Fuel Your Fitness

How do you Fuel Your Fitness? Is it with protein bars, shakes, or pre-workout? While all these methods of preparing your body for any kind of physical activity are perfectly acceptable, there are other ways to power your body for movement. We teamed up with personal trainer and nutrition coach Emily to get inspired to fuel our workouts and body. Fuel Your Fitness supports and focuses on charging your body with the whole fruits and veggies it needs to get the most out of your workout. Whether you push it hard with a HIIT workout at home/ in the gym, or get adventuresome outside with a trail run, it is important to eat healthy and delicious food.

The Best Healthy Fruit Workout Snacks

If I had known more about the benefits that fruit can provide for my body before or after a workout, I would have saved money on expensive pre-workout powders and energy drinks a long time ago! Can you believe a single scoop of pre-workout can contain 150-250mg of caffeine? If you’re more sensitive to caffeine (like myself) you might not enjoy the rapid heart rate and itchy skin that comes with taking pre-workout supplements. Fuel Your Fitness with the best fruits for your workout instead!

Fueling your workout with fruit is one of the simplest and most natural ways to sustain yourself during any kind of physical activity like biking, running, hiking, skiing, going to the gym, yoga, sports, etc.… I can remember plenty of times during my tennis years in high school where I would start to feel shaky and weak during my matches because I wasn’t properly fueling my body. You can probably relate if you’ve ever played an active sport in the hot summer sun! Now, when I go to the tennis courts, I try to remember to bring an apple, pear, or banana with me to keep my energy up while I play.

Apples and pears contain about 25-27g of carbohydrates which is what your body turns into glucose to provide you with the energy you need to get through your workout. Fruits are a great snack especially for early morning workouts since they boost your body’s blood sugar when it is at its lowest when you first wake up. It can be tempting to skip the snack and go workout on an empty stomach, but how will your body build muscle if it isn’t being fueled by anything?

Pump Up the Protein

Eating foods with protein can help build and strengthen your muscles and bones after your body undergoes physical activity. Protein is essential in sustaining the muscles you exercise and can fortunately be found in some of your favorite fruits! Apples and pears both contain 25-27g of carbs and at least 1g of protein. While 1g of protein doesn’t seem like a lot, every bit counts.

For a more filling pre-workout snack, choose something like a turkey and cheese sandwich or Greek yogurt to pair with any of these fruits. If you’re planning for an endurance-based workout like running or jogging, increasing your carb intake will provide longer lasting energy. If you’re powerlifting, rock-climbing, or doing any kind of strength training, load up on the protein and have 2g of carbs for every gram of protein. If you’re simply an active person not focused on endurance or strength specifically, stick to the middle-ground 3g of carbs for every gram of protein.

The Best Fruits You Can Have Before/After Your Workout:

Apples- Try them in a healthy smoothie to speed up your recovery, like our Chocolate Peanut Butter Apple Smoothie.

Pears- A great source of fiber and a perfect ingredient for your morning meal or lunch to keep you full.

Dark-sweet cherries- A superfood that is not only vitamin rich, but can help you sleep and your body recover!

Nectarines- You don’t just need oranges for Vitamin C. This stonefruit is a great summer option to add to your daily diet, especially after a workout!

Peaches- High in potassium, and will help you feel refreshed when you drink all your water. This summer fruit makes every workout sweeter.

Avocados- This powerhouse fruit can be added to quite a few dishes and provides great benefits. Try our Cherry, Mango, & Avocado Green Salad for lunch and feel ready for that afternoon workout!

Bananas- The workout staple! Everyone knows that bananas are high in potassium, and great for snacking on after a workout. They taste even better in our Tropical Smoothie with Tart Apples!

As you start fueling your fitness with fruit, it can also be fun to take advantage of a fun photo op with it for social media! I took my Pinata^® apple out for a match one weekend, and although it wasn’t the best use for a ball, it did give me the energy I needed to practice my serves.

Be sure to mention Stemilt @stemiltfruit on Instagram when you Fuel Your Fitness with Stemilt fruit and let us know what your favorite go-to healthy fruit workout snacks are in the comments below.