Fruit
isn’t something that you regularly see as a performance enhancing
food, but the content of some fruits can be beneficial in aiding your
gym performance. Whether you are trying to add bulk, improve your
cardiovascular fitness or enhance your power and strength, fruit has
the vitamins and minerals, as well as the sugars that you need to get
the best gains from your routine. But that’s not all fruit, and
just like the fruits we looked at in the immune support blog, there
are better fruits to improve athletic performance. We will look at
some of those today…
Athletic
performance is obviously a broad topic to discuss in relation to
food, as the body requires many nutrients for performance. That said,
it can be useful to know what fruits can offer you the support that
your macronutrients are supplying for your diet.
1. Passion
Fruit
 |
| Passionate about performance? |
Passion
fruit might sound more like something you take on a date picnic, but
actually, it has an interesting mix of nutrients that support a
workout. Firstly passion fruit contains good levels of carbohydrate,
with 23g per 100g, and 11g of that being sugar. That's not all bad,
as it is essential that you have small amounts of sugar for your
workout. In addition to its sugar benefits, passion fruit also has 8%
of your RDA of iron, essential for blood formation and the creation
of ATP, your body's energy chemical compound. It also packs in 7% of
your RDA of magnesium, which is essential for muscle contraction and
9% of your daily potassium, which is important for fluid balance.
2. Blackcurrants
 |
| More than just juice... |
Blackcurrants
are usually found in fruit juice form, as they pack in plenty of
flavour, and are regularly used in cordials. They can aid your
workout with there vitamin and mineral balance, and they also support
your immune system. They are stuffed full of vitamin C and a number
of other antioxidants in high numbers so they help with your health.
That aside, they also pack a punch in the gym. 8% of your daily iron,
and 9% of your daily potassium makes them a very useful support,
especially in a smoothie, in which you can add other fruits to
improve the balance of nutrients. As an added bonus you also get 5%
of your RDA calcium, which will help you to make more forceful muscle
contractions.
3. Guava
 |
| Guava is a class gym hero |
Guava
is a relatively new fruit to the British supermarket, and if you're
not sure what it is, you are not alone. It is a fruit found in
tropical countries, and looks like a small watermelon. It contains
good levels of sugar, at 8g per 100g of fruit. This means it isn't
too heavy for those looking to burn calories in the gym. It also has
11% of your copper and 11% of your potassium, so it boosts your
muscles and energy levels. It also boasts 302% of your RDA of vitamin
C, which helps the absorption of iron, without oxidising it, so its
good for your health and your creation of red blood cells.
4. Raisins
 |
| The superfood you're missing! |
Now,
raisins aren't usually considered to be a real fruit, because of the
process of making the, and the way they come in a box, but the raisin
is a superhero of a fruit. First of all, a 100g serving gives you 59g
of sugar. That makes these little fruits like natural jelly beans,
just packed with energy. But that isn't all the humble raisin has for
you. It contains 21% of your RDA of potassium, so your fluid balance
and muscle contractions will be prepared for your session. Raisins
also have 10% of your RDA of phosphorus, which regulates calcium
(important for muscle contraction) and helps to make ATP, which in
combination with the 10% RDA of your iron means you'll be energy
rich! Throw in 15% of your RDA of copper, which aids the iron in the
creation of haemoglobin, and you'll find the raisin boosts your
performance.
Conclusions
There
you have it, four fruits which really can help you push yourself
harder in the gym. Eaten properly as part of a balanced diet, and
ensuring you get the right level of recovery (see our blog about post
exercise recovery here) you can use these fruits to aid your
performance.
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