‘You’re not supposed to eat before spinning!’

I went along to spinning again today and it was great, I can start to feel my fitness levels rising in spinning and the ability to push myself harder as the weeks go by. As my fellow spinners chatted away about work, home, people they knew, I heard a comment which I thought ‘really is that true?’

I left the class a little intrigued and thought this is something I really need to look into! So the comment which you may have guessed (from my title) was ‘You’re not supposed to eat before spinning!’

I wonder if this is true. The first explanation that came to my mind was it mustbe  because you could be sick while spinning! I never eat before my morning workouts and that’s simply because I have no time to eat and then let my breakfast settle.

So here are some points I’ve found from my reads this morning!

-          By doing spinning in fasting mood you can burn more body fat vs. having eaten in the last two hours. The science behind this is that your body will have low blood sugar (carbohydrates) to fuel spinning, therefore you will dip into your fat stores a lot quicker!

-          Avoid eating an hour before the class as it can make you nauseas and also the feeling of being full. I’m sure this is the last thing you want while you are doing seated and standing hill climbs.

-          Have a carb and protein meal an hour or two before the class. Which I believe is okay if the class is in the evening, but it does become a bit difficult when the class is at 6.45am.

-          If you feel you must eat something before a class try one of the below snacks, they should provide the energy you are looking for. Below are some examples of snacks you can try.

o   Oat cakes with peanut butter,

o   Banana,

o   Yogurt,

o   Granola bar/ muesli bar

o   Energy drink

-          Make sure you have drunk enough water, especially if the spinning class is first thing. Remember you body has gone without water all night so you will naturally be dehydrated upon waking. Can you imagine going through a spin class and not having drunk any water!

I would say though every individual is different and until you’ve tested your body out you won’t know if you’re suited to eating before spinning or not.

From my own personal experience i find that I train better first thing without having eaten anything so i am in a fasting state, although I must drink a pint of water upon waking. However if I am exercising after work I do find myself snacking on fruit or a muesli bar 45mins before I go to the gym, without it I’ve noticed my performance does suffer.

So are you a faster or eater?