Setting Up Your Pre & Post Workout Nutrition For Maximum Success
For today’s post, I have a guest post submission from Adriana Lima. Find out more about Adriana at the end of the article.
If you’re looking to make the most out of your weight lifting workout routine, one thing that you absolutely must make sure you’re not overlooking is your pre and post workout nutrition.
Far too many people spend hours coming up with their workout strategy that they will bring them top notch results but then fail to even consider what they’re eating around the workout period.
The fact of the matter is that unless you are supplying your muscles with the key nutrients that they’ll need for both performing that workout in the first place and then recovering from it as quickly as possible, chances are you will be left without the results you were hoping for.
Let’s take a bit of time to go over the main facts that you must know about around workout nutrition.
Drop All The Fat
The very first thing that you should be doing with your pre and post workout nutrition is making sure to drop all of the fat out of these meals. Fat at this time is only going to slow down the digestive process and make it that much harder for those critical nutrients to cross into the muscle cells.
Consuming too much fat before and after your workout can also cause you to feel incredibly sluggish and slow, which you definitely begin to hinder performance.
For top results, aim to keep these two meals fat free if at all possible.
Get Your Carbs Straight
Next, you need to make sure that you’ve gotten your carb strategy figured out right. Since carbohydrates are going to be the only type of fuel that the muscles are able to use during weight lifting forms of activity, you definitely can’t go without these.
Added to that, carbs will be what gets directed immediately into the muscle cells to improve the recovery that’s seen after your session, so again, something that you cannot do without.
For your carbohydrate choices, choose a slower digesting source of carbohydrate before the workout as this will prevent a blood sugar crash during the workout, which would very quickly cause weakness, and then choose faster digesting carbohydrates immediately after the workout is finished.
By choosing simple carbs after the workout session they will spike your insulin levels and make sure that they move immediately into the muscles for storage purposes. This is the one period of the day when you do actually want simple carbs, so don’t skip out on them.
Choose The Proper Protein Source
Third you’ll come to your protein selection. Protein is going to be important to supply the muscles with the amino acids that they use to form the structure of the muscle cells, therefore cannot be looked over.
Ideally you want a fast acting source of protein at this time as well, which is why a good quality whey isolate powder is your best bet.
If you pair this protein with your smart source of carbs, you can definitely rest easy that you’re giving your muscles absolutely everything that they need.
Never Skip These Meals For Faster Fat Loss
Finally, the last point to note when it comes to your pre and post workout nutrition is that you should never skip over these even if the goal is fat loss.
Some people mistakenly believe that if they want to see fastest fat loss results, doing away with these meals is a smart move.
Unfortunately it’s not. By not consuming your pre and post workout meals you’re significantly hindering the progress that you’ll make and will only risk losing lean muscle mass.
If you need to cut back on your calories in order to provoke further fat loss, do so at any other time in the day other than your pre and post workout nutrition. This is the one period when you absolutely cannot sacrifice good nutrition if you want to maintain solid workouts and get great results.
So there you have all the tips that you must know about pre and post workout nutrition. The calorie intake of these two meals will vary based on your total daily calorie intake, but you should aim for no fewer than 200 calories per meal. Many times, especially if you’re geared toward muscle building, you’ll find calorie intakes go up much higher than this and may even approach the 1000 calorie mark in extreme cases.
This article is contributed by Adana, a fitness enthusiast who loves hitting the gym & owns a website offering adjustable dumbbells for sale.
Pingback: 4 Tips for Pre and Post Workout Nutrition: What to Eat When
Vince
April 27, 2011 at 7:27 pm
Consuming a high protein diet combined with the right amount of carbs results in the perfect diet for people who are working out. Generally it’s best to consume protein right after coming from the gym, so that muscles get more nutrition and don’t shrink.
Andreas
June 16, 2011 at 5:51 am
I would do quick carbs first and then the protein. Protein should be 40 minutes after your workout.
Jessica J. Marsh@basketball workouts
April 19, 2011 at 9:53 pm
This is such a timely post. I didn’t know that pre workout meal will greatly affect the workout outcome. I used to think that all you eat will get consumed (energy) after doing some weightlifting or running. I certainly going to recommend this to my friend who is doing basketball workouts lately.
Robert E. Dickson
January 4, 2011 at 3:24 am
One should not generalize too much when discussing exercise and nutrition. The type, length, and intensity of the exercise is extremely important in determining the correct nutrition and supplementation plans…as are the goals and physical condition of the exerciser.
I have specialized in losing excess body fat (not just weight) and increasing lean body mass (which is imperative to permanent fat loss).
A recent study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise (American College of Sports Medicine), demonstrated that consuming whey protein (20g protein) 30 minutes before resistance training boosts your body’s metabolism for as much as 24 hours after your workout. This is just one of the many well-designed studies which have demonstrated this. This supplementation also helps to conserve muscle during intense weight training, partially due to the high amounts of BCAA’s in quality (non-denatured) whey protein.
As for the post-workout whey, creatine, simple carb recovery drink…this has been proven to be effective (for this goal and type of training) over and over again in numerous, well-designed studies for years now.
As to my experience, I have more than 40 years as a personal trainer and have worked with National Champions, World Champions, Olympians, and professional athletes in 5 different sports…none of which have been endurance sports (which is a whole different ballgame), which is why I have never claim to be an expert in this field. I also work with many show business people. These groups of people (and others) are serious about every aspect of their regimens. For people who are not serious about exercising properly, it doesn’t really matter how they exercise or what they eat, so I do not address this group.
People who are truly interested in the recent research and facts about exercising (including aerobic exercise for fat loss) and fat-loss nutrition should check out my book, “Cut Thru The Crap of Exercise and Fat-Loss Nutrition” (5 star rating on Amazon) at http://www.CTTChealthpublishing.com
Gregg
January 3, 2011 at 10:06 am
i have found that eating before a workout tends to make me sluggish because blood that i need for muscle work is in my stomach digesting food and slows me down. Better to eat a energy or protein bar and use the post workout meal. Then my muscles get the protein and nutrients needed for body building or repair. Know your body. One routine doesnt work for everyone i have found.
Head Coach
January 2, 2011 at 10:22 am
I’ve been training athletes from weekend warriors to professional basketball players and even national record holding powerlifters. This in addition to my own experience of growing from 5’10″ at 115lbs to the same height of 5’10″ at 185lbs with approximately 8% bodyfat and an ectomorphic build.
After 21 years of trying every pre and post workout scheme I’ve read and studying biochemistry in college where I did my graduate research in the field of human nutrition and performance, I just cannot agree with this consensus of what is being said above. It just stinks of an ongoing marketing campaign by protein companies.
Personally I’ve found that eating raw food gives me much more energy and recuperative ability. This is especially true of some of the collegiate basketball players and MMA athletes who compete year-round. Eating conventional protein based schemes had them worn down very rapidly. If they ate a raw food diet and minimized or eliminated their animal protein sources (including whey), they found it next to impossible to overtrain even during the post-season when things get both emotionally and physically grinding.
So the bottom line in my dissenting opinion is that if you eat raw (living) food like nuts, grains, etc as your staple with some soy meat for taste and texture instead of denatured food like whey and other heated animal protein, you will not only recover faster if you are an athlete but you will lose fat. I’ve noticed that a raw food diet allows excess calories beyond what is needed for nitrogen retention will be converted to heat instead of being stored as fat.
Bottom line is that I used to buy into all of this hype with respect to protein and timing meals. The body is the most efficient machine on the planet. There’s no way that we can come up with anything that is better than what nature can provide.
Andreas
June 16, 2011 at 5:54 am
The article does not state you shall consume every 2 hours a protein shake. I would like to know more about your references and who you coach.
Thanks Coach
Ken Adams, M.D.
December 28, 2010 at 1:00 pm
I agree with a significant amount of your article. What I think you need to make clearer though is that post work out meal does not necessarily require protein supplementation. By stating you should have whey protein post work out, you suggest that you should have a protein shake or something like that. Because of the issue with fluids and satiety, I think people who workout and then have a protein shake will also end up having a meal on top of that shake and that will be too many calories.
Likewise to @RobertDickson, protein supplementation prior to workout doesn’t allow for glucagon depletion to occur and subsequent lipolysis to occur.
Bottom line, people severely overestimate the calories burned during their workouts. The average individual who is not working out for 75 minutes + probably do not need pre or post workout supplementation. This however does NOT apply to the professional cyclists that I deal with on the USCycling Team or the people who are more serious about their workouts and not just trying to lose weight.
Great article though!
Bill Nad
December 22, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Good stuff. As much as I watch and think about what is important for meals, I think that making sure that eating correctly before and after workouts will help the most. Whenever I workout I want to get the most out of my body at the gym (and leave nothing there) but also I want to recover as quickly as possible.
I used to overtrain a lot and I think the eating poorly around my workouts was a big part of that.
Robert E. Dickson
December 22, 2010 at 4:58 pm
The energy you need to successfully complete a 45-60 minute exercise program is determined firstly by how and what you have eaten during the past 24–48 hours, and lastly by what you have eaten 2–3 hours before you exercise. If you need a pre-exercise energy drink (or carbs) to get through a one-hour exercise program, then there is something seriously wrong with your daily nutrition program.
If you are trying to lose excess body fat, then drink a whey protein shake 30-45 minutes before exercising. It has nothing to do with providing energy for your exercise session, but will enhance the fat-burning process during exercise. 10-15 grams of whey protein powder mixed in plain, cool water will do the trick.
A pre-exercise energy drink containing carbohydrates will negatively affect your body’s ability to
use body fat during and after exercise so, if you are exercising to lose body fat, drinking one of
these would be a huge mistake.
The positive effects of a whey, simple carb, creatine after exercise recovery drink has been demonstrated for years now in dozens of well-designed studies!!!
Susan@Home Workouts
December 22, 2010 at 10:00 am
You raise some interesting points, but I am still not convinced that for one to lose fat they must consume a pre and post workout meal. For building muscle, which I am not an expert on, it is my thought that a post workout meal is best. For fat loss, 9 times out of 10 when it comes to fat loss, any meal a person consumes pre or post workout will negate their workout efforts anyway. I believe the jury is still out on pre and post workout meals for fat loss as their is plenty of evidence for both sides of the fence.
My general suggestion is for the average person who has weight to lose, not to worry about pre and post workout nutrition. At least not until the research can convince me otherwise.
Jarret
December 22, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Hey Susan, proponents of ‘intermittent fasting’ regimes seem to include days where they don’t have a pre-workout meal, but focus more on the post-workout meal component. Some, I believe tend to take a pre-workout supplement of branched-chain amino acids instead.