Pre-Exercise or Pre-Event Meal

Pre-Exercise or Pre-Event Meal

The primary goals of a pre-exercise or pre-event meal are to fuel up glycogen stores for energy and to ensure proper hydration. Getting this right controls the hunger, fatigue, weakness and light-headedness that would otherwise interfere with performance, and it leaves the athlete in a comfortable gastrointestinal state. Because blood-glucose and glycogen stores fall overnight, eating carbohydrate-containing foods before exercise refills liver glycogen and helps replenish muscle glycogen.

The main considerations for the pre-exercise meal are:

• Eat a meal that is high in carbohydrate, moderate in protein, and low in fibre and fat, providing about 500-1000 kcal. Good examples are a banana milkshake, pasta and fruit with curd, or a potato sandwich with fruit juice.
• Avoid high-sugar foods, which trigger an insulin rush that leads to early fatigue, cramping, dehydration, nausea and diarrhoea.
• On regular training days, prefer small meals or a snack every 2-3 hours rather than large meals.
• Eat the meal about 2-4 hours before exercise. If eating within two hours of exercise, eat less and choose semi-solid or liquid meals.
• Do not neglect the previous night's dinner before a competition; it should support proper sleep and adequate fuelling.
• Choose familiar, easily digestible foods; avoid any new food, or foods known to cause allergies or gastrointestinal upset.
• Avoid foods that sit heavy on the stomach - fried foods and high-fibre foods - on the day before competition.
• Avoid too much protein, since it increases water excretion (moving towards dehydration) and is digested more slowly.
• Take sufficient liquids or a small snack an hour (or less) before exercise.

Hydration

Maintaining optimal hydration alongside sufficient muscle glycogen delays the onset of fatigue and lets an athlete exercise longer before becoming exhausted. High-intensity games cause heavy sweat loss and disturb the balance of fluid and electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride), so fluids must be taken at regular intervals. …