Nutrition For Strength Training

Research shows that adding regular strength training into your routine can provide a great deal of benefits including injury prevention, decrease in body fat percentage, improvement in cardiovascular health, reduction in blood glucose, improvement in mood and in brain health.

Strength training typically consists of weight lifting, body weight training and usage of different machines such as suspension machines and adjustable weight machines to train various areas of the body.

When you first get into strength training, it is important to consult with a personal trainer to make sure you are performing exercises in a safe manner and to create a customized exercise regiment to meet your goals.

To help with performance and recovery while strength training, you will need to increase your protein, carbs and electrolytes in the diet. Consuming foods high in carbohydrates prior to a workout will help to increase your energy. Specifically, consuming complex carbs prior to a workout will allow for a more long lasting energy without a high glucose spike. Some types of complex carbs include whole wheat or whole grain bread, multi grain bread, whole wheat past or rice and oats. You can also include foods like quinoa into your diet, which is a complex carb that is high in protein.

Protein helps aid in muscle recovery and the growth of muscles as well. Finding lean sources of protein that are lower in saturated fat will help increase your protein while also protecting your heart health. Some great sources of lean protein include chicken, turkey, fish and vegetarian proteins such as beans and legumes.

Lastly, including adequate sources of electrolytes into your diet will help with keeping you properly hydrated through your workouts and activity. You can replenish your electrolytes via sports drinks (opt for zero or low sugar) , coconut water, watermelon juice and homemade electrolyte drinks (adding some sea salt to water).

Strength training is an amazing way to improve your overall health and can be really fun and challenging! Making sure to stay well nourished while exercising is always important, so be sure to take into account these tips and to schedule a session if you are interested in learning more about improving your nutrition!