Oat pancakes before training

Oat pancakes can be great as a pre-workout meal, not only because of their complex carbohydrates or fiber, but also because they taste so good, contain other fantastic nutrients, and can become a stimulating dessert for any athlete.

Oats in your shakes, right?

One of the easiest and quickest ways to get the benefits of oats before training is to add them to a shake. Simply put your regular serving of oats (for most people, that will be between 30g and 70g) in a blender, along with a scoop of protein powder and liquid.

Then, add some ice if you like cold shakes and blend… you can add quality macros to the blender that will also satisfy your taste buds, such as frozen berries, yogurt, peanut butter, cocoa, or powdered leafy greens… well, the basic oat and protein powder shake gives you everything you need for a pre-workout meal, but what if you pair your shakes with some delicious oat pancakes?

Why eat oat pancakes before training?

If you ask someone who knows a little about nutrition which macronutrients are needed to build muscle, their answer will probably be protein. Although protein is definitely the most important, carbohydrates and fats also play a role in the muscle-building process. In fact, unless you are defining your muscles, a good portion of your calories should come from carbohydrates, because they are the body's main source of energy and should not be forgotten when designing a dietary plan.

• The main function of the carbohydrates in oat pancakes is to provide the body with energy, so it is important to get enough of them to support an intense workout.
• The other reason to consume oat pancakes is so that the body uses carbohydrates for energy as it is supposed to, rather than breaking down the protein in your food or in your body.

In most cases, the best carbohydrates are complex carbohydrates that contain plenty of fiber and are burned very slowly in your body. From every perspective, adding oats is a perfect solution as an energy source, as well as a slow-burning carbohydrate. Although eating them in a bowl or a shake can be very boring, things change when you prepare them as oat pancakes, either with fruits such as bananas or apples, or with nuts and fresh berries.

Do oat pancakes contain anabolic nutrients?

As mentioned earlier, oats contain 11 grams of protein per cup (dry); while this is excellent, adding a little extra protein helps increase the total amount of protein you consume in your pre-workout shakes.

Well, most non-animal protein sources are incomplete proteins and must be combined with other food sources to complete the required profile. The limiting amino acid in oat pancakes (as well as in other cereals and whole grains) is lysine, and to complete the amino acid profile required for muscle development, lysine must be obtained from other sources; if the sources are plant-based, we are talking about beans and lentils, but in general, the whey protein in a shake with oat pancakes makes an excellent combination.

In addition to having good complex carbohydrates and protein, oats also contain nutrients that the body uses to build muscle. One cup of dry oats contains 3.4 mg of iron and 0.9 mg of niacin (vitamin B3); iron helps transport oxygen into the bloodstream and muscles, while B vitamins help convert carbohydrates into energy and properly use proteins.

Although we will not discuss their beneficial fiber, oat pancakes also contain many vitamins and minerals such as thiamine, folic acid, biotin, and vitamin E. All of these have a positive effect on the immune system and can accelerate your body's response to infection and help your body heal faster. This is an indirect benefit for building muscle, since it is very difficult to train and achieve results when you are sick.