen (“carb”) loading. Summary: normal, healthy, high-fiber diet PLUS
refined carbs to achieve 10 g carb / kg body weight, split into as many meals as is
reasonable for your time schedule for one day of rest.
Pre-Training Nutrition
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© Clyde F. Wilson