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Originally Posted by NJPitcher
What are your reccomendations for food with carbs? Like could I use grape juice (3 cups or so) to get in my pre-workout carbs, or should I use something like oatmeal? Thanks, you seem to know your stuff, so I figure you're a good person to ask, 
EDIT: Woops, didn't see the complex/simple in front of the different times. Sorry for the wasted post. anyways, I'll try this out tomorrow. |
Hey NJ,
I generally do not recommend the simple sugar fructose at any of these 3 times. Look for drinks that have sucrose, dextrose, glucose, or maltodextrin as the primary sugar. But I only recommend the sugars immediately before your workout. The ideal pre-workout meal is full of complex carbs (yes, oatmeal is an excellent complex carb) and moderate protein 2-3 hours before.
abear,
Your body holds anywhere from 500-700g of glycogen in your muscles, brain, and liver. If you're working hard, you're pretty much going to need a lot more than 30-60 grams post workout. I know that everyone is different, but 30-60 is on the extreme low end for most people. Do you weigh under 115 or something? I'm not being an ass or anything, but again, that's insane low.
You're not one of those carb-o-phobes are you???
I took a look at the guide you sent me, and I have a few things I'd debate in that.
First, he suggests that ideal scenarios for a pre-wo meal both contain up to 60g of protein. I do agree that your body needs BCAAs---I supplement them myself. For those who may not know, Branched Chain Amino Acids (Valine, Leucine, Isoleucine) are the 3 aminos that may be used for energy. But back to my point-there are few, if any times your body can process 60g of protein, and even if it is a fast absorbinb protein (like whey), it still doesn't make any sense to slow your body down by packing that much in 15-30 minutes before you workout.
He also suggests low GI carbs 15-30 minutes prior to workout. It takes a little longer for those carbs to empty out of the stomach. When your stomach has food in it, more blood is sent to the stomach area. While you're working out, you do NOT want your stomach full of food-you want blood flowing to your muscles. (Kind of like mom telling you not to swim for 20 minutes after you eat). A high dose of high GI carbs will absorb quickly, and will give you the glycogen you need to support energy from the glycolysis.
As far as during the workout, I suggest water along with a sports drink MORE to aid hydration and to keep electrolyte levels high, but since you're drinking something, it wouldn't hurt to assist in repair and cortisol suppressing. I definitely don't recommend more than 15g of whey, and I personally keep it as low as 10 (just enough to keep my BCAAs)
I do believe that the post-workout is a very important meal, but I believe that the pre-workout rivals its importance as the MOST important. The reason I believe that it is crucial to give your body a high dose of high GI carbs is because exercise increases the insulin response of the body. High GI carbs will raise insulin. Now add the protein. Higher insulin will result in higher protein absorption and synthesis. So to say that this meal isn't very important isn't accurate. Is it the most important? I believe EVERY meal is important, and take every meal as serious as my post-workout meal.
Guys, one final re-emphasis-don't underestimate the micronutrients at this point. Get those vitamins and minerals into your body. All it takes is for your body to be deficient in ONE vitamin, ONE mineral, or ONE amino acid, and the system will not work to an optimum level. How do you know if you're deficient? Without constant blood work, it's hard to, so you have to keep the levels of these things up. I've written about this before, so if you're interested, hit me up.