Your pre-workout meal could be the most important of the day because it can determine your performance in the gym. In this blog we will break down how you should go about setting up your pre-workout nutrition to prepare yourself for a solid session.
The importance of pre-workout nutrition
What you eat pre-workout is essentially how you fuel your body to perform at your best in the gym. If you were to go into the gym without considering how your nutrition can impact your session then you may find that performance drops off or fatigue is higher.
The best pre-workout meal
When setting up your pre-workout nutrition there are 3 considerations that you need to make:
1. What type of session will you be doing
2. How long until this food gives you energy
3. How easy will the meal be to digest
Taking them three points into consideration it will be time to make some smart food choices to fuel your sessions. The best pre-workout meal for you will take some testing as you will need to find what foods agree best with you.
For your pre-workout to enhance performance you should look for some easy / quick digesting carbohydrates. This could be something like, banana, dates, cereal, cereal bar.
Paired with that carbohydrate source, you should look to hydrate and salt and be a good addition to enhance your pump in the gym. You could even use a non-stim pre-workout to increase blood flow to the muscle that you are training.
The final part of your pre-workout nutrition would be caffeine (if you drink caffeine). Investing in a pre-workout supplement or having something like a coffee will increase energy levels before going into your session.
Timing of pre-workout
To get the most out of your pre-workout nutrition, it depends on the food choices that you are making. If you were to have some quick and easy digestible carbs you will notice that you get an energy boost going into your workout without feeling bloated.
If you are taking a pre-workout supplement that is high in caffeine, it is recommended that you take it 15-20 minutes before training so the caffeine can get into your system for the start of your training session.
Hydration
Staying hydrated during a session is important but getting hydrated before you go into a training session is just as important. Training in a dehydrated state can have a negative impact on performance therefore it is crucial to hydrate properly before training.
So how do we do it? To hydrate effectively, you should be looking for 1-2 litres of water throughout the day before you train and having some sodium (salt) will allow your body to retain this water to keep you hydrated and fuelled to perform.
Pre-workout meal ideas
Here are some examples of pre-workout meals that you could have 1-2 hours before training as they're slower to digest:
Option 1
- Oats
- Berries
- Whey
- Milk / Water
Option 2
- Pasta
- Tuna
- Mayo
- Peas
Here are some examples of pre-workout meals / snacks that you could have 30-45 minutes before training as they're quicker to digest:
- Toast with jam
- Fruit
- Cereal
- Cereal Bars
- Dried fruit
- Fruit Juices
Summary
Your pre-workout meal will play a big role in how you perform in the gym, therefore paying attention in how you set it up could be the reason why you break past a plateau. Be smart with your food choices and you can level up your training performance.
