Workout Nutrition Tips For Men 50 and Over

We know that developing a consistent exercise routine is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But did you know it’s also essential to consider what kinds of foods are being consumed before and after training? Workout nutrition plays a huge role in your exercise effectiveness, but also in your body’s functioning before, during, and after your workout.

There are specific recommendations to think about for pre and post workout nutrition since eating habits impact your weight, especially for men over 50. Our metabolism changes as we age and we may burn fewer calories, so meals need planning as compared to earlier periods in your life. Nutritional timing is the consumption of nutrients in and/or around an exercise routine and planned out to optimize performance and muscular development.

EXPERT TIPS FOR PRE AND POST WORKOUT NUTRITION

Although there is evidence to support you should eat protein post-workout, recent research is finding that protein, in amounts at 0.4–0.5 g/kg of lean body mass, taken before a workout may be just as beneficial for muscular adaptation.

Skeletal muscle is important for health and performance during exercise and physical activity. Skeletal muscle mass (SMM) helps with strength and performance, reducing risk of diseases like obesity, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Therefore, considering foods that will assist with skeletal muscle mass pre and post workout and help both with the effectiveness of your workout routine and your overall health.

Studies show, besides skeletal muscle, 1.0 to 1.3 g/kg per day of protein combined with progressive resistance exercise two times per week reduces age-related muscle mass loss and optimizes physical functioning.

As a general practice, men should include a variety of healthy foods into their diet across the day to maximize the benefits they gain from their workout. But when we talk on specifics for pre and post-workouts and obtaining the best results, include the following throughout your day to gain the most from your consistent exercise routine:

• Fruits and vegetables as they essential for fiber, vitamins, minerals, and fluids necessary for building muscle and maintaining a healthy weight.
• Low fat dairy products provide high-quality protein, carbs, and essential vitamins such as vitamin D, potassium, and calcium.
• Lean meats for iron and amino acids.
• Dark meat chicken, which offers 25% more iron and three times more zinc than white meat chicken.
• Eggs (including egg yolk) contain all the essential amino acids you need.
• Nuts are a good source of protein and include vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and healthy fats.
• Beans and whole grains support energy and muscle repair and include fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants.

Given the studies, selecting the foods you eat before and after a workout is crucial in muscle development and in realizing optimal results from your exercise routine. Proteins and carbs complete strength training and help muscles to recover from the workout, so include recommended daily amounts of each, along with proper amounts of healthy fats.

However, just being selective on which foods you eat pre and post-workout is only half the battle. You should also understand the way the nutrients interact with the exercise activities and processes that occur within the body. Here are tips for pre-workout and post-workout nutrition for men over fifty.

PRE-WORKOUT NUTRITION TIPS FOR MEN OVER 50

For pre-workout nutrition, it is important to know how your body will use carbohydrates during exercise specifically in relation to the body’s fuel stores such as the muscle and liver glycogen. It’s advisable to eat a meal within a few hours prior to exercising. This will maximize your body’s use of energy during the workout. But know that many factors influence how carbohydrates will impact the body, including individual differences such as health conditions and physical health abilities.

Having carbohydrates within one hour prior to working out may lead to an increase in blood sugar followed by a quick drop in blood sugar for some people. This effect may reduce the quality of your performance during the workout as compared to if you had carbs two to three hours before the workout.

If you are susceptible to hypoglycemia, think about eating carbs before a workout carefully as it may be better for you to have a meal with carbs hours before your exercise activity. Another option is to take in carbohydrates during warm up of your workout to help prevent pre-race glucose changes.

Eating a high-fat meal prior to working out may increase free fatty acid (FFA) levels in the blood which increases lipid metabolism during exercise. Depending on your type of workout, consider whether your pre-workout meal will be higher in carbohydrates or healthy fats. A pre-workout meal high in healthy fats may be more helpful for workouts that include moderate-intensity, ultra-distance endurance performance. This exercise uses fat as the primary fuel source for the body throughout the workout.

If you choose a diet that’s comprised of high-fat and low-carbohydrate foods for the week prior to your workout, you may impair your performance during the workout as compared to a single high-fat meal prior to the workout. The latter will allow your body to best use carbs eaten in the previous days and immediately use the fatty acid of the pre-workout high-fat meal.

Although genetics plays a role in how the body responds to caffeine, 3–6 mg of caffeine/kg of body weight before a workout could improve physical performance in most individuals. An interesting point; people who do not drink caffeine regularly may experience the positive effects in their workout more than people who are regular caffeine drinkers.

Beetroot is another recommended substance that can enhance performance during a workout and improve the benefits you gain from your workout. The impact of beetroot may increase with the addition of caffeine.

POST-WORKOUT NUTRITION TIPS FOR MEN OVER 50

Although exercise itself is beneficial to your health and wellbeing, post-workout consumption of food during exercise recovery is necessary to improve the skeletal muscle adaptive response of the body. As you age, the amount of protein you need for optimal muscle protein synthesis increases. During post-workout, whey protein can trigger greater response of muscle protein synthesis as compared to soy protein.

Whole foods are recommended as an effective nutritional strategy to support muscle protein remodeling and recovery after a workout routine. Some examples of whole foods include beans and legumes, fruits, vegetables, and healthy grains. 30 grams of protein post-workout is ideal for muscle recovery. Some examples of 30 grams of protein include the following options:

• 126 grams (or 4.5 ounces) of chicken, beef, pork, or turkey
• 250 grams (or 5 large eggs) of whole eggs
• 264 grams (or 8 large eggs) of egg whites
• 126 grams (or 4.5 ounces) of finfish, shellfish, or crustaceans
• 750 mL (or 3 cups) of milk or yogurt
• 298 grams (or 1.8 cups) of Greek yogurt
• 140 grams (or 5 ounces) of cheese
• 290 grams (or 2 cups) of cottage cheese
• 410 grams (or 2.5 cups) of beans or peas
• 725 grams (or 5 cups) of nuts or seeds
• 682 grams (or 3.7 cups) of quinoa
• 172 grams (or 1 cup) of soybeans
• 911.3 mL (or 3.8 cups) of soymilk
• 149 grams (or 0.9 cups) of tempeh
• 372 grams (or 1.5 cups) of tofu

Although 30 grams of protein after your workout is the general recommendation, men over 50 may require more protein to recover from intense workouts. One tip is to include meat-based protein rather than only plant-based protein as meat proteins are thought to support muscle recovery more than plant-based can. Another suggestion is milk or yogurt (“liquid sources of protein”) as these may be less filling than solid foods and therefore you may get in the adequate amount of protein.

Whole foods also provide other essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, and peptides that play a large role in recovering from an exercise routine and contributing to overall health. Protein supplements for your post-workout nutritional intake may help support muscle recovery and health after your exercise routine, but make sure and check the quality before taking.

Eating whole eggs immediately after resistance-type exercise results in greater myofibrillar protein synthesis than does just the egg whites. But make sure you eat the whole egg instead of just the egg white because the yolk is nutrient dense and contains important bioactive compounds such as lipids, micronutrients, antioxidant carotenoids, and microRNAs. Taking the yolk from the egg may reduce the effectiveness of eggs on muscle recovery post-workout.

Pre and post-workout nutrition are important to help you gain the most from your exercise and to keep your body strong and healthy. Know the foods you are eating throughout the day as well as right before and after your workouts to help your body achieve the greatest benefits from your physical activities.

Other Articles You Might Like:

Diet Concerns for Men Over 50, Carbs and Sugar

References

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