Eating Before Erging

[old] Hoofbeat · Post by **[old] Hoofbeat** » January 3rd, 2005, 2:46 pm

Unfortunately, most of the time I can only go to the gym straight after lunch due to other time commitments. Obviously, I know this isn't ideal, but was wondering what I should eat that will give me plenty of energy for erging without making me feel full/lethargic. Is a large fruit salad a good option? At the moment having sandwich and fruit (I'm only a novice rower, so not on a major nutrition plan!!!) but then after I row I always feel sick (never actually sick, but my throat feels really dry etc). Thanks

LindaM · Post by **LindaM** » January 3rd, 2005, 3:11 pm

Any chance you could row first, then eat? I think you'd fare much better. I snack on a cheese stick and a piece of fruit and drink tea and water before rowing at noon, then row, then have lunch somedays. On other days, I save my workout until the end of my workday - at least 2-3 hours after lunch.

[old] John Rupp · Post by **[old] John Rupp** » January 3rd, 2005, 5:13 pm

Run a dozen medium sized carrots through a juicer. Toss a good sized handful of grass in a blender with water, blend this for a minute, then pour it through the juicer. Mix the grass juice with the carrot juice and drink it. In lieu of grass, you could use purslane or any number of other wild veggies, or celery, etc. Or else just blend a handful of purslane with water and drink that.

[old] Sir Pirate · Post by **[old] Sir Pirate** » January 3rd, 2005, 5:21 pm

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (John Rupp @ Jan 3 2005, 09:13 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'> Toss a good sized handful of grass in a blender with water, blend this for a minute, then pour it through the juicer. Mix the grass juice with the carrot juice and drink it.  </td></tr></table> Are you for real John !?!? Is that a wind up?? Sir Pirate

[old] John Rupp · Post by **[old] John Rupp** » January 3rd, 2005, 5:31 pm

Sir Pirate, That was my breakfast this morning.

[old] Hoofbeat · Post by **[old] Hoofbeat** » January 4th, 2005, 5:50 pm

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (LindaM @ Jan 3 2005, 02:11 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'> Any chance you could row first, then eat?  </td></tr></table> Unfortunately that isn't really practical. I usually don't finish at the gym until at least 4pm (go swimming etc as well) and then have to pop down to the yard to see my horse and so wouldn't be able to eat until 4:30pm and we have dinner at 6pm!!! Usually have lunch about 1:30pm and head to the gym just gone 2ish. Any "sensible" suggestions of what food I should eat before hand? As I said, I'm not a "health-freak" or a proper athelete, so would prefer something tasty and normal than some vegetable juice drink!

[old] John Rupp · Post by **[old] John Rupp** » January 4th, 2005, 7:46 pm

There are no sensible suggestions, other than that one.

[old] grandslam · Post by **[old] grandslam** » January 4th, 2005, 10:32 pm

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (Hoofbeat @ Jan 4 2005, 02:50 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'>Any "sensible" suggestions of what food I should eat before hand? As I said, I'm not a "health-freak" or a proper athelete, so would prefer something tasty and normal than some vegetable juice drink! </td></tr></table> I would suggest liquid calories with fat and protein for easy digestion. Try a slimfast or two before your workouts to stave off hunger and provide calories, then eat your big meal right after the workout when your muscles are glycogen starved. Solid foods will draw blood into the digestive system right when you want every drop available for oxygen transport to the muscles. Cheers, Jeff Sauter

[old] DIESEL · Post by **[old] DIESEL** » January 4th, 2005, 10:58 pm

No offense, but Slimfast is garbage. Try a scoop of chocalate whey protein supplement (Labrada, Optimum, and EAS are the best tasting) mixed with 6oz. 1% milk and a handful of natural, unsalted cashews. Not too filling and will give you a ton of energy. Ideally you would be eating some complex carbos about 3 hours before your erg session. Brown rice or oatmeal are particularly good. That should do nicely.

[old] grandslam · Post by **[old] grandslam** » January 5th, 2005, 1:06 am

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (DIESEL @ Jan 4 2005, 07:58 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'>No offense, but Slimfast is garbage. Try a scoop of chocalate whey protein supplement (Labrada, Optimum, and EAS are the best tasting) mixed with 6oz. 1% milk and a handful of natural, unsalted cashews. Not too filling and will give you a ton of energy. Ideally you would be eating some complex carbos about 3 hours before your erg session. Brown rice or oatmeal are particularly good. That should do nicely. </td></tr></table> Good advice about the complex carbs 3-4 hours before the event. No offense, but I've used slimfast in marathons (rowing and running) as well as hundred mile ultra marathons, and used it as a PRIMARY calorie source during a solo 135 mile Death Valley crossing on foot last July. So I think I know a thing or two about what works in athletic events. Nuts would be the last thing I would eat just before an event, as they would take a long time to digest. But, whatever works for you, go with it. I should have added: cut the slimfast with water by at least 50% for faster digestion. Other ultramarathoners have had success with Ensure, but that stuff tastes horrible imho. BTW, we are talking about distances over a 1/2 marathon right? You don't need any additional calorie sources for events shorter than that. You have plenty of stored glycogen in your muscles for the short events (<1.5 hours +/-). Cheers, Jeff Sauter

[old] starboardrigged1seat · Post by **[old] starboardrigged1seat** » January 5th, 2005, 1:19 am

I think nuts are a great energy food. Almonds, IMHO, are the easiest to digest and limit portion size almost down to the precise calorie -- they are so uniform in size/shape, and settle really easily in the stomach. Pistaschio's are also really good, but they're just so darn good, I'll eat about 1500 cals worth in one sitting and feel bloated for the next few hours.

[old] Kudos · Post by **[old] Kudos** » January 5th, 2005, 8:12 am

got a good one for you diesal, but be prepared, it is insanely addictive. I pulled it off of a bodybuilder who uses it as a precontest pump agent. Although the original formula call for 2 tablespoons of everything. I have used 1 to success 1 hour before morning erg tests. 1 tbls Natural Peanut Butter-1 tbls Honey-1 tbls Van/Choc whey propowder-1tbls water takes some time to mix, make sure PB is warm to make it easier. Just try not to eat it at every waking moment.

[old] grandslam · Post by **[old] grandslam** » January 5th, 2005, 12:38 pm

Hoofbeat, it seems much of the information being offered is by anonymous posters that have no clue how the digestive system works. Nuts for example, consist mostly of protiens and fats, which take the longest for digestive enzymes to break down . Nuts are not providing you with what you need most; carbohydrates. Do a little research on the web for yourself and ignore the BS you are being "fed" here. I'd also ignore any post by a member that is afraid to sign their name to, making it impossible to know who or what their background is giving the information. You will find as much misinformation (in all the threads of the C2 forum) as you will find useful advice. Cheers, Jeff Sauter

[old] John Rupp · Post by **[old] John Rupp** » January 5th, 2005, 3:30 pm

Cashews are legumes, not nuts.

[old] Kudos · Post by **[old] Kudos** » January 5th, 2005, 8:47 pm

Hi! My name is Sean Clarke and I still recommend PB/Honey/Whey before erging. The reason why is that fats along with the more complex carbs from the PB, the more simple carbs in the honey, and the aminos in the whey provide a longer lasting energy than a simple sugar spike which can cause crashes in energy once the carbs are burned up. It is also not as easy refuel these carbs on an erg/boat as it is if you are running or biking without severly hindering your performance. If you will notice in my previous post, I recommended it to be eaten approxamately 1 hour before an athletic event for the specific reason that it takes longer to digest. The longer the activity, the closer to start time you should consume. I agree with Jeff and D in that you should consume complex carbs 3-4hrs at least if not earlier in order to supply the liver with the carbs needed to create glycogen, the longest lasting energy source your body own body creates. I also agree with Diesal in SlimFast and ensure being garbage. It is a can of chemicals and sugar, just look at the ingrediant list. I have never done an ultra marathon before so I don't know what would be effective for that, but I have done a ton of erging/rowing in college and quite successfully, which is what the poster is looking for. But who cares about us?, like Jeff said who knows who is really on the other side of the keyboard. I prefer this formula because it provides a smoother longer lasting energy curve than just simple carbs. Although not as quickly as carbs, fats are broken down for energy too, and consist of 9 calories per gram as opposed to the 4 in a carbohydrate gram. The nutrient breakdown of this formula yeilds 200 calories (5g-fat/20g-carb/10g-pro). I feel this satiates throughout 1 hour or so of activity, although no one metabolism is the same, you may need more or less calories. Of course you don't have to listien to anyone. I recommend trying it out for yourself first. They are only suggestions of what has worked well for certain people, not of gastro professionals, which is what you asked for I believe. If you feel overwhelmed, please consult a nutritionist. Hey SR1S, I thought you were in charge of keeping me out of weight-training and nutrition posts??!! In the best Donald Trump impression I can do over the internet........you're fired

Concept2 Forum

Eating Before Erging

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness