Elite Goals Gym

EFFECTIVE EATING BEFORE A WORKOUT

Preworkout foods should not only be easily digestible, but also easily (and conveniently) consumed. A comprehensive preworkout nutrition plan should be evaluated based on the duration and intensity of exertion, the ability to supplement during the activity, personal energy needs, environmental conditions and the start time.

For instance, a person who has a higher weight and is running in a longer-distance race likely needs a larger meal and supplemental nutrition during the event to maintain desired intensity.

Determining how much is too much or too little can be frustrating, but self-experimentation is crucial for success.

Timing is a huge consideration for preworkout nutrition. Too early and the meal is gone by the time the exercise begins; too late and the stomach is uncomfortably sloshing food around during the activity. Although body size, age, gender, metabolic rate, gastric motility and type of training are all meal-timing factors to consider, the ideal time for most people to eat is about 2-4 hours before activity.

This much lead time can allow people to safely eat up to about 1,000 nutritious calories that will be ready for fueling the activity (Smith & Collene 2015). If lead times are much shorter (a pre-7 a.m. workout, for example), eating a smaller meal of less than 300-400 calories about an hour before the workout can suffice.

It is customarily recommended that exercisers consume about 1 gram of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight 1 hour before working out, and 2 g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight if 2 hours before exercise, and so on (Dunford & Doyle 2008).