You spend one hour of your day in a CrossFit box, the other 23 hours are spent outside the gym. You work hard during this hour, whether your goal is to lose weight, build muscle, improve your body composition, or just be healthy.
This hour is very important to help you achieve your goals. The other 23 hours, on the other hand, are just as important. If you don't fuel your body properly, you don't recover as well as you should.
Besides diet, other factors go into your recovery like sleep, stress level and body work (stretching, massage etc.) Nutrition, however, is a huge factor and something that you can control.
Timing your meals and matching them to your workouts can help you recover and, therefore, reach your goals much faster.
The better you recover from a training session, the better you will be in the next session. You'll make that hour of training much more productive with proper nutrition.
Start by focusing on your pre- and post-workout nutrition, one day at a time.
Pre-workout meal
1 to 3 hours before training
Should provide you with physical and mental energy from all the macro and micronutrients in your diet.
If you train very early in the morning (class at 5:30 am), you may not have time to eat a pre-workout meal. Make sure your meal the night before is nutrient-dense and well-balanced (carbohydrates, proteins and fats).
Proteins
Eat plenty of lean protein before your workout. You literally break down your muscles during exercise and weight training. Protein keeps amino acids in stock while promoting protein synthesis.
Fuels
Fill up on slow-digesting carbs. Exercising depletes your glycogen and glucose, so you need carbs to replenish them!
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Limit your fat intake during the pre-workout meal. Fat slows down digestion. You don't want to feel uncomfortable in the middle of a tough WOD!
Immediately before training OR during training
30 minutes before a workout
Only fill up with fuel in the middle of a training session if it is very long.
Proteins
The whey protein drink. It is a very fast digesting protein.
Carbs
Use very fast digesting carbohydrates such as sugar water, coconut water, powerade... If you do several sessions, eat foods such as white rice, fresh or dried fruit between sessions.
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Avoid fat completely as it slows down your digestion.
Post workout
Eat this meal within an hour of your workout. This meal will help you tremendously in recovery.
Proteins
To promote muscle maintenance and growth.
Carbs
To replenish glycogen stores and aid recovery.
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Slows down digestion, so keep it very low.
Protein sources (low-fat sources)
- Chicken breast (skinless)
- Lean ground beef
- Egg whites
- lean steak
- White fish
- Low-fat Greek yogurt
- Low-fat cottage cheese
- whey protein
- Casein protein (best at bedtime as it digests slowly)
To digest slowly
- Yam
- oats
- Brown rice
- Whole grain pasta
- Wholemeal bread/cereals
- Vegetables
- Quinoa (also a great source of protein)
- Fuels
To digest quickly
- white potato
- White rice
- Fruits
- Gatorade
- Dextrose or Vitargo
- rice cakes
- Crepes
- Waffles
Fats
- Olive oil
- Attorney
- Butter
- coconut oil
- Nut butters
- Nut
- Cheese
In summary, avoid high fat foods during your workout.
Eat a meal containing lean protein, slow-digesting carbohydrates, and low-fat foods one to two hours before your workout.
Bring a carb + protein shake to your workout (whey protein + coconut water). Drink half of this shake within 30 minutes of your workout. Drink the other half of the shake directly after your workout.
Eat your post-workout meal within an hour of your workout with lean protein and a mix of slow- and fast-digesting carbohydrates.
Your food portions also play an important role. Each person is different. Different body types, different metabolisms, different daily activities, different stressors.
What works for one person probably won't work for another. For example, ectomorphs have a very high carbohydrate tolerance, while endomorphs have a very low carbohydrate tolerance. If you're an endomorph and follow the numbers I gave for an ectomorph, you'll be eating macro ratios completely unsuitable for your body type.
If you're not counting your macros, just make sure you're eating a well-balanced diet high in fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
Use the Pre and Post Workout Nutrition Guide to help you make better choices when it comes to your workout time. Be consistent and see for yourself how much better you will feel.