Hi there: Last weekend we met for our weekly stairs workout. Everything was as per usual leading up to the workout. Rest was good. Motivation to train was good. I had hydrated well before the workout and had breakfast before training.
As we showed up for the workout we began with a general warm-up consisting of an easy jog around the soccer fields. From there we went into our dynamic warm-up, some skip drills and then a short jog over to the stairs. After a few leg swings and some ankle mobilizations we then proceeded to walk up the first flight of stairs. By the top of the stairs everything was feeling loose, warmed up and ready to go.
But I wasn't feeling too hot. I wasn't sure why but thought the feeling would pass.
So we proceeded on with the workout. And I was having difficulty getting my legs going. You know the feeling I'm talking about? Even though you've gone through a thorough warm-up your body still feels sluggish.
Well that's how I felt. Add to that my heart rate was at or above the normal level for this type of workout.
Then I realized what I had done wrong. The day before I had made an omelet. And whenever I cook I like to make extra on purpose. This saves me time then next time I go looking for something to eat.
So when I woke that Saturday morning all I could think about was the left over omelet calling to me from my bed. 3 eggs, a good dose of shredded cheddar, more than enough bacon with some peppers.
After getting ready I was in the kitchen warming up these left-overs and looking forward to my pre-workout meal this omelet would make.
Bad idea.
I should have known better. When we load the body up on fat, protein and or calories we divert blood from the working muscles to the GI tract for the task of digesting these nutrients. And I had just incorporated all 3 of these into my pre-workout meal. In terms of carbs, protein, fats and calories here's how this meal looked.
Carb = 0 grams
Protein = 38 grams
Fat = 45 grams
Calories = almost 600
I struck out in all three areas of my pre-workout nutrition. I had way too much protein, fat and calories. And zero carbs to fuel my efforts. In fact my fat intake was over 70% of my calories for that meal! (it should have been around 30%) And almost 600 calories won't sit well in anyone's stomach right before a workout.
But when you think about it many people will make this same mistake. They will assume an omelet is a healthy breakfast option. They would guess that eggs and cheese are both good food sources and that bacon once in a while can't be that bad. And they'd be right.
The key considerations here are the proportions of carbs, protein, fats as well as the timing of the meal. Obviously my proportions were unbalanced, I ate too many calories and I didn't eat this meal at a very good time considering the workout I was about to do.
While we often perform a stair workout to drop a pound of two stick to the conventional way of doing so and don't follow my lead of tasting your breakfast a second time.
Do you have a favourite pre-workout meal? Leave a comment and let me know what works for you.
Chris
okanaganpeakperformance.com 'always moving forward'