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:
…but will help boost muscle-growth (or maintenance, depending on your exercise and diet) in the long run:
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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Eat Your Age – by Dr. Ian Smith
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We previously reviewed Dr. Smith’s book about intermittent fasting, “Fast Burn”, and today it’s a less common topic, for while many people have written books about intermittent fasting, how many have written a decade-by-decade guide to optimal nutrition for each each age-range?
And that’s what he does here. With an eating plan for each age range (with recipes!), he explores what’s most important for our bodies in each decade. Of course, what is good or bad for us at one age will probably continue to be good or bad for us at another, but the truth is that we can do well to adjust what we’re eating to our changing bodies, and optimize what we can optimize, to give our body a boost (or a rest) in the ways it actually needs as we go.
It’s not all about nutrition (although that is definitely the “main course”); he also covers exercises at different ages, medical tests at different ages, and so forth.
The style is quite accessible pop-science, maybe even slightly lighter than 10almonds’ style (i.e. slightly fewer big words, etc), and/but still with frequent references to the hard science for those who do want to delve further.
Bottom line: if you’ve been wondering how to optimize what you’re eating for your changing body, this book can be a very handy guide!
Click here to check out Eat Your Age, and indeed eat for the best health at every age!
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Russet Potato vs Sweet Potato – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing russet potato to sweet potato, we picked the sweet.
Why?
In terms of macros, the sweet potato has 50% more fiber, for the same carbs, scoring a first-round victory.
In the category of vitamins, russet potatoes have more of vitamins B6 and B9, while sweet potatoes have more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B7, C, E, and K, winning this round easily too. In particular, they have 961x more vitamin A, of which they are an excellent source!
Looking at minerals, russet potatoes have more iron, phosphorus, and selenium, while sweet potatoes have more calcium, copper, and manganese, for a 3:3 tie in this round.
Adding up the sections makes for an overall win for sweet potatoes, but by all means do enjoy either or both, as diversity is best!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
Carb-Strong or Carb-Wrong? Should You Go Light Or Heavy On Carbs?
And you might also consider:
Do Tomatoes & Other Nightshades Cause Inflammation & Worsen Arthritis? ← a common argument against potatoes, not rooted in good science, as it turns out.
Enjoy!
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Just Be Well – by Dr. Thomas Sult
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.
Firstly, what this is not: a “think yourself well” book. It’s not about just deciding to be well.
Rather, it’s about ensuring the foundations of wellness, from which the rest of good health can spring, and notably, an absence of chronic illness. In essence: enjoying chronic good health.
The prescription here is functional medicine, which stands on the shoulders of lifestyle medicine. This latter is thus briefly covered and the basics presented, but most of the book is about identifying the root causes of disease and eliminating them one by one, by taking into account the functions of the body’s processes, both in terms of pathogenesis (and thus, seeking to undermine that) and in terms of correct functioning (i.e., good health).
While the main focus of the book is on health rather than disease, he does cover a number of very common chronic illnesses, and how even in those cases where they cannot yet be outright cured, there’s a lot more that can be done for them than “take two of these and call your insurance company in the morning”, when the goal is less about management of symptoms (though that is also covered) and more about undercutting causes, and ensuring that even if one thing goes wrong, it doesn’t bring the entire rest of the system down with it (something that often happens without functional medicine).
The style is clear, simple, and written for the layperson without unduly dumbing things down.
Bottom line: if you would like glowingly good health regardless of any potential setbacks, this book can help your body do what it needs to for you.
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Sun-dried Tomatoes vs Black Olives – Which is Healthier?
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.
Our Verdict
When comparing sun-dried tomatoes to black olives, we picked the sun-dried tomatoes.
Why?
These common snack-salad items may seem similar in consistency, but their macros are very different: the tomatoes, being dried, have proportionally a lot more protein, carbs, and fiber. The olives, meanwhile, have more fat (and/but yes, a very healthy blend of fats). Note that these comments are true for the things themselves; be aware that sun-dried tomatoes are often sold in vegetable oil, which would obviously change the macros considerably and be much less healthy. So, for the sake of statistics, we’re assuming you got sun-dried tomatoes that aren’t soaked in oil. All in all, we’re calling this category a win for the tomatoes, but those fats from the olives are very good too.
In terms of vitamins, the sun-dried tomatoes being dried again means that the loss of water weight means the vitamin content is proportionally much higher; the tomatoes are higher in vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C, and K, while olives are higher only in vitamin E (but in their defence, olives have 165x more vitamin E than sun-dried tomatoes). Still, a win for sun-dried tomatoes here.
When it comes to minerals, it’s a similar story for the same reason; the loss of water weight in the sun-dried tomatoes makes them much more nutritionally dense; they are higher in calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while the olives are higher only in sodium. Note, we’re looking at black olives today; green olives would be even higher in sodium than black ones, as they are “cured” for longer.
Lastly, in terms of polyphenols, they both have a lot of great things to bring, but sun-dried tomatoes are pretty much the richest natural source of lycopene, which itself a very powerful polyphenol even my general polyphenol standards, so we’d call this one a win for the sun-dried tomatoes too.
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
Lycopene’s Benefits For The Gut, Heart, Brain, & More
Take care!
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The Checklist Manifesto – by Dr. Atul Gawande
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Dr. Gawande, himself a general surgeon, uses checklists a lot. He is, unequivocally, an expert in his field. He “shouldn’t” need a checklist to tell him to do such things as “Check you have the correct patient”. But checklists are there as a safety net. And, famously, “safety regulations are written in blood”, after all.
And, who amongst us has never made such a “silly” error? From forgetting to turn the oven on, to forgetting to take the handbrake off, it takes only a momentary distraction to think we’ve done something we haven’t.
You may be wondering: why a whole book on this? Is it just many examples of the usefulness of checklists? Because I’m already sold on that, so, what else am I going to get out of it?
Dr. Gawande also explains in clear terms:
- How to optimize “all necessary steps” with “as few steps as possible”
- The important difference between read-do checklists and do-confirm checklists
- To what extent we should try to account for the unexpected
- How to improve compliance (i.e., making sure you actually use it, no matter how tempting it will be to go “yeah this is automatic for me now” and gloss over it)
- The role of checklists in teams, and in passing on knowledge
…and more.
Bottom line: if you’ve ever tried to make tea without putting the tea-leaves in the pot, this is the book that will help you avoid making more costly mistakes—whatever your area of activity or interest.
Click here to check out the Checklist Manifesto, and make fewer mistakes!
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Don’t Miss This Early Warning Sign Of Physical Decline (Better To Fix It Now)
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It’s about balance. The first sign might be that you find you fail “can you stand on one leg for 30 seconds with your eyes closed” test.
Safety tip: try it with your eyes open first, then try it with one eye closed, then try it with both eyes closed.
Soon after failing that test, the problem can look like regularly grabbing furniture, chair arms, walls, or people for stability, which usually indicates a loss of leg strength, balance, and confidence.
More Stability is the answer
While training your balance is worthwhile, stability is the most important aspect. Consequently, there are exercise can be done that don’t depend a lot on balance, that will help it:
Farmer’s carry exercise: this builds total-body strength (in particular: your stabilizing muscles) and removes reliance on your hands for support; walk slowly while holding light weights (e.g. dumbbells, or water carriers) for 30–60 seconds, rest, and repeat thrice, 2–3 times per week.
Side lunge: step to the side and bend the knee to strengthen glutes and quads, improve control and balance, and reduce fall risk; adjust depth and add weights if needed; do 10–15 reps per leg, 3 sets, 2x per week.
Sit-to-stand progressions: you can start easy and work up, if necessary, by doing 1) mini squats: slight bends without full sitting to start building leg strength 2) sit to stand: lower yourself slowly to the chair, then stand without using your hands 3) weighted sit to stand: same as above, but holding a weight to increase difficulty (and without using the weight as a counterbalance! Hold it close to your chest). Do 10–15 reps, 3 sets, a few times weekly.
For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
90% Of People Over 50 Fail This Balance Test. Will You? ← also includes some more specifically balance-developing exercises
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
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Learn to Age Gracefully
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