What Should You Eat Before Training?
Have you ever wondered this? Here are some tips Coach Shawna give’s her athletes to set them up to fuel thier workouts and crush their training!
Do you have a guess as to what her “go to” response will be? Carbs of course!
Our sport is carbohydrate dependent, which means when you’re training your body is using mostly carbs to fuel what you’re doing. Which means you need to stock up on carbs before your training begins!
But we don’t want you just picking any old carbs! Why? Because some carbs digest fast (aka “high GI carbs”) and some digest slow (aka “low GI carbs”). And when you’re thinking about what to eat before training, you want foods to digest fast enough that they’re made into available energy for your fitness.
Foods that digest fast would be things like:
- Juice
- Sports drinks
- Candy
- Table Sugar
Foods that digest a little slower (but still kinda fast):
- Bananas
- Berries
- White Rice
- Cereal
- White Bread
- Pastries
Foods that digest slow:
- Potatoes (sweet, white, red)
- Squash
- Brown Rice
- Whole Wheat Bread
- Starchy Vegetables
And how many grams of carbs should you have?
Coach Shawna’s suggests if you’re training for 60 minutes or less then have at least 30g, 60-90 minutes go for 40-60g, and 90 minutes+ have at least 100g before you start.
Choose moderate (kinda fast) to high glycemic (fast) digesting carbs within 60 to 90 minutes before training to make sure you’re stocked up and ready to go. Then, eat a small amount of protein (20-30 grams) and minimal fat (this slows down digestion).
This could look like:
- Cereal with low fat milk
- Banana and a scoop of protein
- Perfect bar and banana
- Bagel with sliced turkey (no sooner than 90 minutes before training)
The goal here ladies is to get you some easily digested carbs, some protein, and low fat digested and in your system so your body can USE it to do what it needs to do as you train!
Let us know what questions you have!
Did you know that Competitive Female Training offers 5 levels of training, from beginner to advanced, and one unique to women with low estrogen? We also have an accessory only program! You can learn more HERE.