Nutrition

The demands of training and the requirements of our sport means that we need to be more conscious of what we are eating, and perhaps more importantly, how much we are eating. Nutrition plays a key role in maximizing the training benefits and recovery of athletes at any level.
Woman cutting a pear in her kitchen

Exercise & Nutrition

Exercise intensity and duration are dependent on the levels of glucose your body has readily available. The intensity and duration also influence muscle glycogen use; the higher the intensity and the longer the session the faster glycogen and glucose are depleted.

A good nutritional plan for any athlete should include amounts of carbohydrates and protein. Carbs during the day’s prior to exercise has shown to maintain muscle glycogen and improve performance. Carbohydrate and protein combination was found to be the most beneficial for those with limited recovery time or those on a ketogenic diet.

Important Thing to Keep in Mind for Your Exercise Nutrition Plan

  1. Stay hydrated- Dehydration while working out will inhibit success and gains.
  2. An effective plan can have serious benefits including improved cardiovascular health, increased strength, improvements in blood pressure, and improved overall body composition.
  3. The best pre and post nutrition plans work when they boost energy for exercise and in your life overall, as well as results.
  4. Nutritional needs vary by individual and by workout plan. There are pre and post workout plans that cater to the “average” individual or athlete to achieve general gains and improvements.
    Anti-inflammatory diet
  5. Pre-Workout Meal Plan: Three to four hours before a HIIT workout, plan on moderate-to-high carbohydrate intake, and a moderately high intake of protein. Examples would be dried fruit, trail mix, and nuts, a Greek-yogurt smoothie with fruit in it, cottage cheese with trail mix or nuts, peanut butter with banana, or whole-wheat/grain toast with peanut butter.
  6. Post-workout Meal Plan: Within an hour of your HIIT workout, consume a snack that is high in carbohydrates.  Your post-workout meal plan is not dissimilar to your pre-workout meal plan. Make sure your intake is moderate to high in carbohydrates and moderate to high in protein. Avocados or guacamole with pita, pita and hummus, whole grain toast with peanut butter and banana, fruit, cheese, and crackers, or cereal that is high in carbohydrates with fruit and soy milk.
The word keto spelled with food

The Effects of Exercising On a High Fat Diet

Hunter Bennett When it comes to diet, there is an incredible amount of information out there – but unfortunately, most of it is somewhat conflicting. There are certain individuals who swear by a high carbohydrate diet, while others will state that adhering to a paleo way of eating is not only the best for health,

Woman doing a pull up

Resistance Training & Protein Supplements: What You Need to Know

Dayton Kelly This article was adapted from a combination of speeches given at the European Sports Science Conference 2018, most notably Timmons James (UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, IRELAND). Protein supplementation is an intensively studied, reliable manner to augment increases in muscle mass that occur with training and speed recovery. Its potential to improve muscle strength and

FODMAP and exercise

FODMAPS and Exercise

Dayton Kelly FODMAPs: A culprit in exercise-induced gastrointestinal distress and an explanation for athlete adoption of gluten-free diets This article was adapted from a combination of speeches given at the European Sports Science Conference 2018, most notably Dana Lis (University of California, US). You may have reached this article from a preceding one on gluten-free

Nitrate Vegetable Supplementation

Can Nitrate Rich Vegetables Boost Your Endurance?

Dayton Kelly             This article was adapted from a combination of speeches given at the European Sports Science Conference 2018, most notably Cindy Van Der Avoort (Han University of Applied Sciences, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Netherlands).             At the 2017 European Sports Science Conference, the ergogenic effects of nitrate supplementation saw a great deal of

Gluten Free Diest and Exercise

Gluten-Free Diet and Exercise

Dayton Kelly This article was adapted from a combination of speeches given at the European Sports Science Conference 2018, most notably Dana Lis (University of California, US). Going gluten-free has become a sensationalized diet plan that many people and increasingly, athletes, have adopted (Lis D. M., Stellingwerff, Shing, Ahuja, & Fell, 2015). In fact, 41%

Tips For Vegan Nutritional Balance

6 Vegan Athlete Meal Plan Ideas to Boost Performance

Jessica Gillespie-Friesen Animal products contain essential nutrients that contribute to proper body functioning but also contain a large amount of saturated fats and cholesterol leading to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity (Kris-Etherton, Innis, American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, 20; Jenkins, Kendall, Augustin, et al., 2012; Jenkins., Wong, Kendall, et al., 2014). For

Nutrition Tips For Endurance Athletes

Relative Energy Deficiency: Nutrition For Endurance Athletes

Evan Stevens Speak with any endurance athlete and the topic of conversation almost always steers towards nutrition. Endurance athletes are the pickiest, most finicky bunch you will ever meet, from the over health conscious “I need to avoid fat, dairy, and processed sugar” types to the ones who ride the hype-train through the various nutrition

Probiotics and Prebiotics

What Are Probiotics and Prebiotics?

Alyssa Bialowas In response to the current cultural nutrition trend surrounding probiotics and supplements, pharmacies and health food stores are stocking increased amounts of probiotic supplements. Is this just the latest health and nutrition trend or should you increase your consumption of probiotics and start to take probiotic supplements? Also, what are the benefits of

Vegan athlete eating an apple

3 Important Things Athletes Should Consider Before Going Vegan

Alyssa Bialowas The vegan diet is becoming increasingly popular among the general population and is gaining momentum among athletes as well. While traditionally athlete diets have been rich in meat and animal byproducts such as eggs and milk, veganism turns the omnivorous athlete diet on its head. Veganism is a way of living that eliminates

women high jumping

Do Ketogenic Diets Reduce Anaerobic Performance?

Evan Stevens Ketogenic diets have come to the forefront of popular health fads in the past few years. Placing the majority of our health and dietary problems on carbohydrates (due to the spike in blood glucose followed promptly by the spike in insulin, which if done continually can lead to a host of health issues

people squatting with medicine balls

Does the Keto Diet Affect High-Intensity Exercise Performance?

A Review by Alyssa Bialowas The ketogenic diet has been making waves due to its effective weight loss and health benefits, such as reducing blood sugar levels, increasing good HDL cholesterol and improving heart health. If you haven’t heard of the keto diet before, it’s a high fat, low carb diet plan that depletes your

women bent over after running

The Best Way to Prevent Gut Rot During Your Workout

Alyssa Bialowas One of the worst things that can happen to you before you start an intense workout, or worse as you’re 30 seconds into a run or a race: gut rot. Feeling pain and discomfort; it also means that your body is feeling very unresponsive to the event that you’re about to thrust yourself