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Rural Fitness
Paula Dobbs
R.S.A B.A.W.L.A FITNESS INSTRUCTION AND PERSONAL TRAINING, SPORTS MASSAGE THERAPIST, FITNESS AND NUTRITION FOR CHILDREN,
OPTIMUM AND SPORTS NUTRITION. CERTIFICATE IN EXERCISE REHABILITATION, SPORTS PERFORMANCE, AQR TRAINING, CORE POWER.
TEL: 0427 553 533
ABN 36 923 924 273
Registered Fitness Professional with Fitness WA
NUTRITION – EATING BEFORE TRAINING
Nutrition is a HUGE subject, this information sheet hopefully gives you an insight into the basics.
What an athlete eats before a training session can make a difference to performance, comfort and recovery. The
major source of fuel for active muscles is carbohydrates, which gets stored in the muscles as glycogen in the days
before exercise.
Exercising on a full stomach is not ideal. Food that remains in your stomach during training may cause upset,
nausea and cramping. To make sure you have enough energy, yet reduce stomach discomfort, you should allow
a meal to be fully digested. This generally takes 1 to 4 hours depending upon what and how much has been
eaten. Everyone is different and you should experiment prior to determine what works best for you.
The closer you are to the training session the less you should eat and choice food that is easily digested. You can
choice liquid meals closer to training because your stomach digests liquid faster.
Because glucose is the preferred energy source a pre-training meal should include HIGH CARBS and EASY TO
DIGEST. Foods such as pasta, fruits, energy bars and drinks.
Eating before training is something only the athlete can determine based upon experience, but some guidelines
include eating a solid meal 4 hours before, a snack or a high carb energy drink 2 or 3 hours before, and a fluid
replacement (sports drink) 1 hour before.
The night before ensure plenty of carbs, some protein and sufficient fluids
1 hour or less before training
. Fruit or vegetable juice/smoothies – orange, grapefruit, tomato AND/OR
. Fresh fruit AND/OR
. Energy gels
. Sports Drinks
2 to 3 hours before training
. Fresh fruit
. Fruit or vegetable juice/smoothies
. Bread, bagels
. Yoghurt
. Sports drinks
3 to 4 hours before training
. Fresh fruit
. Fruit or vegetable juice/smoothies
. Bread, bagels, toast
. Pasta, baked potato
. Cereals – porridge, muesli, weetbix
. Yoghurt
. Sports drink
Avoid food that are high in fat, they are difficult to digest and remain in the stomach a long time. They also pull
blood into the stomach to aid digestion, which can cause cramping and discomfort. Eg meats, doughnuts, fries,
chips, candy bars.
If you are an endurance athlete, some sugar taken 35 to 40 mins before training (like energy or candy bars,
sports drinks) may provide energy (glucose) to your muscles when other energy sources have dropped.