Gut Health and Fitness

There’s something the fitness community never talks about.

When I was working on my fitness, eating a strict diet, and following a workout schedule, this one component of my health flew under the radar.

I was bloated, plateauing, and getting stomach pains. What was wrong?

When I got it checked out, it turns out I wasn’t paying enough attention to my gut health. All of my scrupulous fitness plans were undermined by some tiny bacteria in my intestines.

That’s right; your gut flora has a huge impact on key bodily processes like digestion, energy, mood regulation, and more.

Keep reading to learn how your gut microbiome influences athletic performance, fitness, digestion, and more.

Key Microflora

Each person has a unique microbiome in their gut; so unique that it could be an alternative to fingerprinting.

The bacteria in your gut have the potential to influence everything from your muscular endurance to the health of all your organs. The key is to have a variety of “good” gut bacteria that speed up your metabolism.

When you have a healthy gut, you have more energy, better-regulated hormones, and better sleep. These all affect your athletic and fitness benchmarks.

Metabolism

If you have an unhealthy gut, it’s likely you have too much putrefactive bacteria and not enough “good” bacteria like lactobacillus.

These ‘good’ bacteria help your body absorb essential micronutrients. When you exercise, your energy demands increase. If you are not seeing results from working out, chances are your gut bacteria are hindering your body’s ability to metabolize nutrients.

The right microbes help your body absorb nutrients more effectively, lending you more energy for muscle growth, endurance, and performance.

Underfueling

A phenomenon called underfueling impacts many athletes.

Athletes have a far greater energy expenditure than your average person, and therefore more nutrient requirements as well.

If you aren’t fuelling your body with the right balance of macro and micronutrients, you won’t see improvements in athletic performance and body composition.

The signs of underfueling include:

• Garbage performance
• Poor muscle strength
• Less than ideal glycogen storage
• Poor coordination
• Lack of concentration

More importantly, your gut health directly impacts how well you can reach your nutritional requirements. Therefore, if you are an athlete, it is critical that you pay attention to nurturing the right composition of microbes.

Improving Gut Health for Athletes

I’ve got some key methods for you to improve your gut health. 

The first is regular exercise; the keyword is regular. Even though you’ve already started on a physical fitness journey, make sure that you are consistent.

Having an exercise routine that you maintain ensures optimal gut health. So go forth, meet your maximum heart rate, and keep working on your muscular endurance!

The second method is to take supplements. Prebiotics, probiotics, and enzymes are all excellent options. For example, if you are lactose intolerant, you’ll want to avoid dairy or take lactase.

Foods like kimchi and yogurt are also excellent for introducing healthy bacteria to your gut.

Increase Athletic Performance

What do you think? Could gut health be the missing factor hindering you from meeting your fitness goals?

Remember to consult with a doctor if you are considering supplements or changing your diet.

Check out our blog for more insights into personal fitness plans!

BUT! If you are looking for a fantastic supplement to help with gut health, check out 1st Phorm Opti-Greens and get FREE SHIPPING with this link.

Let Us help You Out

At CONDITIONerd we are here to help you achieve better physical and mental health through exercise. Check out the plans we offer to our customers and see if you could benefit from working with our team. And if you have questions, you can always contact a CONDITIONerd team member. 

Personal trainers, like those found here, can help guide you on your pathway towards reaching your fitness goals, whether that is getting bigger, stronger, faster, more lean, or just generally feeling better.

We can get you setup with a periodized workout plan, supplement information, and advice on nutrition to help you reach your goals.

The only thing you need is some motivation and a willingness to change some old habits.

Get into contact with us to find out what membership is right for you. In a CONDITIONerd program, you’ll be surrounded by others who can help you to get where you want to be.

Generally, our clients start to see some pretty awesome changes in 2-3 months time, some sooner.