Senior Exercise and Food

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By Raymond Angus

What's the purpose of senior exercises? Or an even broader question is…why does anybody exercise at all?

Think about it! Isn't it much easier to sit on the sofa and watch TV soap operas while eating chocolate.

Or catnap in the afternoon sun prior to a nationally televised football game, contemplating a six pack of beer already on ice?

The sole rationale for senior exercises is good health! If you don't already have good health, you should certainly yearn to possess it.

Senior exercises provides the means to acquire, and maintain excellent health. But exercises are only part of the formula needed to acquire physical fitness for an ongoing
happy life style.

What you eat before, and after, your workout is a crucial factor.

If you're preparing to engage in a cardio workout, focusing on your heart and lungs. Or a resistance program using weights, and zeroing in on muscle groups.

You should always eat a balanced diet of proteins and carbohydrates before and after the sessions.

Two factors determine the percentages of each of these food groups you should consume.

* Are you going to concentrate on a workout focusing on resistance or cardio priorities?

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* What is the intensity level of the workout you are planning to execute?

The best time for you to eat your pre-workout meal is at least an hour before you begin the session.

If you anticipate working at a relatively low intensity level, experts recommend keeping this meal down to approximately 200 calories.

If you plan to exercise at a high level of intensity, you would be better served to consume between 4,000 and 5,000 calories.

Physical fitness experts suggest for a cardio session, one will need to consume a blend of two thirds carbohydrates and one third protein.

The extra carbohydrates will provide longer sustained energy, with enough protein to protect your muscles from breaking down during the session.

For a resistance exercise workout, simply reverse the combination of carbs and proteins. The blend would be one third carbohydrates and two thirds protein.

The rationale for this is that the carbs will furnish enough energy to perform each weight set you do. The increased protein will prevent muscle breakdown while you workout.

Eating after your exercise program is of equal importance with your pre workout meal. Whatever exercise format you perform, cardio or resistance, you expend energy in the form of glycogen.

The central nervous system and the brain rely on glycogen as their main source of fuel. You must replace the glycogen after you exercise, or your body will begin breaking down
muscle tissue into amino acids. These acids will then be converted into usable fuel.

During resistance exercise workouts you'll break down muscle tissue by generating micro tears. Following a workout, your muscles will quickly go into repair mode. Protein is the
key here for muscle repair.

Following a cardio workout session, you should eat carbohydrates. Concentrate primarily on high fiber contents. Rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, and northern fruits are excellent sources.

After your cardio workout, it's recommended to eat with five to ten minutes.

When you've completed a resistance session, experts conclude that it's wise to consume a combination of carbohydrates and protein. Unlike cardio workouts, resistance exercises will break down muscle tissue by creating micro tears.

The protein will build up and repair those muscle tears. It will also encourage the muscles to increase in size and strength.

The carbohydrates will not only replace the glycogen, it will also help the protein get into muscle cells.

Medical experts offer a further tip. After a resistance exercise, wait about thirty minutes before you eat.

The reason for this? So blood is not taken away from the muscles and sent by the body to aid digestion. The blood helps the muscle repair process and must stay in the muscles.

Regular senior exercises in combination with sound eating before and after the workouts, can increase your good health. They will also enable you to present a more attractive appearance to the world.

Bon apetit!

Raymond Angus is a widely published author of articles and books. He writes about fellow seniors and their world. Toread more of his writing visit: www.theseniorslife.com