Hey everyone. I wanted to start a topic on how to be prepared for a long training session. How to eat right the day before and the day of, and how to hydrate properly. I can't do sports drink, so I've been dong water with about a half tablespoon of Pink Hymilayan Salt. So how do you recommend to be ready for a long session the day before and morning/day of? Here are a couple examples of some pre training meals. Please feel free to critique. 1. 5 eggs with olive oil and some onions and salt Or 2. 2-4 potatoes cooked in the skillet with olive oil and salt. 3. 1-2 bananas with almond butter 4. Fasted. And after training was over I started drinking the water and salt. Should I drink this drink during training or only after? How about diet? I've just been playing around to see what works better. I would love to hear everyone's input.
Results from training is because you have all three major points covered and they are correct training, nutrition/hydration and rest/recovery. Hydration is covered here, but it is an everyday ongoing issue. Wait until you are thirsty and it's too late. In addition your body doesn't start to utilise the water until it's at body temperature, which is why you can often feel it sloshing about your belly during a workout. Little and often throughout the day for best results. Most of us fail big time when it comes to sleep and that is covered here and here. On the day of training John Titchen recommends a bag of crisps to replace the salts. Don't overdo the salt if you aren't training hard. With the diet it's a good idea to keep a diary for two weeks. Write down what you eat and what you drink. Keep a log of what tie you go to bed, what time you get up and your energy levels. By doing this you'll start to understand how food and drink affects your energy levels. Also keep a log of your moods, as food can affect how you feel too.
Turbolag, ^ Simon has given you some excellent advice above. I'll add to it by saying Google pre-workout strategies, pick two or three, and try each of them for a couple of weeks. Compare the results of how your body reacts to them, and stick with the one with the most positive outcome.
Just had a re-read and I think that 2-3 crystals of salt is enough is a full bottle of water. Half a tablespoon is too much. Always start low and add if you really need it.
(deleted), and an EPI Pen is the pre workout of the gods! (I kid) Carbohydrates are really important for long training sessions. I know nothing of carb loading because I don't do marathon like events or training sessions, but I have the complex/simple carbohydrate pre training down pat. Polysacharrides (complex carbs) are good to get into your system an hour prior to training. These are used for energy and aren't used up quickly, so they'll be with you throughout your training session. Good sources of these can be found in whole grains and whole wheat, as well as some starchy vegetables. I usually use some type of granola bar. Mono and Disacharrides get into your system much quicker and are used up or stored as fat much quicker. You should hit some of these up 20-30 minutes before training. Good sources of these are going to be fruits, although sometimes I go with a whit chocolate oreo hershey bar. Don't judge me! Before you even start prepping with your carbohydrates, about an hour prior make sure you've started on your hydration. For me this usually involves drinking at least 16 oz. of water. During training it's usually good to have some source of mono and polysaccharides in liquid form. You can get this through supplements or a sports drink. If your training session includes a 30 minute break it would be good to hit up some polysaccharides again. After training hit up a protein source immediately. If there was a lot of endurance like activity, replace the monosacharrides as well. This is going to help prevent you from entering a catabolic state where your body starts using itself as an energy source (eating your muscles). You can also get all your carbs from vegetables as well, but since you have to eat a copious amount to achieve that I usually don'e use veggies as an energy source.
i try to keep it simple. when i train in the morning i have my typical breakfast about 1 1/2 hours ahead of time: 1 cup greek yogurt, 1 cup fruit. i try to drink at least two big glasses of water then. i don't like to grappling with a full stomach but i need water and energy. if i train at lunch time, i still hydrate the same way, but usually eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread about 1 1/2 hours beforehand. i try to hydrate a bit during breaks of training. my post workout drink is more water, and always about 200ml of chocolate milk. like ero says, don't judge. i kid. no, i like the sugar in it because i feel like it gives my muscles some food, and there's a little protein in there too. when i get to the office, i usually have a snack with more protein and/or my typical lunch which is usually mostly veggies and some protein.
Turbolag, what do you class as a 'long' training session? If you can't do sports drinks, you can make your own. Dilute fruit juice with water 50%/50% and add your pinch of salt to that. Post session, milk has been shown to be an excellent recovery drink. You can add a banana to get some potassium in as well. Salt is not just about sodium chloride. Replacing salts sweated out should include, potassium and magnesium.
Thanks for the replies. 2 hours is what I'm referring to. How to prepare for a hard training session that is two hours. So going by the water reference. I weight about 225. So I need about 110oz water a day? So here's my setup now. Wake up (7-8AM) - start sipping on water Around 9AM - eat about 2-4 potatoes with some salt, continue sipping on water 11AM - train until 1PM. Sip on water throughout training. Should I sip on the water/fruit/salt beverage too? Or leave that for post training? Post training - large plate of rice and beans Later - protein source and more carbohydrates. How does this look? I'm confused regarding what I should consume during training.
This is where the diary comes in. You could always start a training log on MAP to help. The diary will tell you daily if you are tired, hungry and so on. It'll chart your weight, which will enable you to add or reduce food as you see fit. I don't eat during training, but if I had to it'd certainly be no more than a banana.
Quick question, why himalayan salt? I was given some recently as a gift, so I looked into it, and its just salt, with a new agey scam attached to it. it does look nice though. ive found lots of carbs in the morning, b vitamins and creatine the most usefull.
Agreed that that is a lot of salt. Swap potato for sweet potato. Regarding the water intake. Weigh yourself before training (hydrated). And make sure you weigh the same (without your sweaty clothes) after you finish rehydrating. There's some real science to sports nutrition ranging from when you have a pre-training meal, what to eat during and after training, and far beyond. As others say, start logging and testing yourself, and stick to the simple rules like good clean food. When you are eating well, tracking your food I tend to think people under eat rather than over eat.
Health is probably the best investment you can ever make. So much so, I'm always perplexed why people don't want to lay down money for a good, personal advisor. Most people could afford it if they try hard enough. Turbolag, there's some sound nuggets of information you've been given here. But honestly, get yourself to an experienced and certified dietitian. It'll cost money, but it's the best thing in the world you could pay for.
Ok, so the main reason I made this thread was for belt testing. I wanted to make sure I was prepared nutrition and hydration wise. So here's what I did leading up to testing a couple days out: Meal 1: sip on a bottle of water and try to finish it in about and hour or so. Apple and almond butter or banana and almond butter. Meal 2: half pound of ground chuck cooked, 1.5 cups rice and sautéed onions. Meal 3: same as meal 2 Meal 4: half a chicken, with either fruit or potatoes The morning of testing I did this: Wake up and sip on water all morning. I had to make myself drink because I didn't wanna eat or drink anything. I had about a cup of rice two hours before testing with some sea salt. Before testing started I took a couple large sips of water. Made sure to sip on water at each break. And after testing I had half a bottle of water with some sea salt. This had me pretty prepared for the whole workout. I had energy, and didn't get dehydrated. I still want to find a nutritionist. I really like having a structured plan to follow.
Just a point of note. A dietician a term protected by law and they will have met national or international standards. A nutritionist may have just done a short course in nutrition and given themselves the title.
