ENHANCE YOUR PERFORMANCE IN SPORTS.

WHAT TO EAT BEFORE & AFTER WORKOUTS.

Mostly athletes have questions about what to eat before, during and after exercises. Here I am giving the some guidelines for the athletes who are curious about their food and training.

EATING BEFORE EXERCISES.

Every athlete wants to know what to eat before exercising or competing. There is no one winning meal, and both physiological and psychological factors dictate the choice pre-exercise food. How ever any meal eaten has four main functions:

1:- To help prevent hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) with its symptoms of light-headedness, fatigue, blurred vision and indecisiveness all of which can interfere athletic performance.

2:- To help settle the stomach, absorb gastric juices and satisfy hunger feelings.

3:- To fuel muscles particularly in the case of food eaten for enough in advance to be digested

and stored as glycogen.

4:- To ease the mind with the knowledge that the body is well fueled.

PRECOMPETITION DIETARY GUIDELINES.

The following are some pre competition guidelines to help you maximize your sport performance:

1:- Eat high carbohydrate meals daily for muscle fuel.

2:- Choose high starch, low fat foods that that tends to digest easily, settle comfortably and maintain stable blood sugar. Small servings of low protein are permissible.

3:-   Consume sugary food with caution especially within an hour of doing hard exercise. A sugar boost may cause a sugar low once exercise is begun. If you must have a sweet eat it within 5 – 10 minutes of exercise because this is too short a time for the body to secrete excess insulin before exercise is begun and insulin secretion halts.

4:- Allow adequate time for food to digest. High calorie takes longer to leave the stomach than lighter meal.

5:- Allow more digestion time before intense exercise (That you can sustain for 30 minutes) than before low level activity. Muscle requires more blood during intense exercise and the stomach may get only 20 % of its normal blood follow during a hard workout.

6:- Liquid foods leave the stomach faster than solid foods. Experiment to see whether liquid meals offer any advantages.

7:- Athletes how are jittery before competition should make a special effort to eat well the day before competition.

8:- Those who have a "magic food" should have it on hand. Even if you don't have a favorite food, you should have a snack on hand in case of delays.

9:- Always familiar foods before a competition, don't try out a new foods.

10:- Drink plenty of fluids. Dehydration is possible with exercise so an athlete should drink an extra 4 to 8 glasses of fluid the day before competition and at last 2 – 3 glasses of water up to two hours before the event. Drink another 1 – 2 glasses up to 5 – 10 minutes before the start of the event.

POST EXERCISE NUTRITION

After an athlete has a hard workout, a top priority should be replacement of the fluids that were lost through sweating. Water is a conventional fluid. Juices supply water, carbohydrates, and electrolytes. Watery foods such as watermelon, grapes and than soups are also good. High carbohydrate sports drinks or soft drinks supply fluids and carbohydrates but have few vitamins and minerals.

Within one to four hours after a workout, the athlete should consume carbohydrates rich foods and more beverages. An extra protein beyond the recommended daily amount is not necessary. Minerals such as potassium can be replace by eating frits such as bananas or drinking juices. Replacing salts (sodium) loss in not a major concern for the for the average fitness participants as most meals contain adequate salt.

DRINK FLUIDS.

Drinking fluids can not be overstressed. Many athletes who otherwise eat wisely neglect this essential step for top athletic performance. Thirst is not a guide to fluid needs. An athlete may not feel thirsty, but he/she still needs fluid. Body fluids play an important role in bodily function.

1:- Fluid in blood transports glucose to working muscles and carries away metabolic byproducts.

2:- Fluid in urine elements metabolic waste products.

3:- Fluid in sweat dissipates heat through the skin.

One way to judge whether fluid replacement is adequate is by the quantity and color of urine. Dark scanty urine is concentrated with metabolic wastes and is an indication that more water should be consumed. The body has returned to normal water balance when urine is clear or pale yellow.

Eight glasses of water a day is the suggested intake for adults, but that amount may not be enough for athletes. A general rule is to consume a liter if water for every 1000 Calories expended. If a sports event lasts longer than 60 minutes, or is a short intense, one hour event a beverage that contains a small amount of sugar can improve stamina. Sugar taken  during  exercise can chance performance because the body does not secret insulin during  exercise.

A athlete should try different combinations to see what works best.

PROTEIN AND PERFORMANCE

Traditional athletes believe in this that protein build muscles. Extra protein does not build muscle bulk, however strength training does that. Most athletes fall in to two categories: the protein pushers (weightlifters) who think they can not get enough of it, and the protein avoiders (runners) who never touch meat and who trade most protein calories for more carbohydrates. The truth is that dietary imbalance causes both groups to perform poorly.

VITAMIN SUPPLIMENTS.

Vitamin supplements are a big, almost unregulated business, and many claims are made that are very excessive at the very least. Many athletes buy in to the notion they must supplement their diets with vitamins, protein powders, and amino acid pills. Some individuals may take a vitamin pills breakfast to rationalize their chocolate, chip, cookies. Even if they get 100% of their vitamins need with the breakfast pills, their bodies also need protein, minerals, energy, and fibers that they want get with pills.

More over no scientific evidence proves that extra vitamins enhance performance, nor does exercising greatly increase vitamin needs. Some times vitamins and mineral supplementation may be desirable.

By:-

Khizer Hayat Raja

Sr. Lecturer in Physical Education & Sports

International Weightlifting Coach & Expert

E. mail: wlexpert@yahoo.com