Welcome to RunnerSaurus, a new blog I created to track my running as well as post articles and matters of interest to me re: this.
This morning I was in the gym after a really long time on the bench. Having made up my mind to run at least four ultra marathons in 2012, including the addictive 4Deserts Series, I wanted to take a small dip stick test on my overall strength levels. I had a couple of nasty shocks.
Earlier in the AM, I had wolfed down a breakfast of bread and last night's spicy mushroom curry. Unfortunately not enough time elapsed between eating and exercise, resulting in mixed signals during the sets - my arms are trying to complete a chest press while my brain was busy putting out the heart burn caused by said mushrooms. Breathing, as I noted, was ragged throughout the session and I was completely knocked out by the time I was done. Rather, I was done because I became breathless quite quickly. I just walked out exhausted.
To add insult to injury, the music on the PA was the new one week wonder, Kolaveri Di. My brain was jolted into fleeing but the feet refused to cooperate. Unfortunately, it took me the better part of two minutes to exit stage left.
I was quite disappointed that I momentarily forgotten most of my earlier training schedule, something that was second nature to me just about 6-9 months ago.
So, what did I remember and/or (re)learn today. . .
Opinion varies on (a) what to eat before exercise and, (b) the interval between eating and exercise. Popular wisdom also takes refuge in "whatever-works-for-you" adage (which I subscribe to wholly) but hey, as a general boilerplate. . .
Firstly, while some folks I know, prefer to exercise on an empty stomach, I partially go the other way. I eat a meal before exercise primarily because my calorie burn ratio, especially during the mid-peak phase of training is very high.
Secondly, our bodies stockpile glycogen - that lovely little store of energy to be called upon during periods of extended physical activity - in our liver and in our muscles. The primary purpose of a pre-training meal is to top up the liver glycogen stores that our body has expended during the previous night's sleep (if like me, you prefer to exercise in the mornings). Muscle glycogen, on the other hand, remains intact assuming that one had a proper recovery meal after the last workout. Muscle glycogen usually comprises 75%-80% of one's total glycogen store.
Thirdly, the optimal pre-exercise meal, which helps top up liver glycogen, is one that is (i) easily digested, (ii) between 200-400 calories, (iii) high complex-carbohydrate based, and (iv) with a minimum of fibres (to avoid those untimely, embarassing and uncalled-for bathroom breaks), simple sugars and fat.
On what to eat before exercise, I personally recommend slow burning carbs. These include oat based cereals (porridge and muesli), corn flakes, brown rice, wholegrain bread, pasta (plain), hummus, buckwheat, couscous, fresh fruit and root vegetables. These carbohydrates are slowly released into the body and will keep energy levels topped up for longer. I completely stay off refined white carbs. I've found these to be the best for endurance training. And I stay off any sauces and/or spices before running.
Fourthly, I also start a Running Day with a large mug of strong coffee (while we don't get Klatchian here, South Indian filter or Bru Instant serve just as well). Caffeine aids athletic performance and it also has another very stimulating effect. Try it and you'll see what I mean (wink wink).
Fifthly, the next lesson I relearnt painfully - give anywhere between 1-3 hours between a meal and a workout depending on what you plan to train in.
My rule of thumb is to give at least two hours before a short run (<15km) and at least another hour for runs beyond that. On days that I have strength training lined up, I give a minimum of two hours before I go anywhere near the weights or machines.
Lastly, take the time to test what your body is comfortable with in terms of what and when to eat. At best, it takes a fortnight or so to determine, given dependencies like metabolism, availability, time constraints and so forth. Once you find a comfort zone, stick with it till such time it becomes sub-optimal (don't worry, your body will send you all the signals when that happens). Then, its time to get on to the next comfort zone.
Sumanth
This morning I was in the gym after a really long time on the bench. Having made up my mind to run at least four ultra marathons in 2012, including the addictive 4Deserts Series, I wanted to take a small dip stick test on my overall strength levels. I had a couple of nasty shocks.
Earlier in the AM, I had wolfed down a breakfast of bread and last night's spicy mushroom curry. Unfortunately not enough time elapsed between eating and exercise, resulting in mixed signals during the sets - my arms are trying to complete a chest press while my brain was busy putting out the heart burn caused by said mushrooms. Breathing, as I noted, was ragged throughout the session and I was completely knocked out by the time I was done. Rather, I was done because I became breathless quite quickly. I just walked out exhausted.
To add insult to injury, the music on the PA was the new one week wonder, Kolaveri Di. My brain was jolted into fleeing but the feet refused to cooperate. Unfortunately, it took me the better part of two minutes to exit stage left.
I was quite disappointed that I momentarily forgotten most of my earlier training schedule, something that was second nature to me just about 6-9 months ago.
So, what did I remember and/or (re)learn today. . .
Opinion varies on (a) what to eat before exercise and, (b) the interval between eating and exercise. Popular wisdom also takes refuge in "whatever-works-for-you" adage (which I subscribe to wholly) but hey, as a general boilerplate. . .
Firstly, while some folks I know, prefer to exercise on an empty stomach, I partially go the other way. I eat a meal before exercise primarily because my calorie burn ratio, especially during the mid-peak phase of training is very high.
Secondly, our bodies stockpile glycogen - that lovely little store of energy to be called upon during periods of extended physical activity - in our liver and in our muscles. The primary purpose of a pre-training meal is to top up the liver glycogen stores that our body has expended during the previous night's sleep (if like me, you prefer to exercise in the mornings). Muscle glycogen, on the other hand, remains intact assuming that one had a proper recovery meal after the last workout. Muscle glycogen usually comprises 75%-80% of one's total glycogen store.
Thirdly, the optimal pre-exercise meal, which helps top up liver glycogen, is one that is (i) easily digested, (ii) between 200-400 calories, (iii) high complex-carbohydrate based, and (iv) with a minimum of fibres (to avoid those untimely, embarassing and uncalled-for bathroom breaks), simple sugars and fat.
On what to eat before exercise, I personally recommend slow burning carbs. These include oat based cereals (porridge and muesli), corn flakes, brown rice, wholegrain bread, pasta (plain), hummus, buckwheat, couscous, fresh fruit and root vegetables. These carbohydrates are slowly released into the body and will keep energy levels topped up for longer. I completely stay off refined white carbs. I've found these to be the best for endurance training. And I stay off any sauces and/or spices before running.
Fourthly, I also start a Running Day with a large mug of strong coffee (while we don't get Klatchian here, South Indian filter or Bru Instant serve just as well). Caffeine aids athletic performance and it also has another very stimulating effect. Try it and you'll see what I mean (wink wink).
Fifthly, the next lesson I relearnt painfully - give anywhere between 1-3 hours between a meal and a workout depending on what you plan to train in.
My rule of thumb is to give at least two hours before a short run (<15km) and at least another hour for runs beyond that. On days that I have strength training lined up, I give a minimum of two hours before I go anywhere near the weights or machines.
Lastly, take the time to test what your body is comfortable with in terms of what and when to eat. At best, it takes a fortnight or so to determine, given dependencies like metabolism, availability, time constraints and so forth. Once you find a comfort zone, stick with it till such time it becomes sub-optimal (don't worry, your body will send you all the signals when that happens). Then, its time to get on to the next comfort zone.
Sumanth
