Should you eat before exercise?

Press, 5 February 1987, Page 12

Should you eat before exercise?

By

JUDI SHEPPARD MISSETT

Q: What are the best foods to eat prior to exercise? I’ve heard that sugary foods are no longer advised.

A: You’re correct when you say that simple carbohydrates — sugary foods — are no longer recommended as preexercise snacks. In fact, recent studies have shown that high-sugar foods eaten shortly before a workout actually can reduce your ability to sustain exercise by as much as 25 per cent.

Sugar enters your bloodstream within minutes of eating, causing your level of blood glucose and blood insulin to rise suddenly. Insulin, in turn, inhibits the metabolism of free fatty acids — our main source of fuel for sustained exercise.

To make matters worse, blood glucose falls again during exercise. This rapid rise and fall can impair the central nervous system and further affect our performance.

It is best to concentrate on “feeding” your performance several hours (even days) before you workout rather than several minutes before. Complex carbohydrates, including whole grain pastas, are excellent sources of fuel for peak performance. Fresh fruits and vegetables, eaten several hours before exercise, supply important vitamins and natural sugars, which have less of a “shocking” effect on blood glucose levels.

Q: I’d like to start skipping as a way to stay in shape when my schedule is tight. Can you offer any tips for getting started?

A: The first step is to get an appropriate skipping rope. Contrary to popular belief, they’re not all the same. Fit is an Important consideration. Make sure you try various lengths before you buy. A rope that is too short or even a touch too long can make continuous, comfortable skipping impossible.

Also, compare the handles found on different style ropes. You want to be able to maintain a firm-but comfortable grip.

A final consideration is shoes. Look for footwear that provides support and plenty of cushioning. Once you’ve found an appropriate rope and good shoes, you can begin to design a suitable programme. Even well-condi-tioned exercisers may find five minutes of continuous skipping exhausting.

Experts recommend beginning with intervals — skipping for one minute, resting for one minute and so on. Using this technique, you should skip for at least 20 minutes.

Intervals may have an added advantage of fewer injuries, according to Dr Jill Upton. During her recent study on skipping at the Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, Texas, Upton’s subjects experienced no injuries when utilising an interval technique. She attributes this to the frequent breaks in activity that reduces the jamming impact of continuous skipping. You may want to investigate the new weighted skipping ropes on the market as well. These ropes offer the benefit of an upper body, as well as aerobic, workout.