Fitness
Want to reach your peak performance? Start by nailing your nutrition.
We're not Google. We can't predict what questions you're going to bash into your keyboard. But we can be fairly sure that at some point in life you will have fretted over what to eat before a big sporting endeavour, or worried about pre-match snacking.
Indeed, knowing exactly how to fuel your body and brain ahead of competitive sport can bring real rewards, helping you unlock physical performances you didn't know possible and giving you a real mental edge as well.
To ensure your preparation is as professional as possible, we asked elite personal trainer Scott Laidler how to make the most of your diet when it comes to sport and exercise.
Early morning exercise:
Before: If you’ve had a large carb-filled meal the previous evening, you should be fine to train or play sport on either an empty stomach or with a warm drink like a coffee to perk you up. However, if you've eaten a low carb meal the evening before, you may want to snack on a banana, which has a decent glycemic index and provides a nice potassium and blood sugar boost. If you are really get worried about pangs of hunger during a big match, have some avocado on sourdough toast, but no less than an hour beforehand.
After: Many people see a protein shake as a convenient way to get nutrients straight after a workout – which is fine – but it's far more important to have a balanced meal within two hours of training. One healthy option is granola with yogurt and boiled eggs on the side. This meal consists of slower digesting carbohydrates for more balanced energy release, a good deal of protein and lower fats, but they should remain representative in every meal.
Afternoon exercise:
Before: Afternoon exercise should be scheduled alongside a large complex carbohydrate breakfast, and then a light lunch: a small salad with a couple of pieces of fruit such as berries and kiwi fruit would be a good option, perhaps two hours before your game or gym-session. This will fuel your fitness but not weigh you down and make you feel uncomfortable when training. Wash it down with a glass of non-concentrated orange juice.
After: Playing sport in the afternoon provides an opportunity to massively refuel with a lot of complex carbs about an hour after you’ve finished. As you still have the rest of the day to burn, go for a large sweet potato or a large cup of rice for your carb source, alongside a great protein source, you can keep fats low on this meal and make up for it later with your evening meal.
Evening exercise:
Before: When scheduling an evening fitness plan you need to have fuelled your day well with a substantial breakfast and lunch – if you arrive in the early evening too hungry, you run the risk of feeling flat. An hour or two before your exercise, you’ll want a moderate carb intake meal, making sure it's not too large and weighs you down before training. An energy drink an hour before should help pep you up.
After: Post-training, you’ll want to eat a lot but I'd suggest keeping your meals relatively moderate, as you can always have a larger breakfast to fully fuel your recovery. Unless, of course, you're intending to train the next morning on an empty stomach, in which case fill your boots and have a larger meal as you’ll be able to use it to fuel your next workout. Grilled peppered chicken, rice and vegetables will do the trick.
Now for the discipline...
For those looking to add strength and muscle mass:
You’ll want to eat plenty of protein, perhaps 0.8g of protein per pound of bodyweight. You’ll also need plenty of complex carbs throughout the day, and you can keep your fats moderate. Ideally you’ll keep anywhere between a 10 and 20 per cent caloric surplus throughout the week to have the nutrients available to gain muscle mass.
For those looking to slim down:
Anyone doing mostly cardio and lighter resistance work should keep their carbohydrate intake far more moderate, but don’t go no carbs unless pursuing a ketogenic lifestyle. Rely more on a high fat intake to stay satiated for longer and balance your blood sugar over time.
For the lunchtime five-a-side hero:
Whether it's a game of tennis or a weekly bout of five-a-side, you'll want to make sure that your protein intake is kept at optimal levels each day, otherwise in time your performance is going to start suffering due to a breakdown in muscle tissues. For the event itself, make sure you fuel yourself with complex carbs, like a bowl of pasta, two hours before your event and have something on-hand like a banana to give a bit more fuel at half time or whatever break you have.
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