What Should I Eat Before Working Out

What Should I Eat Before Working Out

Pre-Workout Nutrition

A very common question is what people should eat before exercising or working out. This will differ slightly from person to person and their preferences but there are a few things to know that work for almost everyone. Let’s get into it!

Macros

Ideally, you want to go into a workout fueled and ready to go, to not only maximize performance but also minimize muscle damage. Each macronutrient will play a role in your workout and will be dependent on the exercise intensity.

Carbohydrates

For most people, carbohydrates are the main source of fuel in the body. Your body takes carbohydrates and turns them into glucose for fuel, your body will also store this in your muscles as glycogen. These both will be your energy source for more intense workouts and higher energy outputs. If you deplete these sources your body will need to use fat storage as energy, but at this stage, your output will diminish. From a fat loss perspective, you may be thinking this is ideal but ideally, you would like to burn the carbohydrates you ingest for exercise and use stored fat for less intense movement throughout the day.

It would be recommended to intake carbohydrates before working out to maximize performance in exercise. The amount would be dependent on the type of exercise you are doing but for most people, 40g would be sufficient to help fuel a workout.

Protein

Intaking protein before any workout is recommended, this consumption has proven to lead to improved athletic performance and also an increase in protein synthesis. This is ideal for building and repairing your muscles from the work that you put in. 

It would be recommended to eat at least 25g of protein before exercise to provide your body with the ability to grow and repair muscle fibers. 

Fat

Fat is also an energy source that is stored in the body as glycogen and can be broken down to be used by the body as glucose. The issue is this process is much longer and likely takes several hours to do so. Therefore, while it is important to ingest fat before working out you would need to do so many hours prior for it to affect your workout. Fat may sit in your stomach longer to digest which may affect your workout, because of this many people do not like ingesting higher amounts of fat before working out.

Timing

Ideally, given digestion times, eating a full meal of complex carbohydrates, protein, and fat would be done 2-3 hours before working out. This ensures your food is properly digested into its ready-to-use form by your body to fuel a workout. 

Water

Hydration is essential in performing your best. You should drink about 2-3 glasses of water 1-2 hours before exercise to ensure you are properly hydrated for your workout. This will help with not only the lubrication of your muscles but also your strength. Dehydration can reduce muscle strength by up to 5%, which is more than enough reason to stay hydrated.

Pre Workout Meal Examples:

Examples:

Lean Protein, Rice, Vegetables

A Sandwich

Egg Bagel with Fruit

If you are going to eat with less time before your workout (around an hour) it would be recommended to eat more simple carbohydrates and a little less protein. This will ensure the carbohydrates get digested faster into glucose and you will not have things bouncing around in your stomach while you are working out. Because of digestion time, eating a lot of something will not help you with a workout shorter than 1 hour, unless your workout is longer than just save most of it for after.

Examples:

Protein Fruit Smoothie

Banana and Greek Yogurt

Half Sandwich

Pre-Workout Nutrition

Depending on when you workout in the day some of this may or may not be possible. If you are a first thing-in-the-morning exerciser, eat something really small and easy for your body to digest and then focus on a larger post-workout meal. If you work out in the evening, it will be easier to fuel your body 2-3 hours before working out and this is less of an issue. But properly fueling your workout does help maximize your performance as well as help you build and maintain muscle from your workout. Working out is hard there is no reason to make it harder on your body.

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