What Can You Eat Before A Workout?

Thinking about what you eat before, during and after a workout is very important to improve the quality of your workouts and your body composition. If you exercise, this article will certainly interest you, as you will learn what to eat before a workout.

Remember that in addition to rest, nutrition is essential for recovery after a workout. It also allows you to maximize performance and reduce the risk of muscle injuries. You should not neglect this important aspect when you think about sports.

What can you eat before a workout?

Whether or not you decide to eat before a workout depends a lot on your goals, the time that has passed since your last meal, and what exactly you ate in the process. You should consider the following:

• For example, if fat loss is your main goal and you will be doing moderate-intensity activities, the ideal pre-workout meal is in most cases no meal.
• On the other hand, if your goal is to build muscle mass, exercising on an empty stomach probably won’t help you at all.

To avoid possible stomach and intestinal problems that can affect your performance and jeopardize training, experts usually recommend not eating excessively fatty foods before exercising. Pre-workout meals do the following:

• Increase liver and muscle glycogen and slightly raise blood glucose levels. The latter is the main source of energy in bodybuilding workouts.

• Bring amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, into the bloodstream so that they are available to the body during exercise and thus can reduce muscle catabolism.
• Prevent insulin resistance and inflammation in the recovery phase after exercise.
• Optimize recovery after training. According to a study published in the journal Nutrients, consuming protein is essential to repair damaged tissues after exercise.

Carbohydrate intake

You should prioritize carbohydrate consumption before exercising. During physical activity, glycogen stores are extremely important. Low levels, less than 1g/100g muscle tissue, can significantly reduce sports performance.

You do have to be careful with the types of carbohydrates you decide to eat before a workout. Some carbohydrate sources even require long digestion processes. This can be due to, among other things:

• the low glycemic index.
• the amount of fat the product contains.
• the resistant starch they contain.
• the high amounts of fiber they contain.

• consuming these carbohydrate sources right after a workout.

Eating certain products and dishes before a workout can therefore have a negative influence on your performance. The reason for this is because you start exercising while still digesting the food you just ate. This means that they will not be an available source of energy during exercise.

Therefore, the most recommended carbohydrate sources contain pre-digested hydrolyzed disaccharides or polysaccharides. For example, you can meet your needs by consuming 20 to 30 grams of carbohydrates. This can be provided by eating:

• a banana
• flour from a hydrolyzed cereal product.

• maltodextrin from rice, corn or potato.

However, if you eat a lot of carbohydrates throughout the day, your need to eat carbohydrates before exercise decreases. On the other hand, if you follow an energy-restricted diet, carbohydrate intake is more relevant for training.

According to a study published in the journal Nutrients , you can consume carbohydrates through your drink during exercise. This facilitates the replenishment of used glycogen and reduces the need to consume a lot of carbohydrates beforehand.

Eating protein before a workout

Consuming protein before exercising is one way to get more amino acids into the bloodstream to increase muscle protein synthesis and prevent the breakdown of muscle tissue. 

If you have a main meal before training, so breakfast, lunch or dinner, you can take a proportional intake of proteins of the total amount you should consume per day.

• For example, if you eat 75 grams of protein per day, divided into 3 meals, you eat 25 grams per meal.
• If you want to eat an exclusive meal before a workout, you can eat 30 grams of protein. You can resort to whey protein or just eat some protein foods.

• Remember, experts have shown that ensuring proper protein intake significantly influences muscle recovery and hypertrophy.

fats

It’s important to limit your fat intake before a workout because fats slow gastric emptying. In other words, they slow down digestion by keeping food in your stomach longer. Therefore, avoid fatty foods or fatty sauces. If you’re eating 30 minutes before a workout, make sure you don’t consume more than three to four grams of fat.

Supplements

You can choose to take supplements before a workout, but the most beneficial supplement that can improve your performance is caffeine. To reap the benefits, experts recommend consuming 3-9 mg/kg of body weight 60 minutes before your workout. The best options are capsules or powders. You have to regulate the dose, as everyone has a specific caffeine sensitivity.

It can be very important to eat before a workout

You can definitely eat something before a workout. It is not prohibited or contraindicated. What experts do recommend is to plan the meal wisely to ensure it doesn’t negatively affect your workout.

You have to be careful about the carbohydrates you choose and consume proteins that help your muscles work. It is best to avoid fats if you can. If you want to take a specific supplement before your bone workout, caffeine is a great option.