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All you need to know about pre-and post-workout supplements!

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Working out and still not losing weight or recovery process is slow? Then there is something wrong with the pattern.

In conversations with my players, many a times people have told me that they have been working out for more than a year now but, it has not been effective. I too wondered what could be the reason and concluded that most people complaining are the ones who are not taking care of their pre-and post-workout meals.

In India, people focus on 3 major meals that are breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then the 6-meal plan came into play where 2 snacks i.e. mid-morning and evening snacks were included to fill in the gap but, most who go for their workout tend to skip the most important meals which are the pre-and post-workout meal.

For me, it is as important as having my breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Now, when I say workout, I don’t mean that heavy gym workout alone. The workout can include walking or jogging as well. 30 or 45 minutes of brisk walking also requires pre-and post-workout foods. If this is rightly followed for weight loss even walking helps.

People working out in the gym are often advised to start taking supplements the moment they hit the gym. That’s okay to some extent but is it enough?

Get your facts clear with this article! I hope this helps

(1)  Carbohydrates

When: – Pre and post-workout

Why?

–         Carbohydrates are responsible for refueling the muscles by getting stored in the body in the form of glycogen. When the levels of glycogen reduce in the body, we feel fatigued.

–         During workout sessions, stored glycogen is used up by the body to give energy.

–         If carbohydrates are not taken before the workout, the stored glycogen will be completely used up and it will have no backup energy left for the body which ultimately leads to workout energy.

–         Here, when I talk about carbohydrates, I am not asking you to hog chapattis or a bowl of rice. The carbohydrates taken before workout must be simple carbohydrates like fruits or fruit juices. A special sports drink can help in such cases.

–         If the workout comprises of high-intensity workout for an hour, then one must take up around 4.2 grams of carbohydrates per kg workout.

–         4.2 grams is the average carbohydrate which one can take however it is different from workout to workout and person to person.

–         It is always better to consult your health coach before selecting the pre-workout carbohydrates quantity.

(2) Proteins (Amino acid blend)

When: – Pre – and post-workout (pre-workout could be optional but it is must post workout)

Why?

–         Here, when I talk about proteins, I am talking about BCAA blend.

–         BCAA stands for Branched Chain Amino Acids.

–         This BCAA blend specifically contains 3 main amino acids which are leucine, isoleucine, and valine.

–         There might be a question coming in reader’s mind that there are many other amino acids then why am I focusing on these three? It is mainly because these 3 amino acids are responsible for digestion, repairing of body tissues and performing the main functions of proteins that are for growth and body building.

–         For people who are looking forward to building muscles then BCAA blend becomes very essential for them.

–         For others, proteins post-workout helps in repairing the muscles and tissues which have worn off during an intense workout.

–         Milk is a very good option for post-workout foods.

–         Foods like meat and eggs have BCAA in them which becomes an ideal post workout foods.

(3) Caffeine

When: – Pre-workout

Why?

–         If you don’t want tiring workout sessions, then it is preferable to take caffeine supplement pre-workout.

–         Researchers have shown that caffeine helps in improving the endurance during the workout sessions.

–         When it comes to caffeine supplement, the dosage is very important because an overdose of caffeine can make you nauseous and nervous.

–         2 g in lukewarm water is the most optimal dosage.

–         If you are suffering from caffeine sensitivity, then you can avoid taking this as you might get dizzy.

(4) Whey Protein

When: – Post workout

Why?

–         Whey protein concentrate and isolate are best for post workout supplement because Whey helps in a quick boost in the muscle recovery and it also helps in quick muscle growth.

–         Whey hydrolysate and casein helps in increasing the absorption of amino acids in the body making it an excellent post workout supplement. 

(5) Vitamin C

When: – Pre and post workout

Why?

–         Vitamin C supplement is usually taken to deal with common cold and cough but that’s not all.

–         Vitamin C helps in dealing with the stress which could be a strenuous workout as well.

–         Vitamin C is an antioxidant which helps in dealing with the metabolic stress.

–         Vitamin C helps in strengthening the immune system during a strenuous workout.

We hope you found these tips on pre-and post-workout nutrition helpful for your fitness journey. Let us know in the comments below and for more personalised guidance and insights, subscribe to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here. Let’s achieve your fitness goals together!

#BeTheForce

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for general awareness and educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalised medical guidance or concerns related to your health. Images shown are for representation purposes only and may not depict the exact recommendations or outcomes.

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Pre & Post Workout Shots You Can Try At Home

pre & post workout shotsWhether you’re working out indoors or outdoors, hydration is imperative throughout a workout and especially before and after! Here’s how you can improve your hydration game to the optimum benefits on your performance and outcomes of exercising with these pre & post workout shots! 

Pre & Post Workout Shots For Home! 

1. Shot of Beetroot Juice for Pre Workout
Beetroot Juice is a supplement with a high nitrate content, that is said to improve physical performance secondary to nitric oxide, which is a component of human blood that helps dilate your blood vessels and aid faster blood circulation, as to provide greater oxygen supply. Supplementation or dietary ingestion of nitrates is known to reduce oxygen requirements during exercise and reduce VO2 max (which indicates better stamina). In measures of time taken to reach exhaustion, beetroot juice showed an association with a fatigue delay effect and exercise performance enhancement.

A short term supplementation with beetroot juice may reduce VO2, giving an ergogenic effect, at less than or equal to VO2 max intensity that makes it possible to enable increased time-to-exhaustion. In addition to improving efficiency and performance, chronic supplementation with beetroot juice may improve cardiorespiratory performance as well. Consumption of Beetroot juice should be initiated in a period of 90 minutes before athletic effort, since the peak value of nitrates occurs within 2-3 hour after ingestion. At least 6-8 mmol of nitrate i.e. juice of 5 medium sized beetroots intake is required to observe an improvement in athletic performance.

2. Shot of Amla (Indian Gooseberry) Juice for Post Workout
Amla Juice is a reservoir of Vitamin C and essential electrolytes that are of utmost importance for post workout recovery. Post workout is an immunocompromised state where the body is concentrating more on muscle recovery and storage. This makes it imperative to supplement with immune boosting nutrients and electrolytes that may be lost due to sweating, right after a workout session.

Supplementing with amla juice has shown to reduce infection rate in athletes and heavy working out individuals. It also lowers down duration of muscle soreness significantly, which aids early mitigation of muscle cramps. Vitamin C being an antioxidant, reduces inflammation in the body, which is a common after effect of exercising. Chronic supplementation with amla juice is shown to build stronger immunity and improve gut health as well as strengthening the respiratory system.

Intake of amla juice should be initiated within 20 minutes of finishing physical activity as that is when the recovery and restorative activities of the body begin. Juice of 4 medium sized amlas ensures the supply of adequate amounts of Vitamin C and electrolytes.

We hope these pre & post workout shots help you get the most out of your exercises! Do let us know your experience in the comments below.

#BeTheForce 

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for general awareness and educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalised medical guidance or concerns related to your health.

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8 Foods you should include in your Pre-Workout Meal

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Most people who work out regularly are very particular about their body and fitness levels. However,one of the main questions that they constantly battle within themselves is whether to feed or fast before a workout?For your body to continue performing well, you’ve got to fuel up-and that means eating the right foods before your workout. Not eating before a workout can result in low blood sugar, which leads to fatigue.

Manuel Villacorta, R.D., author of Eating Free and Peruvian Power Foods says, “If I don’t have my pre-exercise meal, my workout isn’t the same and it feels like a waste.” “If you fuel correctly, you will work out harder,” he adds.

Here are some Pre work out food options :

We are well aware that protein is vital for muscle growth and carbs are crucial for energy.But, certain foods are better than others for fueling up your body before you work out. After all, you use different muscles and burn out different levels of calories depending on if you’re lifting, doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) or doing cardio.

Eating clean prior will give you the pump to rip up that work out. You should ideally eat at least 1 hour before the work out. This will do three things: sustain energy, boost your performance and speed up the recovery process.

Pre-workout food needs to have carbohydrates, some protein and some fat, to get you through longer workouts by providing you with energy. It also has to be light enough so that it doesn’t weigh you down or make you lethargic.

  1. FRUITS

Fruits- mainly Banana and Apple are one of the most perfect pre workout food as they are loaded with digestible carbs, packed with minerals such as potassium and fiber which helps to maintain both nerve and muscle function. According to Dr. Louise Burke, head of Sports Nutrition at the Australian Institute of Sport and coauthor of The Complete Guide to Food for Sports Performance: Peak Nutrition for Your Sport, Bananas are nature’s Power Bar. They are also linked in lowering the blood pressure, boosting the alertness, etc.The carbs from fruits break down quickly and the protein is used later to prevent the damage of muscle.

  1. PEANUT BAR

Peanut bar is a perfect pre workout snack if you’re hitting the gym straight from work/office, as these are portable and energizing yet wholesome. It provides carbs to fuel up your muscles and is rich in fiber, protein, necessary fats, etc. It will keep your stomach satisfied and the energy levels up.

  1. GREEK YOGURT

It has double the amount of protein than a regular yogurt, has fewer carbs, sodium, and sugars, making it a pre-workout supplement power house. Unless you’re lactose intolerant, it is very easy on the stomach. What you get is a mix of fast and slow digesting proteins, which provide muscle-building amino acids while you work out.  You can add fruit, whole-grain cereal or honey, for an extra kick of energy.

  1. AVOCADO

For a sustained workout, eating an avocado just a few hours prior can provide valuable and healthy fat for that energy boost when depletion of carbohydrates occur. A small avocado is enoughsince you don’t need a lot of fat. But, don’t be afraid of this kind of fat. Avocado also contains vitamins that help your body metabolize all those healthy carbs and proteins you’ve been packing away.

  1. NUTS & SEEDS

Munching nuts and seeds is the best for pre-workout nutrition as they cover all your macronutrient bases, having carbs, protein, and fat. Eating a few nuts/seeds during a sustained workout can also provide a boost of energy to keep you going during endurance activities. I personally love chia seeds, as they’re loaded with omega-3 fats for sustained energy, protein, and antioxidants. Having these just a few hours before a long, intense workout can really help in fueling up. You can even have them during sustained activity such as trekking or cycling to get a boost of energy.

  1. ALMOND BUTTER/ PEANUT BUTTER

High in protein and unsaturated fats, Almond butter and peanut butter are great for your pre-workout meal. They are minimally processed with few added sugars and also has double the cholesterol-lowering monounsaturated fat. Moreover, almonds can protect against insulin resistance and prediabetes. Spread Almond/Peanut butter on a slice of wholegrain bread for a long, slow-burning energy supply.

  1. OATS

They are packed with fiber and you must be aware of why fiber is important for your diet. Slowly releasing glucose into the bloodstream without the insulin spike, and B vitamins boosts metabolic conversion, oatmeal gives you satiation and sustained energy. Steel-cut oats are the least processed as they are finely chopped. Ready-to-cook or instant oats are precooked, dried and mostly contain added sugar. So swap that instant oats pack with steel-cut oats.

  1. WHOLEGRAIN BREAD

Wholegrain bread is a very good source of carbs. And, you can top it up with honey, low fat spread like almond butter, or eggs for high quality protein supplement etc. This means it has flexible partners. If you’re to hit the gym during lunch hours, eat this about 45 minutes before you head out.

Plan your exercise for the day, add some pre-workout supplements and nosh on these foods to fuel up your body to give your best during the workout.

So, how are you fueling up today?

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Pre and post workout meals: Is it Important?

Pre and post workout meals
I was sitting in my office when I heard some loud noises coming from outside. It seemed like two men were having a heated argument. Curiously I stepped out to find out what was wrong. It was a customer who seemed to be very disappointed. Despite being regular to the gym and following the workouts as told by his trainer, he was not getting the desired results of weight loss leave alone a good physique. The receptionist was trying to explain to him, to take nutrition consultation but he was like “I eat very less, so diet should not be a problem”. Ain’t we all are own doctors and nutritionist and we really do not need the right consultation.
Looking at the never ending argument I went up to him personally to talk to him and tried to understand his problem. Through the conversation and after taking down his detailed history, I arrived at the conclusion that  he is very passionate about workouts and hence manages to do it even when he is  traveling. But his diet was miserable. I explained to him that diet and exercise go hand in hand. In fact, diet contributes 70%  and exercise  30% to achieve the desired results. But 70% diet doest mean, you have to eat less, it means right meal, at right time, in right proportion. Hence, it is very necessary to look into your pre and post workout meals. He was taken aback at what I was saying and asked me to explain what are these pre and post workout meals?
I started with the importance of pre workout meals. The way your car requires fuel to run, the same way our body also requires fuel in the form of food  to perform better during workouts. The same analogy applies. Pre workout meals should usually be a combination of complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates for slow and steady release of energy throughout your workout. Along with carbohydrates adding a  small amount of protein helps to decrease the exercise induced muscle loss. Now when you exercise, blood flow is diverted away from your digestive system to your muscles. Hence one should avoid meals which take time to digest like meals high in fats and fiber. Ideally one should eat about 2 to 3 hours before the workout to give time for your system to move the food out of the stomach and begin digestion and absorption.
Some of the examples for pre workout meals can be whole wheat toast with banana and low fat yogurt and fruit smoothies with some granola bar or any traditional Indian meal.
At this point I was interrupted saying “This seems interesting, but what when I go for early morning workout. I do not  feel like eating so much”.
For early morning workouts, your glycogen (stored carbohydrates) and blood sugar levels are low. The time between your last meal at night and early morning, tends to be between 10 to 12 hours. During this overnight fast, your glycogen stores slowly decline, because it is being used up to keep various bodily functions going while you sleep. So for early morning workouts, eating a small amount of rapidly digestible carbohydrate like any seasonal fruit would be the best choice.
Ohhh great so I can have a banana before workout.
Yes banana can be a perfect option as it is rich in potassium, which drops down when you sweat a lot during workouts.
Are post workout meals also as important to consider as pre workout meals? Was his second query.
Yes absolutely. Immediately after workout our muscle cells develop high insulin sensitivity, which means that 30 to 45 minutes post workout our body gets a window of  opportunity to absorb nutrients into our muscle cells and recover them faster. Thus, one should have such a meal which leads to increase in insulin levels to arrest muscle breakdown, increase the speed of glycogen re-synthesis, increase both the size and strength of muscles tissue, increase blood flow to the muscles which improves both nutrient delivery as well as removal of waste like carbon dioxide, lactic acid from muscle and bring downs the cortisol level, helping the body to maintain its immune functions as well.
Post workout meal should comprise of
  • Water to quench the thirst and to come out of the post workout dehydration.
  • Easily digestible carbohydrates like banana or potato to replenish your glycogen stores and your blood sugar level without disrupting the blood flow much to the worked out muscles and to spare the muscle/protein to be used as a source of energy.
  • First class proteins like chicken, fish, eggs, paneer, whey protein shakes, which will provide the body with all the required amino acids to carry out its repair work and arrest further tissue damage.
  • Antioxidants to help the body recover from free radicals that are generated during exercise.
  • Bottom line is to be aware and understand the importance of diet along with exercise and to start following a proper exercise regime with proper pre and post workout meals.

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