Beyond-Brawn-2nd-Edition

BEYOND BRAWN
ing may suffer. If you had an extraordinarily tiring day yesterday, that could
mar your workout today. Better to train tomorrow instead.
16.5 If there is a major event that follows shortly after a scheduled workout, and
you cannot get it out of your head, e.g., a very important meeting or examination,
postpone the workout. Better to wait a day and get in a perfect and
progressive workout rather than stick rigidly to a schedule that results in a
poor workout because you could not focus properly.
2. Pre-workout feeding
16.6 Neither wait too long after a feed before training, nor train too soon. Have a
simple meal that you can digest easily, and train about two hours afterward.
Some people can train well on an empty stomach, others cannot. Discover
how much time you need for a meal to be processed enough so that you can
train hard without any digestive tract discomfort or nausea.
16.7 e meal should be carbohydrate-rich, but the carbohydrates should not
just be simple ones. Complex carbs are needed to sustain your energy at a
high level throughout your workout. rough trial and error discover the
food types, balance and quantities that will carry you through an intensive
workout without any waning of energy. It may, for example, be a bowl of
wholegrain pasta topped with grated cheese, a couple of baked potatoes
and two scoops of cottage cheese, or a liquid meal perhaps based on a meal
replacement product. Find what works best for you, and then stick with it.
16.8 If you have something shortly before you work out, even if it is an “energy
drink,” you may set yourself up for vomiting if you train very intensively.
If you ever barf during a workout, or get very close to barfing, then in the
future consume less food before training, select easier-to-digest items, and
wait 30–60 minutes longer before training.
16.9 Surprising yourself with very intensive training, especially squats or backto-back
leg and back work, when you usually train at a lesser intensity, is
often at the root of nausea regardless of pre-workout food considerations. If you
want to try very intensive squatting or deadlifting, or any back-to-back sets
of big exercises, gradually increase the training intensity over several weeks,
to give yourself a chance to adapt.
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