If you are preparing for a long run, cycling event, or another type of endurance event, you likely know the importance of pre-game eating. Overall, there is more to sport nutrition than just carbohydrates to replenish your glycogen stores. Nutrition pre-exercising is important not only for carbohydrate calibration, but also for controlling low-grade pain and suppressing headaches, which can derail expected performance. Managing pre-exercise nutrition is about optimizing your performance potential, without compromising your comfort, focus and strength.
So, let’s explore some practical, evidence-based nutritional strategies that can help you meet your endurance challenges while minimizing pain and headaches along the way.
Why Pre-Game Nutrition Is More Than Fuel
Endurance sport stresses your body. Muscles want a continuous energy source, joints and tissues want to avoid inflammation, and your brain wants to stay focused and sharp. Proper preparation of food means balancing these demands: providing energy for endurance; treating, protecting, or preventing inflammation or pain; and avoiding headache.
The Building Blocks of Endurance Nutrition
Carbohydrates are the fuel source for endurance exercise. Complex carbohydrates like oatmeal, brown rice, or sweet potatoes provide energy in the form of glucose – for endurance athletes, that is a good thing. Muscles burn glucose, or sugar. By maximizing our glucose energy stores, we can push longer and avoid hitting the wall.
Protein is helpful for energy support. Protein is not central fuel during exercise, but it can help reduce muscle breakdown if you consume a lean protein before (for some) but definitely consume a lean protein later for recovery. Grilled chicken, eggs, or plant protein sources like beans are good to consider.
Hydration can have an affect too. Water is great, but we can’t forget about electrolytes. Electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium may be necessary during long efforts, particularly when sweat is flowing more than normal. Drink plenty of water and fluids in the hours leading into the event to prevent dehydration. Dehydration is top of the list when it comes to things that can wreck your endurance, and it could also trigger headaches.
Meal timing can also be beneficial. Eating a sizable meal approximately 3-4 hours prior to the endurance activity allows your body to digest fully and begin to store energy. Eating a small snack approximately 30-60 minutes before is usually enough to replenish energy storage without feeling pain.
Foods That Help You Keep Going Strong
Food that you’re going to eat should be acceptable and satiating. Here are some good game day nutrition suggestions:
- Complex carbohydrates: whole grains (a.k.a. quinoa or brown rice), oats, and starchy vegetables (ex. sweet potatoes).
- Lean protein: chicken breast, fish, tofu, or beans.
- Healthy fat (in moderation): nuts, seeds, avocado and olive oil.
- Vegetables and fruits are full of antioxidants: blueberries, spinach, kale, etc., and other colorful vegetables to help decrease oxidative stress from exercising. For added nutritional support, especially when whole produce isn’t convenient, the best greens powder can offer a concentrated source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
An example would be a breakfast of oatmeal topped with berries and a tablespoon of nut butter is a good fit for a lot of carbohydrates, antioxidants, and healthy fat for a meal. Or lunch could be grilled salmon, quinoa, and steamed broccoli would give you a great nutritious meal for endurance!
Managing Pain Before the Game: What You Should Know
Pain can result from several causes, including overuse, acute or chronic injury, or tight muscles. Most athletes will pick up some Advil or Aleve to nullify their discomfort, but not everyone feels that these products are a good option.
If you are interested in how these medications compare, you might be searching for the differences in aleve vs advil – both medications have advantages and side effects to consider. Some athletes opt for more natural topical pain relief products. The effect of topical pain relief products are usually focused on the area of pain and won’t affect the stomach or create a systemic problem like oral medications may.
In addition to medication, a few simple things like gentle stretching, foam rolling, and light movement might provide you some relief of your muscle tightness and reduce your pain prior to starting.
Keeping Headaches Off Your Radar
Headaches can occur at the most inconvenient time- right before or during your event. If you experience headaches prior to an event typical causes can be dehydration, sudden withdrawal or change in caffeine consumption, inconsistent blood sugar levels, and stress.
Prevention of headaches starts with hydration. You need plenty of water and electrolyte drinks before the event to stay on track with hydration. Likewise, making an effort to eat consistently before the event is important. If you are running a race, eating a banana, gum or handful of nuts prior to keeping blood sugars level is easily manageable.
If you employ stress management techniques, such as deep breathing or medication this may lessen the likelihood of a tension headache. Athletes may utilize fast acting natural options for a headache. They may appreciate products that have been developed specifically for headaches that allow for immediate onset of action and are easily transportable and consumable. For instance, instant migraine relief bundles may assist with practical support if you do not want to rely on medications alone.
Sample Pre-Game Nutrition Plan to Try
Here’s a little more detail on fueling (before any endurance event):
- 3-4 hours before: A full meal – grilled chicken, sweet potatoes and salad with water and electrolyes.
- 1 hour before: Snack – a light snack ~ like a banana and small amount of almond butter or a small bowl of oats and fruit.
- 15 minutes before: If you feel low on energy or are showing the very early signs of a headache, a handful of nuts or a few sips of an electrolyte drink helps.
Everyone is different – for some athletes this process can be vastly different. Use your training time to experiment with your pre-game fuel.
Wrapping It Up
Getting your pre-competition nutrition has the potential to be the game changer, when it comes to endurance performance. It will help keep you energized, but it may also help relieve pain and/or headaches that detract from performance. By understanding how to eat; what to eat; how long before to eat; how to engage in appropriate hydration, and how to develop pain and headache management options, you might be able to enter your next event feeling confident and in control.
