Commonsense Nutrition for Training, Racing and Recovery
Coach Chris
8/07
Nutrition products and supplements marketed towards athletes are a huge multi-billion dollar industry. Every month it seems something new appears in all the magazines. Some of these products live up to their claims and some are just modern-day snake oil.
Athletes that have been around the sport a long time tend to gravitate back towards incorporating regular foods into their training and racing. This is not only considerably cheaper, it often ends up tasting better!
Timing is everything when it comes to nutrition and training or racing. As a rule, I never, ever start a workout without eating something. If you train on an empty stomach, you are shortchanging yourself for that workout. Likewise I always eat almost immediately after finishing a training session. You can improve your recovery by taking in mix of protein and carbs within the first 0-30 minutes after training.
All the suggestions listed below are time-tested and provide the necessary types of carbs and/or protein for training or recovery.
Before
Training
|
|
Serving |
Calories |
Carbs
|
Protein |
Fat |
|
Frozen Pretzels |
1
med |
160 |
34g |
5g |
1g |
|
Eggo Nutri Grain Waffles |
1 |
90 |
14g |
2.5g |
3g |
|
Sliced bread/toast (whole wheat) |
1
pc |
100 |
21g |
4g |
1.5g |
|
Bagels (plain, white) |
1 |
146 |
29g |
6g |
1g |
|
Pop Tarts |
1 |
210 |
37g |
2g |
6g |
|
bananas |
1
med |
105 |
27g |
1g |
0g |
|
non-acidic fruit juices (apple) |
8
oz |
117 |
29g |
0g |
0g |
Racing / Training
|
|
Serving |
Calories |
Carbs |
Protein |
Fat |
|
Gel (Power Gel, vanilla) |
1
pkg |
110 |
29g |
0g |
0g |
|
Fruit Snacks |
1
pkg |
90 |
20g |
0g |
0g |
|
Saltines |
15
oz (5) |
60 |
11g |
1g |
1.5g |
|
Beef Jerky |
1
pc. |
82 |
2g |
7g |
2g |
|
Bagels (plain, white) |
1 |
146 |
29g |
6g |
1g |
|
Bananas |
1
med |
105 |
27g |
1g |
0g |
|
Fig Newtons |
2
cookies |
112 |
22g |
2g |
2g |
|
Casey's Doughnuts! (glazed) |
1
large |
229 |
38g |
5g |
14g |
Recovery
|
|
Serving |
Calories |
Carbs |
Protein |
Fat |
|
Slimfast (w/out sucralose) |
1
can |
220 |
40g |
10g |
3g |
|
Carnation Instant Breakfast |
1
pkg |
130 |
26g |
6g |
0.5g |
|
Chocolate Milk |
8
oz |
157 |
26g |
8g |
3g |
|
Yogurt |
1
cont. |
240 |
47g |
9g |
2.5g |
|
Drinkable Yogurt Smoothie |
7
oz |
70 |
12g |
6g |
0g |
|
Protein powder (Whey) |
31
g |
130 |
5g |
20g |
2.5g |
|
Peanut Butter (Jif regular) |
2
tbsp |
190 |
7g |
8g |
16g |
|
Watermelon (for hydration) |
1 pc. (286g) |
86 |
22g |
2g |
0g |
|
Eggs |
1
large |
70 |
<1g |
6g |
4.5g |