What to eat before Training in BJJ and MMA
This is always going to be one of the most asked questions on any forum, Facebook page or in the gym.
What should I eat before training?
To answer this question you need to look at a few others like,
· What are my exact goals?
· Have I got a competition coming up?
· What does my recovery look like?
· Am I cutting weight?
· Did I train already today?
· Did I train yesterday?
· Will I train again or tomorrow?
To be honest the list could go on quite a bit!
While most people are very serious about their training, they aren’t trying to win Gold medals 100% of the time. For the purpose of this post I’m going to assume that you are the same as 90% of people and you,
· Work 9-5
· Train in the evenings
· Aren’t in competition training
· Just want to have productive sessions and recover well.
I am not going to look at a full days nutrition as that is a very long post in itself! Here I am going to look at specifically what to eat pre, during and post training to make sure that you get the most out of your training and recover optimally.
The following recommendations are based on a person that is eating a well thought out nutrition plan and isn’t doing anything like Intermittent Fasting, Carb Backloading, IIFYM or any other fashional nutritional method.
It is also based on a normal class (lasting about 1.5-2 hours with a warm up, drilling and sparring), that starts at about 7pm. Feel free to adjust the timings to make them for your own schedule.
At this point I have to (as always) state that nutrition is a very individual topic and one that requires constant adjustments to get the optimal results. Please speak to your Doctor and Coach before you make any major changes to your dietary habits.
Ok, so for most people the plan will look like this,
530pm (or when you finish work).
Drink 500ml of water. Have 25g 100% oats with 1 scoop whey protein and 1 tablespoon 100% natural Peanut butter (chocolate whey tastes best with this).
During Training
Depending on the intensity of a session I like clients to sip on a fast acting protein and carb mix such as EAAs and branched cyclic dextrin in 1.5 – 2 litres of water.
60 mins after training
Have a solid meal of lean, easily digested protein and simple carbs. White fish or chicken breast with some white rice is perfect (don’t forget veggies)
Before bed
Have another meal of protein and fats/carbs depending on your goals/macros etc
The purpose of this is to first hydrate your body (you’re probably not drinking enough water), then to get some slow release carbs into your system that will help fuel your workouts and start the process of your body shuttling nutrients to your muscles.
We then want to give your body an easily digestible protein source that is absorbed extremely quickly without causing any bloating or discomfort (ever tried rolling after a big meal?).
Finally we give your body more nutrients to help the recovery process by refuelling energy (glycogen) stores and promoting optimal hormone response for great sleep and further recovery.
The science of getting pre, intra and post workout nutrition is a complex subject that many are over looking in BJJ. I’m not kidding when I say that it can make a MASSIVE difference to your performance, especially your recovery. Take the time to work out the best fuel for your training and I guarantee that you will see a difference.
For more information on workout nutrition, take a look HERE,
Stay Healthy,
Mike
