Green Smoothie As Part Of Pre-Workout Meal

After reading a few of the topics here, I was thinkning of changing my preworkout meal, and adding a preworkout shake.

Now, for my preworkout meal, I typically have some type of protein, usually eggs cooked in either olive oil or cocunut oil, almonds, or else grass fed beef, chicken, turkey, or some kind of fish when I have it.

I used to eat toast, oatmeal, or potatoes as a carb source, but now I am thinking of trying out a green smoothie.

Ingredients vary in amounts and type based on preference, but basically it would contain raw carrots, kale, swiss chard, spinach, broccoli, blueberries, pineapple, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, apple, banana, oranges, and dandelion.

Again, the recipes use some of the above fruits and vegetables, in various amounts.

I was also thinking of adding flaxseeds to the smoothies, when I start making them.

My preworkout shake would include more of the above fruits, with the addition of either BCAA's or a bit of whey protein.

Thoughts?

I'm sure quite what response you're looking for. You can't go wrong adding more veggies to your diet. If this helps you get in more veggies, go for it.

Sorry, I should have been a bit more specific. Thanks for the reply though. Basically, I am looking for advice on good sources of carbs for a preworkout meal, and whether the stuff I listed is sufficient, or if there is something in my nutritional plan that I am looking over.

Also, just general opinions on the stuff listed, like are flaxseeds good before a workout? Eggs cooked in coconut oil better than cooked in olive oil? Shoul I just eat the whites, are there better sources of protein for preworkouts? etc.

I am determined to learn as much as possible about optimum nutrition for Gymnastic Strength Training™, so I am reading as much as I can in the forums and am taking sports nutrition classes.

Have you read Joshua Naterman's Perfect Workout Nutrition thread? It lays out in great detail how to plan your pre-, peri-, and post- workout nutrition.

https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/9580-perfect-workout-nutrition-2013/

You'll need to see how it feels for you.

The "issue" with fruit is that it has quite a bit of fructose, and that has a minimal impact on energy during the workout.

I suggest that you try your shake and see how you like it. If it works for you, great, but if not you might want to have a smaller shake along with some rice, or starch source of your choice.

You are very detail-oriented, but I am not sure you are super-clear on the basics. The pre-workout thread that just got linked in should help.

As long as you are in the ballpark, so to speak, for the carbs you need, you should be fine. You may notice you like to have a bit less than recommended, and if that's better for you then great! Same goes for if you find you need a little more than what is listed.

That thread provides a very, very solid base from which to personalize things.

Sounds good, I will read up on all of this and try my best to implement all the suggestions. Only fairly recently have I started paying real close attention to nutrition. I mean, for the average person, I have a good grasp of nutrition, but I need to expand my knowledge into nutrition for elite athletes, since this is what I hope to become.

AlphaKratos said:

(...) Eggs cooked in coconut oil better than cooked in olive oil?  (...)

It depends... It is a rather complicated question to answer without more background information...

If the eggs were layed during the ascent of virgo in its planar movement towards Cassiopea during the year of the golden Dragon, for sure olive oil is a no brainer! (stay away from Sicily Olive oil, no-one wants you to fund the Maffia!)

Then there is the question of where the coconut oil comes from and how it was extreated.

Or you could try 2/3rd Olive and 1/3rd coconut; or if it is too much trouble, assuming you train 5 times a week, 3 days Olive and 2 days coconut, making sure to carefully alternate each day (use a color coded calendar to make sure you don't mix up days)

In any case, don't forget the SPAM with your eggs!

AlphaKratos said:

Sounds good, I will read up on all of this and try my best to implement all the suggestions. Only fairly recently have I started paying real close attention to nutrition. I mean, for the average person, I have a good grasp of nutrition, but I need to expand my knowledge into nutrition for elite athletes, since this is what I hope to become.

In that case, you'll want to read that thread closely.

SPAM....... oh god, the flashbacks.... the horrible nightmarish flashbacks. Other than that, funny post. Will be reading all the nutrition stickies thoroughly.