Eating before hitting the dojo?

[Leopard claw]

And if so what and how long should I wait before going?

[Willannem]

There are probably as many people that say you should eat something prior to a work out as those that say you should only eat right after a workout. It really boils down to personal preference. The same thing doesn’t work for all individuals. I would suggest that if you do decided to eat before training, you should make it a carbohydrate rich meal and not a big one at that.

[Ben Martin]

u could eat a sandwich a few hours before or try a sum fruit 30-1hr before hand with water.

[orion82698]

Carbs 90 minutes before a workout is good. I usually go about 2 hours before I go to class. So I'll eat dinner 90 minutes before I have to leave, then head to class. This ensures that my stomach has had time to digest what I have just put into it, and the carbs are now into my system, providing me energy.

[jarrettmeyer]

If you eat a steak, mashed potatos, and a big salad 10 minutes before practice, and you don't feel sick, then you're fine. You might feel ill if you eat a banana 1 hour before your class. It all depends on what your body can do.

It depends on how your systems work together to supply energy. It depends on how hard you work. It depends on how long you work. It depends on how much you use your core. It just depends.

Our Friday night classes have been known to go 3 hours of hard sparring. If I haven't eaten since lunch, then I can feel my muscles needing fuel. However, I get sick easily with food in my tummy + working out.

Just listen to your body. It will tell you everything you need to know.

[choppingfiend]

I am one of those people who can eat --but I can't eat everything before practice...and if I drink too much water I have to go all the time during class! So I eat and restrict the fluids.

[Leopard claw]

Thanks for the food for thought!

[trustkid1]

Better to eat 2 hours before training or you will feel heavy to train.

[Aodhan]

Personally, I can't eat before a workout. Makes me ill.

One of the side effects of intensive training is that your stomach will shrink up. If you've stuffed a lot of food into your gullet, and then your stomach shrinks, well, there's only really one good place for the food to go, and it ain't down.

Find out what works for you. Some people swear by carbs, others protein, others a mix. Like everything, try it all and keep what works.

However, protein within 30 minutes of an intensive workout has been shown to be very effective in repairing torn down tissue.

Aodhan

[orion82698]

Personally, I can't eat before a workout. Makes me ill.

One of the side effects of intensive training is that your stomach will shrink up. If you've stuffed a lot of food into your gullet, and then your stomach shrinks, well, there's only really one good place for the food to go, and it ain't down.

Aodhan

Well... where does it go

I can vouch for this. When I first got into weight training, I would eat 20 minutes before working out. Ever heard of the term "Burp, and taste it"... yeah... yeah.............