Pre and post workout meals for BJJ practicioners

Beside numerous training programs and workout routines that guarantee you an over-night result, you have probably heard thousands and thousands of nutrition advice from different sources. Anabolic diet, low-fat diet, paleo, nordic……. finish the line. The thing they are silent about is that there is no universal diet that works for everybody. There is no ideal, universal equation for every organism and metabolism. Like training in BJJ, BJJ diet has to be put in the context of an individual. Macronutrients and vitamines needs, possible supplementation, competition category, and training goals are just fractions of nutrition plan for BJJ. Yes, there is no universal diet but there are some basic things you should know when it comes to creating a BJJ diet plan.

BJJ diet goals

First of all, when it comes to BJJ diet plan construction, is to determine your goals. Do you want to lose some weight so you will „attack“ body fat? Maybe you need to add some lean muscle mass? Or you are satisfied and you need maintenance of the situation itself. The very foundations of those plans vary a lot. Number of pure calories during the day, different macronutrient ratios, supplementation and so on. Everything needs to be put in the services of your BJJ nutrition goals. But whatever your goal might be, two meals will be underlined. Those are pre and post workout meals in BJJ. Why are they so important and how to fit them into your BJJ diet plans? For the purpose of this article, we will take a maintenance diet guidelines as an example.

Importance of pre and post workout meals in BJJ diet plan

In every BJJ training diet plan, pre and post workout meals are highlighted. It is because of the importance that they have in metabolism processes during the workout itself and after training is done. Their main difference besides nutrients ratio is the source of energy they provide. Also, that energy is spent in different ways. BJJ training, especially BJJ endurance training, puts a lot of energy demands in front of you. Because of that, you need to provide enough energy during the training session. Your muscles need a „fuel“ source during those workouts.

BJJ pre-workout meal

The main source where your muscles will find that energy is your BJJ pre-workout meals. Also, your pre-workout meals must be taken in right time. I would suggest that you take your BJJ pre-workout meals no less than 90 minutes before a training session will take a place. What should pre-workout meal consist of? As I mentioned above, we will take maintenance as a goal. First of all, you should add good quality carbs. What do I mean when Isay good quality carbs? Those are carbs with low glycemic index.

They will release energy in „waves“ and secure you the energy for longer time periods. Your glycogen capacities will be full and they are your main source of energy in high-intensity workouts. A good example of quality carbs would be any kind of vegetables, steel-cut oats, whole grain bread, and whole grain rice. Also, you need to includehigh-qualityy proteins in you BJJ pre-workout meals.

They will secure a good amount of amino acids in your system. That will reduce the volume of catabolism in your muscles and that is something you surely want to avoid. Good source of proteins is chicken breast, cottage cheese, lean beef and any kind of fish. In the end, few words about fats in the pre-workout meal. You should avoid them if your pre-workout meal is less than 2-3 hours before training. The main reason is their slow break-down time. Their structure needs more time to break-down and to secure energy to your body. If you add them to your pre-workout meal and they do not fully break-down they will become a burden in you stomach. When it come to supplementation, you can add BCAA in BJJ pre workout meal plan to secure even more of amino acids if your training will demand high levels of energy suply.

BJJ post workout meals

On the other hand, BJJ post workout meals are complete difference than pre workout meals. They have to secure recovery after supplies being exausted. How does post workout meal do that? First of all, it secures muscle protein breakdown decrease. Next, it increases the oposite process and that is protein syntesis. Last but not the least, it resotres glycogen stores in your body. So, knowing all that, what kind of food do you add in your BJJ post workout meal? First of all, when your BJJ training routine is done take some high glycemim level food combined with a protein source. First line of catabolism defens can be found in a protein shake. Combine some glucose and portion of whey protein to prevent catabolism.

The glucose will help amino chains from protein to enter the cells and to start new protein synthesis After that, you should plan a „real meal“. High glycemic index carbs combined with a high quality source of proteins are your choice. You can add some healthy fats in your post workout meal because they will not disturb the process of restoring glycogen and protein syntesis. Good nutrition choice in BJJ post wotkout meal are potatoes, dark leafy green vegetables, pasta, fruits combined with some high quality protein source such as tuna, salomon, egss or meat. In the end, i will give some examples of pre and post BJJ workout meals.

Examples of BJJ pre workout meals

Brown rice with roasted vegetables and lean protein
Grean beans with tuna stake and salad
Cold salad with turkey breast
Baked vegetables omelet with cottage cheese

Add a BCCA as your suplementation before a workout.

Examples of BJJ post workout meals

Add protein shake with glucose immediately after training

Grilled chicken with potatoes roasted vegetables.
Egg omelet with avocado spread on full grain toast.
Salmon with sweet potato.
Tuna salad sandwich on whole grain bread.
Chicken pasta with vegies and extra virgin olive oil

BJJ workout meals training effects

To conclude, pre and post BJJ workout meals are pure foundations of your diet plan. If planed properly, they will draw the maximum from your training and from post-workout metabolism processes. A proper pre-workout meal will secure the training energy and the proper post-workout meal will help your recovery and it will secure the very best effect that your training can have on your body. Beside those two, secure eneough fluids during the day. All that combined together will surely result with desired BJJ training effects.

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