What To Eat, Take, And Do Before A Workout

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What to eat, take, and do before a workout

We’ve previously written about how to recover quickly after a workout:

Overdone It? How To Speed Up Recovery After Exercise

Today we’ll look at the flipside: how to prepare for exercise.

Pre-workout nutrition

As per what we wrote (and referenced) above, a good dictum is “protein whenever; carbs after”. See also:

Pre- versus post-exercise protein intake has similar effects on muscular adaptations

It’s recommended to have a light, balanced meal a few hours before exercising, though there are nuances:

International society of sports nutrition position stand: nutrient timing

Hydration

You will not perform well unless you are well-hydrated:

Influence of Dehydration on Intermittent Sprint Performance

However, you also don’t want to just be sloshing around when exercising because you took care to get in your two litres before hitting the gym.

For this reason, quality can be more important than quantity, and sodium and other electrolytes can be important and useful, but will not be so for everyone in all circumstances.

Here’s what we wrote previously about that:

Are Electrolyte Supplements Worth It?

Pre-workout supplements

We previously wrote about the use of creatine specifically:

Creatine: Very Different For Young & Old People

Caffeine is also a surprisingly effective pre-workout supplement:

International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and exercise performance

Depending on the rate at which you metabolize caffeine (there are genes for this), the effects will come/go earlier/later, but as a general rule of thumb, caffeine should work within about 20 minutes, and will peak in effect 1–2 hours after consumption:

Nutrition Supplements to Stimulate Lipolysis: A Review in Relation to Endurance Exercise Capacity

Branched Chain Amino Acids, or BCAAs, are commonly enjoyed as pre-workout supplement to help reduce creatine kinase and muscle soreness, but won’t accelerate recovery:

The effect of branched-chain amino acid on muscle damage markers and performance following strenuous exercise: a systematic review and meta-analysis

…but will help boost muscle-growth (or maintenance, depending on your exercise and diet) in the long run:

Branched-Chain Amino Acid Ingestion Stimulates Muscle Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis following Resistance Exercise in Humans

Where can I get those?

We don’t sell them, but here’s an example product on Amazon, for your convenience 

There are also many multi-nutrient pre-workout supplements on the market (like the secondary product offered with the BCAA above). We’d need a lot more room to go into all of those (maybe we’ll include some in our Monday Research Review editions), but meanwhile, here’s some further reading:

The 11 Best Pre-Workout Supplements According to a Dietitian

(it’s more of a “we ranked these commercial products” article than a science article, but it’s a good starting place for understanding about what’s on offer)

Enjoy!

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  • But First, Inner Peace – by Case Kenny

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    Thinking positively and vividly imagining a Ferrari parked in your driveway will not, in fact, cause it to manifest there.

    You know what that method does work for, though? Feelings.

    This book is essentially a guided thought-and-feeling modelling system that, consisting of 60 chapters to be taken one-per-day, aims to rewire your mind for inner peace.

    This is not, however, just a matter of “imagine peacefulness”, or nice-sounding platitudes. Rather, at the end of each chapter there is an exercise and journaling prompts; effectively, work to do along the way.

    Weighing in at 438 pages, this is a sizeable book, but part of that is because of the space to write answers to journaling prompts. Still, it’s not exactly a pamphlet, either—there is serious and extensive content here too.

    Like any daily reader, you can zip through it all at once if you like, but a benefit to doing the chapter-a-day approach is that it sets a habit of mindful reflection, and gives you a chance to implement each thing, one per day, building up new habits in that regard, too. In contrast, reading it all in one sitting wouldn’t give that.

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  • The Green Roasting Tin – by Rukmini Iyer

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  • Longans vs Lychees – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing longans to lychees, we picked the lychees.

    Why?

    These two fruits are more closely related than they look from the outside, both being members of the soapberry family. However, there are some differences:

    In terms of macros, longans have more protein while lychees have more carbs, and they are equal on fiber, giving longans the lower glycemic index. They’re both good, but longans nominally take the win on this one.

    When it comes to vitamins, longans have more of vitamins B1, B2, and C, while lychees have more of vitamins B3, B6, B9, E, K, and choline, making for a respectable win for lychees in this category.

    In the category of minerals, longans have more copper and potassium, while lychees have more calcium, iron, manganese phosphorus, and zinc. Thus, a win for lychees here too.

    It’s worth looking at polyphenols too—lychees have around 10x more, which is notable.

    Adding up the categories makes for an overall win for lychees, but by all means enjoy either or both! Diversity is good.

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    You might like to read:

    Replacing Sugar: Top 10 Anti-Inflammatory Sweet Foods ← longans and lychees both make the list

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  • The Exercises That Can Fix Sinus Problems (And More)

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    Who nose what benefits you will gain today?

    This is James Nestor, a science journalist and author. He’s written for many publications, including Scientific American, and written a number of books, most notably Breath: The New Science Of A Lost Art.

    Today we’ll be looking at what he has to share about what has gone wrong with our breathing, what problems this causes, and how to fix it.

    What has gone wrong?

    When it comes to breathing, we humans are the pugs of the primate world. In a way, we have the opposite problem to the squashed-faced dogs, though. But, how and why?

    When our ancestors learned first tenderize food, and later to cook it, this had two big effects:

    1. We could now get much more nutrition for much less hunting/gathering
    2. We now did not need to chew our food nearly so much

    Getting much more nutrition for much less hunting/gathering is what allowed us to grow our brains so large—as a species, we have a singularly large brain-to-body size ratio.

    Not needing to chew our food nearly so much, meanwhile, had even more effects… And these effects have become only more pronounced in recent decades with the rise of processed food making our food softer and softer.

    It changed the shape of our jaw and cheekbones, just as the size of our brains taking up more space in our skull moved our breathing apparatus around. As a result, our nasal cavities are anatomically ridiculous, our sinuses are a crime against nature (not least of all because they drain backwards and get easily clogged), and our windpipes are very easily blocked and damaged due to the unique placement of our larynx; we’re the only species that has it there. It allowed us to develop speech, but at the cost of choking much more easily.

    What problems does this cause?

    Our (normal, to us) species-wide breathing problems have resulted in behavioral adaptations such as partial (or in some people’s cases, total or near-total) mouth-breathing. This in turn exacerbates the problems with our jaws and cheekbones, which in turn exacerbates the problems with our sinuses and nasal cavities in general.

    Results include such very human-centric conditions as sleep apnea, as well as a tendency towards asthma, allergies, and autoimmune diseases. Improper breathing also brings about a rather sluggish metabolism for how many calories we consume.

    How are we supposed to fix all that?!

    First, close your mouth if you haven’t already, and breathe through your nose.

    In and out.

    Both are important, and unless you are engaging in peak exercise, both should be through your nose. If you’re not used to this, it may feel odd at first, but practice, and build up your breathing ability.

    Six seconds in and six seconds out is a very good pace.

    If you’re sitting doing a breathing exercise, also good is four seconds in, four seconds hold, four seconds out, four seconds hold, repeat.

    But those frequent holds aren’t practical in general life, so: six seconds in, six seconds out.

    Through your nose only.

    This has benefits immediately, but there are other more long-term benefits from doing not just that, but also what has been called (by Nestor, amongst many others), “Mewing”, per the orthodontist, Dr. John Mew, who pioneered it.

    How (and why) to “mew”:

    Place your tongue against the roof of your mouth. It should be flat against the palate; you’re not touching it with the tip here; you’re creating a flat seal.

    Note: if you were mouth-breathing, you will now be unable to breathe. So, important to make sure you can breathe adequately through your nose first.

    This does two things:

    1. It obliges nose-breathing rather than mouth-breathing
    2. It creates a change in how the muscles of your face interact with the bones of your face

    In a battle between muscle and bone, muscle will always win.

    Aim to keep your tongue there as much as possible; make it your new best habit. If you’re not eating, talking, or otherwise using your tongue to do something, it should be flat against the roof of your mouth.

    You don’t have to exert pressure; this isn’t an exercise regime. Think of it more as a postural exercise, just, inside your mouth.

    Quick note: read the above line again, because it’s important. Doing it too hard could cause the opposite problems, and you don’t want that. You cannot rush this by doing it harder; it takes time and gentleness.

    Why would we want to do that?

    The result, over time, will tend to be much healthier breathing, better sinus health, freer airways, reduced or eliminated sleep apnea, and, as a bonus, what is generally considered a more attractive face in terms of bone structure. We’re talking more defined cheekbones, straighter teeth, and a better mouth position.

    Want to learn more?

    This is the “Mewing” technique that Nestor encourages us to try:

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  • How Tight Are Your Hips? Test (And Fix!) With This

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Upon surveying over half a million people; hips were the most common area for stiffness and lack of mobility. So, what to do about it?

    This test don’t lie

    With 17 muscles contributing to hip function (“hip flexors” being the name for this group of 17 muscles, not specific muscle), it’s important to figure out which ones are tight, and if indeed it really is the hip flexors at all, or if it could be, as it often is, actually the tensor fasciae latae (TFL) muscle of the thigh. If it turns out to be both, well, that’s unfortunate but the good news is, now you’ll know and can start fixing from all the necessary angles.

    Diagnostic test for tight hip flexors (Thomas Test):

    1. Use a sturdy, elevated surface (e.g. table or counter—not a bed or couch, unless there is perchance room to swing your legs without them touching the floor).
    2. Sit at the edge, lie back, and pull both knees to your chest.
    3. Return one leg back down until the thigh is perpendicular to the table.
    4. Let the other leg dangle off the edge to assess flexibility.

    Observations from the test:

    1. Thigh contact: is the back of your thigh touching the table?
    2. Knee angle: is your knee bent at roughly 80° or straighter?
    3. Thigh rotation: does the thigh roll outward?

    Interpreting results:

    • If your thigh contacts the surface and the knee is bent at around 80°, hip mobility is good.
    • If your thigh doesn’t touch or knee is too straight, hip flexor tightness is present.
    • If your thigh rolls outwards from your midline, that indicates tightness in the TFL muscle of the thigh.

    Three best hip flexor stretches:

    1. Kneeling lunge stretch:
      • Hips above the knee, tuck tailbone, engage glutes, press hips forward, reach arm up with a slight side bend.
    2. Seated hip lift stretch:
      • Sit with feet hip-width apart, hands behind shoulders, lift hips, step one foot back, tuck tailbone, point knee away.
    3. Sofa stretch:
      • Kneel with one shin against a couch/wall, other foot forward in lunge, tuck tailbone, press hips forward, lift torso.

    It’s recommended to how each stretch for 30 seconds on each side.

    For more on all of the above, and visual demonstrations, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    11 Minutes to Pain-Free Hips

    Take care!

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