Fruit is often overlooked as food to eat around your working out schedule due to the belief of high sugar contents. This, however, is not the case. Fruit can be a great choice for both pre- and post-workout snack to help maintain sugar levels, improve endurance and speed up the recovery process. Let’s explore the best fruits for working out and why they are beneficial for your fitness routine!
Benefits of Fruit For Fitness
There are some great benefits of fruit that can help you with working out, including the following:
- Optimising your body for performance and endurance: Fruit’s sugar content can boost you to work out effectively. The energy source of carbohydrates is key to replenishing your glycogen levels.
- Natural sugars: As fruit contains natural sugars, it is turned it an energy source quickly. This makes it a good choice for pre-working out.
- Help during post-workout recovery: the anti-oxidants and vitamins in fruit have great anti-inflammatory benefits to help muscle recovery after working out. Often, you will be able to push harder, stay consistent and perform better as a result.
- Nutritional Value: Fruit is a great source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which are all key to preventing cell damage during working out.
- Maintaining Hydration: Some fruits have high levels of water contents, which helps you from dehydration and prevents over heating.
- Easily Digestible: As fruit is a whole food, these tend to be easily digestible so you don’t feel as heavy, sluggish or get a sensitive stomach around your fitness regime.
- Avoid feeling fatigue: Eating fruit can help prevent low blood sugar levels which can result in headaches, fatigue and light-headedness, which can make working out more difficult.
Discover more about the benefits of healthy food.
Eating Fruit Before A Workout
Eating fruit is a great option for eating before a workout. The sugar contents are quick releasing, so you can feel the benefits during your workout. You can eat it as a quick snack or incorporate it into a meal. However, it is best to avoid a large meal before an intense workout because your stomach may be more sensitive and you may feel sluggish with decreased stamina.
Whether a dedicated cardio session or weight training, fruit can be a great aid to your fitness goals and workout performance. It is also easy to grab and go!
Which Fruits Are Best For Working Out?
As we have discussed the benefits of fruit for working out, let’s see which ones are the best for working out and why:
- Apples: the anti-inflammatory benefits of apples will help protect your body during exercise.
- Bananas: these are higher in carbohydrates, potassium and fibre, making a great energy source and helping with muscle recovery.
- Berries: most berries such as strawberries have high natural sugars and are high in fibre, giving you an energy boost without a sluggish feeling.
- Oranges: most citrus fruits have high vitamin C contents, which support the immune system and help ease bodily stresses that you may experience during fitness.
- Pineapple: the bromelain and other contents in pineapples aid digestion, have anti-inflammatory benefits and a good carbohydrate source.
- Watermelon: this fruit has a particularly high water content which helps keep your body hydrated during exercise alongside helping inflammation.
Are Fruit Smoothies A Good Choice?
Fruit smoothies can be a good option for a pre-or post-workout drink. You can get multiple fruits at once and enjoy a refreshing smoothie before your workout to give you the energy for cardio, resistance or weight training. It is probably best to have this around 20–30 mins before you work out, rather than a quick fruit snack on the go. If you usually have protein shakes, you can mix in the protein powder too for a delicious post-workout drink.
How to Incorporate Fruit Into Your Workout Routine
Creating healthy habits is crucial to maintaining good overall health, and fruit and veg are an important food group within a balanced diet. Here are some top tips to include fruits in your workout routine:
- Ensure you have fruit to hand: having fresh fruit in your household will help it be a quick and convenient snack around your fitness session.
- Try different fruits: having the same snack can often get boring. Ensure to mix it up and try something new.
- Potions: all foods in the right moderation are great for balance. Having the right amount of fruit around your workout will be a beneficial snack.
- Make into meals: if you don’t like fruit as much on its own, put it into a meal before or after your workout to still reap the benefits.
- Try different variations: fresh fruit, dried fruit or a fruit smoothie can all be a sufficient alternative to one another.
See more top tips on how to include more fruit & veg in your diet.
Customisable Fruit Boxes With Marvellous Greens & Beans
Looking for a convenient way to add fruit around your workouts? Here at Marvellous Greens & Beans, we offer fully customisable fruit boxes to suit you. Add or swap the contents of your box quickly and easily on your online portal. You will also benefit from UK-wide delivery and our flexible delivery service to only order what you need. Get in touch with our team or call us on 0203 633 9822 if you have any additional questions about our services.
