A pre-exercise snack can help improve performance by enhancing endurance and strength. Pre-exercise snacks can prevent dehydration and help maintain normal blood glucose levels. The following guidelines can help athletes determine appropriate snacks to improve their performance.

  • Most active people can improve their workouts by implementing 200-300 calories from carbohydrate 1-2 hours before the workout.
  • Eat high carbohydrate meals throughout the week to keep your muscles fueled with glycogen, the storage form of carbohydrate. This will allow your muscles to be ready for exercise at anytime.
  • If you will be exercising for more than 60-90 minutes and unable to consume calories during that time, choose carbohydrate foods that will slowly digest. Yogurt, bananas, oatmeal, bean soup, and apples are a few examples. Foods with a moderate to low glycemic index are slow digesting carbohydrates. When eaten an hour before exercise, they provide your body with the fuel it needs for a workout and also provide energy throughout a long workout.
  • If you will be exercising for less than 60 minutes, snack on foods that will settle in your stomach comfortably such as bread, bagels, English muffins, crackers and cheese, or pasta. These are all high carbohydrate, low fat foods.
  • Avoid high fat protein foods such as cheese omelets, hamburgers, pancakes, French fries and fried chicken. It takes longer for these foods to digest and empty from your stomach. These foods can cause nausea, upset stomach, sluggishness, and cramping. Switch to a lean protein food such as turkey, eggs, or low fat milk.
  • Avoid high sugar foods such as soft drinks and candy and foods with a high glycemic index such as potatoes, honey, or corn flakes. These foods can cause a drop in blood sugar during hard exercise and leave you feeling, tired, lightheaded and fatigued.
  • Allow adequate time for your snack to digest. Allow atleast 3-4 hours for a large meal to digest, 2-3 hours for a smaller meal, 1-2 hours for a blended or liquid meal, and less than an hour for a small snack. Keep in mind that everyone is a bit different and what works for your teammate or training partner may not work for you. However, you know how your body responds to such meals. Follow your own body’s tolerance to such meals. Allow more time before intense exercise than before lower intensity activities.
  • If you have a finicky stomach, a liquid meal replacement might do the trick. Liquid foods tend to leave the stomach quicker than solid foods. This allows the food do be digested faster and leave the stomach. Foods placed in a blender or commercial meal replacers can be experimented with to determine your tolerance.
  • If you know you cannot tolerate food before a workout, make sure to eat well the day before the event. Eat a large bedtime snack if you workout is in the morning.
  • Make sure to pack appropriate snacks when traveling for sports and games. You never know when a game or practice will be delayed or moved up. Travel snacks can include fig bars, dried fruit, granola bars, bagels, etc. Try to avoid foods that require cooling to avoid spoilage. Also when traveling, eat at familiar restaurants and eat familiar foods. No one wants an upset stomach right before a practice or competition.
  • Lastly, make sure to drink plenty of fluids. Make sure to stay hydrated the day before an event and at least 2-3 glasses of water up to 2 hours before the event. 

Reference: Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook, 3rd Edition by Nancy Clark, MS, RD. Human Kinetics, 2003.

BJ Maack, ATC, CSCS
www.arsportsperformance.com
www.bjmaack.blogspot.com
501.539.FAST (3278)