Eat Right For Your Sport

Tailor your eating to your workout passion and get maximum results!

- Matthew Kadey

If you’ve worked up the motivation for another sweat fest, good for you — that’s half the battle. The other essential half of the workout equation is eating the best foods for your sport of choice. The path to improved performance and staying lean is much smoother if you nail your nutrition needs for before, during and after exercise. Here’s how to dial in your sports nutrition to maximize your workout returns.

THE CORE PRINCIPLES

Preworkout: Pumping fuel into your body before your workout can give you a much-needed burst of energy so you’re ready to perform at your best.

During workout: Hoping to get more out of your epic workouts? Be sure to add fuel to your gas tank so you can keep on motoring.

Postworkout: Smart post-training eats help maximize your recovery, making you stronger and faster in the long run.

1. WEIGHTLIFTING/CROSSFITTING

BEFORE

What you need: A growling tummy and sagging energy levels are not conducive to a brag worthy workout. And when you aren’t able to pump iron or perform burpees full blast, there is less chance you’ll experience optimal physique gains. As long as you took in a well-balanced meal a couple of hours beforehand, a light snack of 150 to 200 calories should suffice to keep you energized on the gym floor. Including some pre lifting protein in that snack can work to limit muscle damage during your workout. In fact, there is data suggesting taking up to 10 grams of branched-chain amino acids mixed with water before resistance training can lead to less muscle soreness and even quicker recovery time.