What to eat before training - pre-workout, nutrition, sports supplements. What to drink during a workout: water vs isotonics

During sports training, the body experiences increased stress. The heart rate increases, the body temperature rises, and a large amount of energy is lost. Some athletes feel very tired after training and therefore try to find drinks and meals for themselves that will allow them to recuperate. Others seek to get rid of body fat, and here, too, you can use special fluids. Still others believe that drinking during and after sports is not necessary at all.

The optimal solution is water

There is a misconception that you can lose weight if you actively remove fluid from the body. Supporters of this theory try to limit fluid intake, use diuretics, and the question "what to drink during training" is completely irrelevant for them. However, this is a serious mistake, for which you can pay with your own health. Indeed, with violations of the water balance, the whole body can suffer. It is very important that the liquid constantly enters the body, and at the same time, the daily rate of its consumption must be observed.

Those who are interested in what to drink during a workout often think that water is the most appropriate liquid to drink during exercise. Indeed, this is a very reasonable approach. Indeed, during physical exertion, body temperature rises, sweating increases. The blood becomes more viscous, and all these symptoms of dehydration can have a lot of consequences. For example, kidney stones, thromboembolism, even a heart attack. Therefore, you can and should drink water during sports. When the viscosity of the blood increases and fluid does not enter the body, the athlete may experience a sharp drop in blood pressure and fainting.

Get rid of excess liquid

When removing fluid from the body, you can actually observe some weight loss. However, it is not associated with a decrease in the volume of adipose tissue, but is associated with a decrease in the amount of fluid in the body. And the safest way to remove excess fluid in the body, paradoxically, is to drink plenty of water. If, on the contrary, you drink little, then the body will accumulate water, and body volumes will grow.

Drinking rules

Those who decide that they will drink water during training should follow a few simple rules. It is usually recommended to drink small amounts of liquid during physical activity, or simply moisten your mouth with water to reduce thirst. Most of water should be consumed two hours before training, as well as after its completion. Some people think that you should not drink after a workout. This opinion is argued by the fact that water makes the blood heavier, gives an additional load on the internal organs. However, here, as in everything, it is worth listening to the individual characteristics of the body. The best option is to consult on this issue with a trainer or doctor.

Water with lemon

Athletes who are sure that drinking during training is mandatory, both in terms of body safety and training effectiveness, often use another method. Lemon water is a great method to quench your thirst during exercise. If desired, honey can be added to the water. Lemon contains a large amount of beneficial minerals that help restore salt balance. In addition, such a drink has a number of other useful properties:

Lemon water improves immunity. Lemon is rich in vitamin C - an antioxidant that fights the formation in cells free radicals thereby increasing resistance to infections.
The tone of the body is increased due to the large amount of other vitamins and minerals.
Lemon struggles with excess weight. Some nutritionists classify lemon as a negative calorie food. In order to digest it, the body needs to spend more energy than is contained in the lemon itself. In addition, citrus fruits help burn fat.
Lemon is an excellent prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The substances contained in it contribute to the dissolution of lipid deposits in the blood vessels.

Recovery drinks

Increasingly popular among athletes and just fitness enthusiasts are gaining their popularity due to the fact that the nutrients that are dissolved in water are absorbed by the body much better than any dish or mixture. Such drinks are especially useful for those who are just starting to play sports, because they help to quickly restore the balance of minerals in the body. But they will also be useful for sports professionals, although for those who practice longer, the amount of nutrients in drinks may not be enough to restore all body reserves.

Energy

Today you can buy a wide variety of sports drinks. They are sold in specialized outlets, and you can also buy them directly at the fitness club. They are divided into three broad categories: fat-burning, energy, and isotonic. Energy drinks are a great option for those who feel exhausted and exhausted at the end of the day or after a workout. The composition of such drinks usually includes guarana, caffeine, ginseng, taurine. It should also be vitamin-containing. In Europe and America, these drinks are classified as medicines and therefore can only be purchased at pharmacies. Everything is much simpler with us - anyone can buy this product without restrictions. However, this does not mean that elementary safety measures should not be observed: energy drinks should not be consumed in large quantities, because this can result in insomnia, nervous excitement, depression, etc.

fat burning drinks

The next category is fat burning drinks. Their main component responsible for efficiency is l-carnitine. This substance has interesting feature: it affects the permeability of cell membranes for fatty acids, due to which fat is excreted from the body faster. With the start of taking fat burners, you can short term lose a large amount of adipose tissue. In some cases, it is up to 10 kg per month. However, when using them, you should consult a doctor. The most popular fat burning drinks are L-carnitine, Lady Fitness Carni Fit, Power l carnitine.

Isotonic sports drinks

Isotonic drinks help restore the balance of minerals and fluids in the body. They can also be consumed in order to replenish the supply of carbohydrates. Sports isotonics usually do not have side effects, exceptions are only those cases when the athlete's body is subject to reactions to one or another component of the drink. Popular isotonics are Lider Izomineral, XXI Power Isotonic. These drinks help maintain fluid, energy, and mineral balance during workouts.

Drawing conclusions

Everyone decides for himself what to drink before training. The best way to find the right option for you is to consult with your doctor. But, if this is not possible, you need to remember the basic rules - observe the measure in everything and listen to your body. Those who torment themselves with thirst during physical exertion act no less unreasonably than athletes who consume huge amounts of energy or various supplements before training.

The totality of all nutrients, vitamins and minerals received by the body forms a daily diet. Your progress and success in achieving your goals will depend on how correctly you make the menu for the day. Every meal counts, but there are times when getting the right nutrients is especially important: before and after a workout.

Before workout

Training is your golden hour. A limited amount of time in which you have to work as hard as your body allows. To prevent your own body from reaching its full potential at the most crucial moment - what could be more irrational and stupider? However, many do just that.

Imagine that your mind is a rally driver, and theoretical and practical knowledge and skills act as a co-driver, suggesting the right road. Together you go to your goal, which you so desire to achieve. You spent many days preparing for the race, studying every corner, but forgot to fill up the car. And here you go to the start with an empty fuel tank. Failure? What more!

What does the rally and an empty tank have to do with it? It is in this situation that people find themselves who do not pay due attention to nutrition before class. Doesn't it bother you that even a couple of hours before training there was already a slight feeling of hunger? Where does the body get the resources to do hard work? How long will you last? As a result, glycogen stores are reduced and quickly disappear, respectively, there is no strength either, and the muscles literally burn out.

Basically, this happens due to a misunderstanding or overestimation of the capabilities of one's own body. Many people think that what they eat for lunch or breakfast is enough for a workout, but if you come to class hungry, then there is no question of any productive training. Fatigue sets in almost immediately, you have to increase rest time, reduce weight, reduce the number of approaches. And what is the result?

You literally run away from the gym and try to justify yourself: “Okay, today was a hard day, I’m tired, I’ll go home, but I’ll definitely work out the next lesson in full.” Seriously? Everything will be exactly the same until you finally start eating right before training.

Before exercise, the body must receive carbohydrates and squirrels.

Carbohydrates will give the body the opportunity to store enough glycogen to fuel the muscles with energy throughout the entire session.

Squirrels will also go to work. Many mistakenly believe that protein should only be taken after a workout, but muscles always need amino acids, and especially during exercise. The intake of a sufficient amount of amino acids will create the right anabolic climate in the body, which contributes to more efficient growth and recovery of muscle tissue after training.

But fat before training not needed. First, fatty foods stay longer in the stomach. Exercising with a feeling of heaviness in the stomach is uncomfortable and is fraught with a sudden “booooee” right during the workout. Secondly, fat interferes with the absorption of other beneficial substances.

A regular meal 1.5–2 hours before a workout is a good option when there is time to cook and the ability to carry food with you. Well, if you can also warm up before taking it, then it’s generally wonderful.

Sports nutrition in this regard is more convenient. It doesn't need to be cooked. A dry mix shaker is lighter and takes up less space. A bottle of water, milk or juice is also easy to transport, and it will take a maximum of a minute to mix a cocktail, and there is no need to warm it up. There are completely hopeless situations when it is not possible to even take a shaker with you, but there are solutions for these cases - protein-carbohydrate bars. You can literally eat them on the go. In addition to convenience, sports nutrition fundamentally more efficient.

Whey Protein- most fast way give the body protein. It is digested much easier and faster. It can be taken up to an hour before training, when regular food has no time to digest. If you train in the morning, when there is very little time between waking up and starting a workout, regular food will not work at all.

It is useful to include a BCAA complex in the protein to fully supply the muscles with amino acids.

As a simplified alternative to mixing protein, BCAAs and finding the optimal source of carbohydrates on your own, a gainer is suitable. The gainer contains protein, carbohydrates, sometimes BCAAs, creatine and other useful additives in fairly balanced proportions. Look at the composition, add the missing components based on your needs and goals.

An even more advanced version is pre-workout mixes specially designed for pre-workout use. Their composition is optimized for creation in the body best conditions to deal with upcoming workloads.

When gaining mass, the pre-workout meal should include 20 grams of whey protein supplemented with 5 grams of BCAAs and about 50 grams of carbohydrates. When losing weight, you need to reduce the amount of protein to 15 grams, carbohydrates to 15-20 grams and add L-carnitine to enhance the fat burning effect.

After workout

The needs of the body after exercise are the same as in the pre-workout period: carbohydrates, squirrels and less fat to avoid delayed absorption of nutrients. Eating after a workout is especially pleasant because you can eat it without negative consequences turn on fast carbohydrates i.e. carbohydrates with a high glycemic index.

The norms of proteins and carbohydrates are slightly higher than before training: when gaining mass, it is recommended to take 25-30 grams of whey protein with the addition of 5-8 grams of BCAA, and the amount of carbohydrates can be increased to 60-100 grams, based on body weight and goals.

IMPORTANT! When losing weight, you can’t take carbohydrates within 2-3 hours after a workout, otherwise the body will stop using its own fat reserves and switch to food. BCAAs can be taken in the same amounts as when bulking, and the highest purity whey isolate is preferred as a protein source.

The post-workout gainer is still a simplified alternative to self-mixing individual nutrients.

As an advanced replacement for a universal gainer, you can take a specialized recovery mixture.

Caffeine and other stimulants are contraindicated within two hours after training, as they prevent the body from restoring glycogen stores.

Post-workout meals are always given special attention. This is due to the popular belief that after the lesson, the so-called anabolic window, also known as the protein-carbohydrate window.

What it is? Different experts put a little bit of their own meaning into the definition, but if it’s simple, then the anabolic window is when the nutrients received are used to the maximum to restore energy reserves and build muscles, and without the formation of fat mass.

The problem is that the phenomenon of the anabolic window is poorly understood. Different studies provide different and sometimes conflicting data, but let's be constructive. If a window exists, eating after a workout is essential. If not, you still need to eat to give your body the nutrients it needs to repair and grow. In any case, there is no harm from a post-workout meal, so just give the body everything it needs in accordance with your goals and don’t bother with too much.

Instruction

If you are engaged in an active sport aimed at burning calories, start preparing for the loads in 2 hours. Drink a cup of tea without sugar or a glass of juice, preferably freshly squeezed. Just before exercising, take a few large sips of water.

In time workout The body itself will give a signal that it is dehydrated. You will understand that it is time to freshen up by the formation of viscous saliva, it will become parched. Bad breath may come out of the mouth. All these symptoms will indicate that the body is actively burning fat. The decay products will be excreted by the kidneys, so they need help. In time workout it is recommended to take one sip every 10-15 minutes.

Only after completing the lesson, you can drink a full glass of water without gas. Keep in mind that along with water during time active physical activity, the body loses mineral salts. A glass of mineral water will also quench your thirst. Or just rinse your mouth with salted water.

In time power loads, exercises with barbells, etc. the body loses moisture less intensively. So, you may not feel the need to replenish it. In this case, drink when you see fit and feel thirsty. Throughout the power workout In principle, you can do without water. After completing the exercises, do not forget to drink a glass or two of liquid.

Recommended water intake during physical activity:- 2 hours before workout- 200-300 ml; - in 10 minutes - 80-100 ml; - in the process workout- 100-150 ml every 15-20 minutes; - after workout- 200 ml, repeat every 15 minutes until you satisfy your thirst.

Why is it important to keep the body hydrated during exercise?

There is a naive misconception among beginners and non-professionals that drinking during a workout prevents weight loss. In fact, the illusion of significant weight loss is due to the evaporation of water from the body.

Drinking water is highly recommended during any physical activity, not just when playing sports. Our body is 80% water, so maintaining a water-salt balance is especially important. Dehydration and conditions close to it are fraught with a serious threat.

Even a short-term lack of water will certainly affect the well-being of the athlete, and hence the effectiveness of the training. If you don't drink water during a long workout, your blood will thicken. In this case, oxygen will be carried worse throughout the body.

Evaporation of a critical amount of water leads to overheating of the body, which increases the load on the cardiovascular system and can even lead to loss of consciousness. Thus, due to lack of water, the body experiences stress and quickly overworks.

To avoid this condition, it is necessary to periodically drink water during exercise. However, it is worth choosing a moderate drinking regimen so as not to harm the body.

Excess water in the body is harmful to the heart no less than its lack. It leads to an increase in blood volume, which gives the heart extra work. Also, excessive water intake makes the kidneys work too intensively and provokes the leaching of salts from the body.

How much and how often to drink

So, the last question remains. How much water to drink during a workout, so as not to harm the body? The best option is to take a couple of small sips every 10-15 minutes.

Some types of loads require more water, some less. Some professional dancers say that while dancing, simply gargling with water from time to time is enough. Bodybuilders, on the other hand, tend to overuse water during training.

You can also replenish the amount of water before training. In this case, it is worth drinking 0.5-1 liter of water for an hour. Under this condition, the body will not need additional drinking during the lesson for a long time.

An important point: during training, you can not drink very cold water. The use of cold water entails a sharp narrowing of blood vessels, which adversely affects the cardiovascular system. It is better to take water at room temperature with you, and in winter you can even take hot water.

During intensive training, our body loses not only fluid in large quantities, but along with it, useful substances that our body needs to recover and normal life. What is the best way to replenish stocks: water or special sports drinks (isotonic), which contain all the necessary substances?

Water

If your run lasts no more than an hour at an average pace, then your needs can be completely satisfied with water and you don’t need to hang around bottles of sports drinks and tubes of special gels.

Your average pace is the pace at which you can carry on a conversation without getting out of breath.

So, if your run lasts no longer than an hour and at the same time you maintain your average pace, your choice is water.

Isotonics

Isotonics are advised to save for more difficult workouts, when the applied efforts go beyond the usual loads. Many sports drinks don't have a good reputation for being high in sugar, but if you're training hard, a lot of fast carbs and a serving of electrolytes is just what you need!

With a weak load, the use of isotonics does not make much sense, since the benefits from them will be about the same as from plain water.

Recovery. A sports drink contains an average of 20 to 50 kcal and 5 to 14 g of sugar per 240 ml. Glucose (sugar) in this case is the fuel for the muscles. Our body can get glucose from almost any product, but it is much easier and faster to extract it from sugar. And the sooner this happens, the better, because during intense training, our body simply will not have time to wait until, for example, the bread in our stomach is digested and divided into simpler components (including glucose). After long and intense workouts, a short carbohydrate window opens up, and it is at this time that the muscles are best replenished with wasted sugar, which helps in recovery and preparation for the next race.

carbohydrate window- an estimated period of 35-40 minutes after intense physical activity. The existence of such a period has not been scientifically confirmed.

After an active workout, the body needs to replenish the supply of not only fluid, but also the glycogen spent by the muscles.

During training, the level of adrenaline and cortisol in the body increases, which continue their action after training, destroying protein tissue (muscles). To prevent this muscle shrinking effect, it is important to use another hormone - insulin. It neutralizes the destructive effect of cortisol, as it is its biochemical antagonist.

Insulin is produced by eating so-called fast carbohydrates and blocks the action of cortisol and adrenaline.

In addition to carbohydrates, the body that received physical activity proteins are needed. Muscle growth and physical recovery in the human body depend on the amino acids that make up the protein. This means that during the carbohydrate window it is best to consume protein products with high bioavailability (dairy products, legumes, nuts).

Source: Wikipedia

Rapid rehydration. During intense training, our body loses large amounts of water, sodium and potassium through sweat. Water is great for quenching your thirst, and electrolyte drinks help restore fluid and electrolyte balance much faster. Sports drinks contain, on average, about 80 mg of sodium and 488 mg of potassium per 355 ml. This mixture of water, sugar and sodium helps our body absorb the moisture it needs much faster than just water.

Isotonic Recipes

It is not necessary to buy special sports drinks in stores, some of them are quite easy to prepare at home.

apple drink

Ingredients:

2 glasses of cold water;
1/4 cup apple juice;
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar;
sugar or honey to taste;
a pinch of ground cinnamon or ginger.

Vegetable isotonic

Ingredients:

1 liter of vegetable juice of your choice (you can make fresh beets or carrots at home);
1 cup of water;
1 cup orange juice.

Basic version of isotonic

Ingredients:

300 ml of any fruit juice;
200 ml of water;
a pinch of salt.

Citrus isotonic

Ingredients:

20 g honey or sugar;
30 ml lemon, orange or grapefruit juice;
a pinch of salt;
400 ml of water.

Even simpler options are to dilute 2 tablespoons of honey in 1 liter of water or buy mineral water and release gas from it.

Achieve maximum athletic performance by fine-tuning the five stages of your nutrient program, including pre- and post-workouts.

Nutrients that enter the body before, during and after training have a tremendous impact on energy metabolism, training intensity and pace. In this article, I'll show you how to use your food and nutrients wisely to make sure you get the most out of every training session.

I note that the intake of food and sports drugs before and after training should be approached from the point of view of the effect of nutrients on two stages of the training process: the intensity of energy metabolism and the rate of recovery.

At the first stage, we strive to create the maximum energy reserve that will allow us to work at the limit of human capabilities from start to finish of the training session. At this stage, we are not talking about recruiting muscle mass- recovery and growth of muscles begin at the second stage. Of course, there is an opinion that pre-workout drugs are involved in muscle growth, but in reality this is not the case. They only allow us to train harder, and muscle growth is delayed until the recovery stage.

In the second phase, we aim to maximize the anabolic response and minimize the effects of catabolism (muscle protein breakdown). We need to make sure that the body is filled with essential nutrients that are necessary for the recovery and repair of muscle tissue. In addition, we must replenish the nutrients that have come to an end during training.

We will break down the nutrient intake program into five stages:

Stage 1- pre-workout meal (stage 1)
Stage 2– pre-workout complex (stage 1)
Stage 3– intake of nutrients during training (stage 1 and 2)
Stage 4– post-workout complex (stage 2)
Stage 5– post-workout meal (stage 2)

Stage 1: Pre-Workout Meal

Moment selection: 1-3 hours before your training session, depending on your metabolic rate. I advise people with an accelerated metabolism to eat 1-1.5 hours before training.

You should consider eating before training as a solid “energy foundation” on which all work will be built. gym. This meal should provide the body with a continuous supply of energy that will allow you to perform at your best throughout your training session.

The pre-workout meal should fill the body with proteins, slow-digesting carbohydrates and fats. In short, it is a balanced meal rich in nutrients. Low-fat foods such as fish, chicken, or lean red meat (tenderloin) are an ideal source. Optimal sources would be brown rice, potatoes, pasta, buckwheat, or oatmeal. are the most important element of this meal, since it is the gradual release of energy that will give power to muscle contractions. So make sure you get 30-60 grams of carbs from a reliable source.

Stage 2: Pre-workout

Pre-workout complexes

Moment selection: 15-30 minutes before workout

Fills you with energy, creates the right attitude and increases mental focus to overcome an exhausting and relentless training session. If you have tried a quality pre-workout at least once, you know how dramatically your workout changes with the help of a drug in this category. Among the obvious benefits are a huge burst of energy, extreme concentration, an increase in the volume of work performed, increased blood flow to the muscles and an increase in peak strength.

A quality pre-workout should contain at least stimulants. Beta-alanine acts as a buffer of lactic acid and allows you to train longer and harder. Arginine dilates blood vessels and fills the muscles with blood. Stimulants (such as caffeine) energize, increase concentration, and improve endurance.

Stage 3. Intake of nutrients during training

Moment selection: directly in the gym

If you want to get a rapid increase in results and minimize the breakdown of muscle protein, you need the influx during your workout like air. It is at this moment that we smoothly move from the energy phase of the cycle (the first stage) to the recovery and growth phase (the second stage). The intake of amino acids during training promotes energy generation, slows down the breakdown of muscle protein (catabolism) and accelerates the start of recovery processes.

The best solution is to take it during training. Such drugs as are excellent representatives of this category.

Stage 4. Post-workout complex

Moment selection: immediately after training

I hope you don't have to be convinced that the post-workout complex is the most important element of the daily diet. After exhausting high-intensity strength training, your body is depleted of many vital nutrients, including proteins, glycogen (a carbohydrate source of energy), amino acids, key. It is necessary to fill the resulting nutrient deficiency as quickly as possible - only in this way can we stop catabolism (muscle breakdown), activate anabolic processes (restoration and resumption of growth) and start muscle protein synthesis.

At a minimum, you should take a quality whey protein. I draw your attention to the fact that after a workout you should use it, since this is the fastest source of protein. The intake of a protein shake gives rise to recovery processes and muscle protein synthesis. In addition, you can increase the effectiveness of the post-workout complex through nutrients such as and. It is enough to add 5 g of each to a protein shake.

In addition to this, the post-workout complex can be included, which contribute to the replenishment of glycogen stores and cause a sharp increase in insulin secretion. An example of the right carbohydrates is a mixture and waxy maize (waxy maize). For an optimal insulin spike, it is enough to take about 70 g of carbohydrates.

To sum up: the ideal post-workout complex contains 30-40 g of whey protein, 70 g of carbohydrates, 5 g of creatine and 5 g of glutamine. Well, if you do not want to mix all these ingredients, take at least 30-40 g of whey protein with water.

Stage 5. Post-workout meal

Moment selection: one hour after training

Eating after a workout is the final chord of a nutrient intake strategy. Just like pre-workout, this meal should be balanced in terms of protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates. Choose lean protein sources and quality sources of complex, slow digesting carbohydrates (such as whole and unprocessed plant foods).

Conclusion

The nutrients you take in before, during, and after a workout session have a HUGE impact on training intensity and subsequent muscle building. If you're not getting the results you want out of your workouts, reevaluate your diet and it might help you succeed!