Cardio and strength-based workouts like Power Boxing, Power Kickboxing, and Burn can be demanding on your body, so it’s important to properly fuel your muscles before your workout so you can have enough energy to make it all the way through! Have you ever felt yourself tiring before the end of a class? Have you felt that maybe you should have a little more oomph than what you’re experiencing? Fueling your body properly before workouts can help make sure you have enough gas in the tank to push through to the end and squeeze the most out of your body along the way.
Because it can be easy to feel tired during a workout if your body isn’t fueled properly, a lot of gym-goers have questions about the best ways to fuel your body before you hit the gym for an intense workout. Here are some general guidelines for how to fuel your workouts to get both a kick-start and sustained energy release for the duration of your activity. Please keep in mind that everyone’s body is different and what may work for one person may not work for you. This is meant as a general outline, so please feel free to customize this to your workout schedule (and your taste buds)!
Different Types of Carbohydrates
Whether you are doing a run, boot camp, or boxing class, it’s necessary to eat carbohydrates to fuel your body. There are two types of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Simple carbs like fruit give you a quick burst of energy, but wear off relatively quickly. Complex carbohydrates like breads, sweet potatoes, and nut butters will burn off slowly for a nice and sustained release of energy over time.
How to Time Your Fuel Intake
If it’s a few hours before your workout, you can eat more complex carbs so they stay in your system. If it’s right before your workout, then simpler carbs (i.e. bananas, apples, etc.) work best since they will break down in your system quickly so your body can use the energy during your long workout. Another great idea is to combine simple and complex carbs for a potent one-two combination (see what we did there!) that gets you moving and gives you the energy you need to push hard all the way through your workout. One of our favorites combinations is wheat bread, almond butter, and banana slices. The banana give you a quick jump and the bread and nut butter release over time giving you a harmonious balance of both benefits! Pro Tip: We also add a dash of cinnamon as a secret ingredient that not only takes the taste to a new level, but is also is shown to stimulate brain activity. (Work that mind-muscle connection!)
The Importance of Personalizing Your Nutrition
As we mentioned before you will want to personalize this to your schedule and preferences. If you are going to the gym or for a run first thing in the morning, many prefer to workout fasted to avoid the potential of muscle cramping or feeling too full. Others prefer to eat something light to ensure they don’t get light headed mid-activity. If it is later in the day, you can generally plan your workouts around lunch or dinner and use that as your fuel.
Saying the body is anything less than a complex machine would be an understatement, so make sure it has the resources it needs for you to be successful in your training endeavors. These basic tips for how to fuel your workouts will help get you started, and we would love to hear what you eat before your workout on our social media channels so drop us a line!
Join The BXNG Club For An Exhilarating Fitness Experience
The BXNG Club (TBC) was created with a belief that fight arts can be an effective and fun platform for overall fitness and health. With that in mind, TBC brought together the top fight and fitness instructors in the industry – from Boxing to Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, MMA, High Intensity Interval Training-based fitness, Yoga, Spin, and Pilates to create a unique and exhilarating fitness experience based on combat sports.
At TBC, we believe that our members should never just be faces in a crowd. Our commitment to members is reflected in everything we do – from keeping class sizes comfortable for personal attention to learning more about our clients to help them achieve their goals faster and more effectively.
Try a free workout class today to see what all the hype is about.
