food advice for exercise

[Tiger King]

ok so I enjoy going to the gym, I'm not huge on weight lifting and much prefer cardio work.
My current workout is (not in this order) run for 5 miles, row for 2000 meters, weights.
my priority is looking after my heart and lungs and stamina and keeping the beer belly at bay, so I'm not massively interested in getting ripped just basically keeping active and in shape.

so my question is what to eat before I go exercise because the other day I went to the gym and I felt just tired the whole way through and couldn't wait to finish.
ussually I drink a litre of water before hand and eat a sandwich with some meat and an apple.

I'm just trying to figure out why most days I feel unstoppable and sometimes I feel like I can't be botherd/tired.

thanks for any help!

 

[lechat]

complex carbohydrates and protein. your sandwich should mostly cover it.
try having half a cup of coffee (or weak coffee) before you work out and make sure you get plenty of recovery time and sleep if you are pushing yourself hard

 

[Tiger King]

complex carbohydrates and protein. your sandwich should mostly cover it.
try having half a cup of coffee (or weak coffee) before you work out and make sure you get plenty of recovery time and sleep if you are pushing yourself hard

Thanks for your advice
I've given up coffee but I do space my workout days so I get some rest days too.

perhaps I am just tired or being lazy.

 

[dmase]

Tiredness while working out, in my case, is usually caused by lack of sleep, not having a good meal earlier in the day, or boredom. The first one is self explanatory get 7 to 8 hours of sleep. The second one, I don't usually eat before I exercise but I make sure to have a decent meal 3 hours or so before. Last one is a killer, the end to any good workout regiment is usually tedious continuation of the same droll exercises or places which is why I prefer running outside instead of a treadmill.

 

[Tiger King]

Tiredness while working out, in my case, is usually caused by lack of sleep, not having a good meal earlier in the day, or boredom. The first one is self explanatory get 7 to 8 hours of sleep. The second one, I don't usually eat before I exercise but I make sure to have a decent meal 3 hours or so before. Last one is a killer, the end to any good workout regiment is usually tedious continuation of the same droll exercises or places which is why I prefer running outside instead of a treadmill.

yeah the boredom factor is a good point, I try to mix it up as much as possible (go for a jog with my dogs outside in the fields etc)
Im not sure which I prefer, I like running outside on a sunny day but the treadmill feels more intense and satisfying afterwards.

I last went on Friday and had a good breakfast, a nap and a good warm up before hand and felt really good.
just gotta keep motivated and well fed and rested I guess, thanks for your advice by the way!

 

[Luca72]

Sounds like your goal is just to stay in shape, not bodybuild. In that case, your current diet is probably fine! Don't worry about not having energy every day - sometimes you'll have it, sometimes you won't. If it becomes chronic though, you're probably overtraining, and should back off. If you have to skip an exercise day because you know your body needs more rest, that's what you should do. You'll feel like a lazy bastard, but it'll ultimately be better for you.

I've got a question though since cardio seems to be a big focus for you - do you do all the cardio before lifting weights? I've always found that I get a much better exercise if I do all my cardio after (barring some light warmup).

 

[joemcg20]

I'm not a master of fitness, but isn't it better to do weights before cardio? Something to do with using up your glycgeon whilst doing weights, and then cardio after,

 

[Tiger King]

Sounds like your goal is just to stay in shape, not bodybuild. In that case, your current diet is probably fine! Don't worry about not having energy every day - sometimes you'll have it, sometimes you won't. If it becomes chronic though, you're probably overtraining, and should back off. If you have to skip an exercise day because you know your body needs more rest, that's what you should do. You'll feel like a lazy bastard, but it'll ultimately be better for you.

I've got a question though since cardio seems to be a big focus for you - do you do all the cardio before lifting weights? I've always found that I get a much better exercise if I do all my cardio after (barring some light warmup).

Thanks for your reply!
yes it would be nice to have a perfectly sculpted physique but it seems you need a really strict diet and regime.
I'll also add I enjoy exercising because it's an excellent stress relief.

I always mix up my routine to keep it from getting to dull, I've done weights before and after running as well as jumping from weights to cardio and back to weights etc.
I'm sure an expert would point out a lot of flaws in my workout but I guess it's like you said your either feeling like your in a rocky film montage or well... you can't wait to get out of there.

Captcha: health food
that's right!! (ruffles captchas hair)

 

[Tiger King]

I'm not a master of fitness, but isn't it better to do weights before cardio? Something to do with using up your glycgeon whilst doing weights, and then cardio after,

not sure, that's a good point you make though, in my post above I explain that I do mix it up a bit.
Thanks for your input

 

[Luca72]

Sounds like your goal is just to stay in shape, not bodybuild. In that case, your current diet is probably fine! Don't worry about not having energy every day - sometimes you'll have it, sometimes you won't. If it becomes chronic though, you're probably overtraining, and should back off. If you have to skip an exercise day because you know your body needs more rest, that's what you should do. You'll feel like a lazy bastard, but it'll ultimately be better for you.

I've got a question though since cardio seems to be a big focus for you - do you do all the cardio before lifting weights? I've always found that I get a much better exercise if I do all my cardio after (barring some light warmup).

Thanks for your reply!
yes it would be nice to have a perfectly sculpted physique but it seems you need a really strict diet and regime.
I'll also add I enjoy exercising because it's an excellent stress relief.

I always mix up my routine to keep it from getting to dull, I've done weights before and after running as well as jumping from weights to cardio and back to weights etc.
I'm sure an expert would point out a lot of flaws in my workout but I guess it's like you said your either feeling like your in a rocky film montage or well... you can't wait to get out of there.

Captcha: health food
that's right!! (ruffles captchas hair)

Haha, I can understand that! That's the logic behind CrossFit anyway - you keep the workout interesting so you don't get lazy on the form, and you continuously shock new muscle groups. I don't totally agree with them in some areas, but they've got that nailed.

It sounds like you've been exercising for awhile, so have you ever tried kettlebells? They may be right up your alley. The give you a full body workout, and I mean full. You work everything from your legs to your shoulders for most movements, and it's easy to use them to combine cardio and weightlifting. One of the best workout routines I've ever had centered around just twenty minutes with one