Meals before exercise

Yes you can exercise after eating, a correctly timed meal, containing the optimal nutrition choices will fuel your performance and help you boost energy levels and get the best out of your workout.

Exercise type, meal timing and nutrition choices are crucial. Leave 60-120 mins after a large meal before working out. 30-45 mins should be enough time after a snack, however this is dependent on the individual.

It’s a balancing act between not feeling overly full or bloated after a meal and feeling fuelled and energised for your workout. When you exercise blood is transported to the working muscles; less of blood goes to other body organs such as the digestive system. This redirection of blood flow is caused by a mechanism called the vascular shunt mechanism. Its also important to understand blood rushes to the stomach and intestines following a meal, providing relevant systems with oxygen and transporting the products of digestion. This is why meal timing and nutritional choices are so important (so blood is available for the muscles and not required in the stomach) Avoid pre workout meals containing lots of fat or fibre, for instance a steak with lentils or a cheese burger with fries.

Try eating low-fibre, low fat easily digestible carbohydrate snack before engaging in short, vigorous exercises like weight training or Pilates. Such as a banana, yogurt and granola, or energy bars.

Choose foods that break down quickly to provide fuel (without causing stomach cramps, bloating or require excessive digestion in the stomach)

Also consider the exercise demands on the body. Highendurance activities like marathon running or swimming, will require you to store up more energy longer before your workout. Fuel your endurance workouts with a combination of Carbohydrates and protein two to three hours before exercise, such as a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter, salmon with brown rice or yoghurt with oats and scoop of Bio-Synergy Whey Better protein.

Avoid meals containing lots of fat or fibre, for instance a steak with lentils or a cheese burger with fries.

by Jenny Pacey Hollywood Trainer and Bio-Synergy ambassador @jennypacey

Welcome to the CrossFit world – a revolutionary fitness movement that has been helping people around the world achieve their health and wellness goals for years! Jamie Warr,

Head Coach at UNIT 22 Northampton and a Bio-Synergy Ambassador, explains what it is and how it can boost your fitness.

Whether you’re looking to increase your strength, lose some weight, or just find an enjoyable way to stay active, CrossFit can be an amazing addition to your lifestyle. It offers a uniquely challenging workout designed around functional movements using elements like bodyweight exercises, Olympic lifting, sprints, and core work – all tailored specifically to help individuals reach their individual goals. But what exactly makes CrossFit such a great choice? Read on to learn more.

When you think of CrossFit, you might immediately think of athletes such as Rich Froning, Mat Fraser, Tia Toomey, and Samantha Briggs. These elite level athletes have all won the CrossFit Games and have been crowned the Fittest on Earth.

These are top elite level athletes training 4-5 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. For them it’s a job, not a way to keep fit, even if that’s how it started for them.

In the 2022 CrossFit Open, there were over 290,000 people competing across the globe, some of the youngest were just 13 or 14, while the eldest were over 65. CrossFit is for everyone.

At the time of writing, there are over 626 CrossFit Affiliates across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Compared to Puregym which had 307 gyms in in December 2021.

CrossFit is defined as constantly varied functional movements performed at a high intensity across broad time and modal domains. Functional movements can be described as those that we need in day-to-day life, not just at the gym – e.g., air squat = getting up and down off a chair/toilet, deadlift = picking up your shopping bags from the floor, clean & press = moving items from the floor to a high shelf.

The first time you step into a box (CrossFit Gym) you will probably see something more like a sports club than a gym. A reception area serving coffee and protein shakes, a class being led by a coach, making sure that everyone is moving safely and effectively. People cheering others through the workout, hanging around before and after classes chatting, loud music, high fives, fist bumps.

CrossFit is so much more than just an hour’s workout in a gym, it’s a lifestyle that prioritises your health.