It’s Exercise and Medicine Week at Penn State! This week-long initiative of the American College of Sports Medicine calls on universities and colleges to promote physical activity and exercise on campus. Many of our PSU campuses are supporting the initiative this week through a series of fitness-related events on campus. To coincide with these events, we thought we’d do our part by putting together a quick guide on how to fuel your body right for your next workout.

What you consume before and after an intense workout will greatly affect your performance. If you are an athlete on a competitive team, or just make it a priority to complete high-intensity workouts weekly, it is crucial to understand what types of foods your body needs (and when it needs them) to help to maximize performance levels.

There are a few things to consider before diving into what foods to eat and when to eat them before a workout. Be conscious of how many hours you are logging and the level of intensity these workouts consist of.

Before a Workout:

It is crucial to maximize your glycogen stores 3-5 hours before a high intensity workout or competition to ensure your muscles will have enough energy to perform at their maximum potential. This means eating a meal that is primarily high in carbohydrates, but also mixed with lean protein and fruits and veggies will be the most beneficial. Here are a few examples of meals to eat a few hours before a workout:

• A bagel with cream cheese and fruit
• Oatmeal with fruit, milk and orange juice
• Eggs with cheese and toast
• Pasta with chicken and sauce
• Salad with chicken, fruit, nuts, and dressing

Right before a Workout

You are already on the right track with having maximized your muscle energy stores with a well-balanced meal, but now you are getting closer to workout time and it is important to keep the good habits going. Around 60 minutes before a workout, it is important to eat around 50-100 grams of simple carbohydrates to maintain the muscle levels. This would be something small like:

• An apple with a teaspoon of peanut butter
• A medium sized orange
• A medium banana with a teaspoon of peanut butter
• Half a bagel with cream cheese

During a Workout

That is right, even during a workout is an important time to provide essential nutrition to the body. This is where the duration/length/etc (?) of your workout comes into play. If you workout for an hour or less, focus on drinking plenty of water and follow the tips below to eat a well-balanced post meal. If you are working out for over two hours, or at extremely high intensity, it is important to consume simple carbohydrates to replenish the muscle stores. By doing this, you will prevent your body from fatiguing at a faster rate. Using sport gels and a sports drink, such as Gatorade, are perfect examples of simple carbohydrate foods to consume during a workout or practice. Even having a small piece of fruit, like a clementine, to eat during a small break of a 2-3 hour practice or workout will provide the energy your body needs to continue at optimal rate. 

After a Workout

Now that you have completed your workout, you feel great and accomplished, but you are not finished yet. In order for all your hard work to pay off, you need to consume a meal high in both protein and carbohydrates, within 2 hours after your workout. This is crucial for building muscle for many reasons. The simplest explanation is that during a strenuous workout, your body breaks down muscles with all that force you used to workout. In order to build the muscles back up, your body needs an influx of carbohydrates. Adding protein after a workout has been proven to have the most effect in repairing muscles. This is due to the fact that protein can be utilized by other parts of the body that need repair or help functioning properly so carbohydrates can just focus on the muscles. Here are some examples of post workout meals that would be the most beneficial.

• Chicken, rice and a vegetable
• Rice, beans and a vegetable
• Fish, rice, beans and a vegetable
• Quesadilla with cheese, chicken and a vegetable
• Eggs with toast and fruit
• Yogurt, fruit and granola
• Pair each meal with a glass of regular or chocolate milk (proven to be the best post workout beverage!)

Now that you have learned the importance of nutrition for working out, you can maximize all that hard work. Also, keep an eye out for any Exercise is Medicine events that may be at your campus this week!

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