You put time aside to workout. You show up, put the effort in, and you know what you’re trying to accomplish while you’re there. Maybe you want to get stronger, build muscle, improve your performance, lose body fat, or simply feel better. But what happens when the workout is over? It’s very easy to look at training and nutrition as two completely separate things. You workout to improve something physically, while food becomes this completely different conversation about calories, what’s “healthy,” what you should or shouldn’t eat, and everything else we’ve been told over the years.
I’d rather you look at the two as working together. If you’re asking your body to perform, recover, adapt, and eventually improve from your training, is what you’re eating actually helping it do that?
Your Food Has a Job Too
Protein gets talked about all the time when it comes to working out, and for good reason. It helps give your body what it needs to repair and maintain muscle. But protein isn’t the only thing doing a job.
Carbohydrates help give you energy to train and replenish what you’ve used. Fats have their own important roles throughout the body. Fruits and vegetables help provide vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, and hydration plays a part in just about everything you’re asking your body to do.
That doesn’t mean every meal needs to be some perfectly calculated combination of protein, carbs, and fats. I’m asking you to start looking at the food you’re already eating and think about what it’s providing you. Is your food supporting what you’re trying to accomplish?
Look at What You’re Asking Your Body to Do
Someone working out a couple times a week will not have the same nutritional needs as an athlete practicing and training almost every day. If we were to break down the numbers of calories they’re each burning, most likely that athlete is burning way more and NEEDS that refuel. Someone trying to build muscle may approach their nutrition differently than someone trying to lose body fat. This leads into why I don’t love looking at food simply as either “good” or “bad.” Look at what you’re actually asking your body to do.
If you’re training hard but constantly feel like you have no energy, how have you been eating? If you’re struggling to recover between workouts, are you giving your body what it needs afterward? If you’re trying to build or maintain muscle, are you consistently getting enough protein? I’m not saying nutrition is automatically the answer every time something feels off. Sleep, stress, hydration, your training program, recovery, and plenty of other things can play a role too. Sometimes it’s just knowing which questions to ask yourself.
Make Your Food Work for You
I don’t think eating to support your training needs to mean completely changing your life or sticking to a super strict diet. Maybe breakfast could use a little more protein or maybe you realize you’re barely eating before a workout and wonder why you have no energy halfway through it. Your post-workout meal should definitely include some carbohydrates and protein, try not to wait hours before eating again. Look at what you’re already doing before deciding everything needs to change. Your nutrition doesn’t need to be perfect for your training to be productive. At the same time, don’t put all this effort into your workouts and completely ignore something that can help support the work you’re already doing. Try something. See how you feel. Give yourself enough time to see if it actually makes a difference and adjust from there. You’re asking your body to do something every time you train. Give it something to work with.
#unleashthepotential
Written by:
Dan Aquino
BS, ASFA-CPT
Take action… Now!
Voorhees Flyers Training center.
The Hollydell ice arena, in the main building.
