What Not To Eat Pre-Workout

High-fibre fruit such as these can actually impede your work-out session. Be warned!

Recently I posted about how my runs are often ruined by my ever-frequent stomach aches, something that really works against my overall running performance - the probable cause of which I've put down to my pre-exercise food intake.

While I've had an inkling of the source of this problem, my downfall lies within my incapabilities to control my diet prior to exercising/running (and the fact I never tend to plan a work-out session in the first place - it's more of a spontaneous decision, if anything). I tend to eat what I want, when I want - a sure fire way to destroy any decent work-out session!

Something that I had previously wondered about was the effect of fibre on exercise, because I'm often grazing on fibrous foods (grapes and fruit especially). Turns out that fibre can actually massively impede your workout efforts due to their resulting gas and/or bloating effects.

Stella Metsovas, a clinical nutritionist and diet expert in LA, suggests limited the amount of fibre you consume 2 hours before and after exercising. She also says, "Stay away from fiber supplements, bran, and high-fiber breads and opt for a mixture of protein and carbohydrates instead right before your workout."

For the same reason, beans are also a no-go area. And when you think about it, it does make a lot of sense; fibre is an indigestible substance that can lie heavily in the digestive tract when eaten in large amounts. Protein-loaded food including eggs and cottage cheese (and meat, of course) needs to be avoided as well for the same reason - their protein content stays in the stomach and takes a lot longer than 2 hours to digest. Similarly, high-fat choices including buttery baked goods are not a great choice pre-workout.

Your sugar and salt intake is also an effector when it comes to exercising. Whilst sugar does indeed work in providing that necessary spike in energy, it's best to stay away from artificial sweeteners (sugary 'energy' drinks included) and to choose natural sugars instead, as found in carb-based foods. Salt, meanwhile, can cause havoc with the delicate fluid-balance within the human body, so it's definitely equally in your benefit to stay away from salty crisps or nuts before a work-out session.

In summary, to make sure your workout isn't deterred by bad food choices, I'd recommend steering yourself away from all of those foods loaded with excessive amounts of sugar, salt, fibre, protein, and fat, and instead stick to a simple carb:protein ratio of 1:1. I'll definitely be passing on the grapes when it comes to my next running session - let's hope the outcome is worth it!

WANTED: a Good Gym!

There's a few requirements that every gym should meet, yet in my experience, some gyms fall short of these very basic things, and this ultimately puts me off from becoming a member.

I've only actually been a regular gym attender since late May - beforehand, I chose to run outdoors and I attended group exercise classes instead. I guess you could say I was a bit of an anti-gym kind of person, as I considered it far too pricey and almost intimidating to become a regular gym-goer (sad, huh?).

However, moving back home from university meant that I could no longer rely on my beloved group exercise classes (an average week consisted of circuits, pilates, dance aerobics, and legs, bums and tums - how I miss these classes!), for which I paid a measley, student-savvy 8.50/month(!). And so, my ventures into becoming a fully-fledged Gym member began.

I started out at the Olympiad gym in Chippenham for a couple of months, the same gym that my boyfriend had already been a member of for the past 1-2 years. This was a good gym for a few reasons: it wasn't too big (or small), it had mirrors, it was modern and had suitable air-conditioning, the machines were great, you could watch the TV if you so wished (music channels tended to provide motivational imagery along the lines of perfectly-sculpted women writhing around the screen - always a good reason to work out harder, no?), and windows offering a view of the park, essential for distracting myself whilst pounding the treadmill.

Since my boyfriend moved out of Chippenham, we've tried a few other gyms that just haven't been up to scratch. The first should have been excellent, but was the equivalent of an ice room and was also too big and too quiet - call me egocentric (I am definitely not, fyi! Don't get me wrong!), but I like to be surrounded by people whilst I'm working out, whether it's to see what others are doing or just to be in an environment whereby everyone is pushing themselves, I think it generally makes me work out harder.

The next gym was too cold (not temperature-wise this time) and factory-like. It offered basic equipment and machines for a basic price, so for some people it is completely suitable. However, my boyfriend complained about the lack of mirrors (also egocentric, apparently!) - and so it was on to the next one.

We attended a local bodybuilding gym a couple of days ago, an 80's-throwback style of gym, complete with floral curtains upstairs in the cardio room and various old posters of ripped male and female bodybuilders scattered around the walls. Equipment also appeared to be from the 80s! It wasn't worth the 25pound/month price, that's for sure.

And so the conclusion prevails; until a move back to Chippenham (and thus the Olympiad) is more prominently on the horizon, I will make do with the free kind of gym: exercise DVDs, home equipment, and fresh air/pavements.

A boring post to say the least, sorry guys and gals!