Carbs have been getting a bad rep for many years now. Some diets will tell you to flat out cut them, some will limit them. Us ladies are afraid to even look at them for fear of gaining unwanted pounds through that gaze. Carbs are actually not all bad, as they’re not all created equal. They’re actually the main fuel of the body, but many just think of it as something that breaks down into sugar, and than to fat. I don’t deny that, but it’s not that simple. Let me give you a few reasons why not only you should eat them,but time it for before your workout.
Why Carb Load Before a Workout….
Insulin
Again, many misconceptions about insulin out there: it make you fat, it’s a great anabolic hormone, it something people with diabetes deal with. The list goes on and on. I’d rather think of insulin as your fuel selector. It’s very easy, when the levels are high, it pushes your body to fuel off of carbs, when the level is low, it draws its energy from fat. I know what you’re thinking, I just proved my low carb fad right, but you actually want to switch up the two, you want to vary it, switching high and low insulin days. High for more cardio, high intensity days, low for more strength/heavy lifting days. Grabbing some carbs and a fast-acting protein will give you the optimal fuel for your workout. Dr. Burke and colleagues showed that pre-training ingestion of a whey protein increased muscle protein synthesis for five hours
Less muscle breakdown
Insulin acts as an anti-catabolic agent, in other words it inhibits muscle break down. In a study, Chow observed, that while it didn’t stimulate protein synthesis, it did inhibit protein breakdown, achieving a net muscle protein muscle anabolic (building up) response.
Easy calories
Depending on what your end goal is, it is important to supply your body with enough calories, much like you’d fill up your tank before a long trip. Something as easy as toast or apple with some peanut butter or, toast and an egg can make for a perfect pre-workout snack, You can also opt for the clean shakes that contain both carbs and protein. The carbs will give you fuel, the protein will double as building blocks. It’s that easy.
Up your pumps!
This is old school bodybuilding 101. If you’re goal is to bulk up, grow some guns, carb up! Studies have shown that an insulin infusion has a direct vasodilator effect via nitric oxide.
The more insulin, the more blood flows into the muscles, the better that curl will be.
As you can see, carbs are not all that bad. Of course don’t go eat an entire pizza, then reference this article to justify your choice. Keep it clean and whole. Nothing enriched, nothing artificial, nothing from a box. That would be like filling your tank with water. Not only will your car not run, chances are it will ignite a whole series of problems. . Be smart about your choice, and make the best of your workout. Happy carbing!
Viktoria
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