Do you find it difficult to concentrate during your workout sessions? Get exhausted sooner than normal? These might be signals that you aren’t giving your body the ‘nutrition attention’ that it needs. In this article, we’ll cover how important are pre-workout meals?
While one might think more exercise and a low intake of food can help you reduce weight faster, working out on an empty stomach is not a good idea.
How important are pre-workout meals?
Pre-workout meals are an essential component of any fitness programme. Eating the appropriate meals before a workout will help fuel your exercises, speed up your outcomes, and help you get closer to your health and fitness objectives. Not only will optimal nutritional intake before exercise help you enhance your performance, but it will also help you avoid muscle injury.
If you want to exercise within an hour of having breakfast, consume a small snack that is high in carbohydrates and offers energy, such as:
- A banana.
- Toasted whole grain
- Cereal or granola
- A sports drink or a tumbler of juice
It is important to keep a note of the size of the meal that you are having. While eating a very small portion can leave you starving, having too much can make you feel sluggish. Consider these easy principles to maintain the right diet:
- Large meals should be had 2-3 hours before exercising.
- 1-2 hours before an exercise, small meals or snacks should be ingested.
- Snacks for a rapid burst of energy should be had 30-60 minutes prior to the activity.
Read more: Why Are Bodyweight Exercises Harder Than Weights
Benefits of pre-workout meals
Pre-workout meals bring in a number of advantages. Pre-workout meals are really important. Eating the right foods at the right time before your workout sessions can improve your results significantly.
Boost Your Performance
It’s never a smart idea to go to the gym when you’re fatigued. A good pre-workout meal can help you perform better by providing your body with everything it needs to operate at its best. Fueling your body with good foods before, during, and after your workout will provide you energy and keep you focused.
Muscle development and maintenance, as well as recovery, can be aided by eating the right foods. Your body converts glycogen to glucose while you work out. This is important for muscular contraction. Reduce muscle glycogen depletion by providing your body with the proper pre-training diet. What is the most effective method for accomplishing this? Carbs. Carbohydrates must be used to restore glycogen stores so that it does not run out.
Reduce Protein Degradation
Pre-workout meals are important as they reduce protein degradation. Not only do you want to grow muscle, but you also want to make sure you keep it. Protein synthesis must equal or surpass protein breakdown for this to occur.
BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids) are protein’s building components. You may take an amino acid supplement before a workout or get these amino acids from your normal protein sources including poultry, meat, fish, dairy products, soy products, legumes, and nuts.
You inhibit muscle breakdown for energy when you fill your muscle reserves with protein.
Avoid Fatigue
Your energy levels diminish while you exercise, and your muscles might feel weary. When your pre-workout diet has the correct nutrients, though, you’re providing your body with the fuel it needs to operate at its best.
You can make every activity count and avoid becoming exhausted too fast when your body has the energy to burn.
Read more: Exercises to Avoid for Shoulder Impingement
Pre-workout meal: When is the best time to have a pre-workout meal?
The timing of your meal is a crucial factor to consider when it comes to pre-workout nutrition. Eating a large amount of food just before an exercise might leave you bloated and sick.
A complete meal should be had 2–3 hours before your activity. The earlier you eat before your activity, the smaller and easier the meal should be.
A pre-workout meal may not be necessary for those who consume a well-balanced diet and eat regularly throughout the day. Exercising in the afternoon, within an hour or two of lunch, for example, may be sufficient to keep you energised.
You may need a small snack if you plan to exercise more than two hours after eating, as you may grow weary sooner and find it difficult to concentrate throughout your activity.
Pre-workout meal: What Should You Eat?
Focus on your macronutrient or “macro” consumption to get the most out of your exercises and recuperation. This means that your pre-workout meals should mostly consist of carbs with a little amount of protein.
Choose simpler carbohydrates and protein for meals consumed closer to your activity. Eat a balanced breakfast with carbohydrates, protein, and fat 2–3 hours before you exercise to get the most out of your workout. Choose foods that are easy to digest and contain mostly carbohydrates and some protein if you eat 45–60 minutes before your activity.
To get you started, here are some meal suggestions:
Pre-exercise meals that should be consumed two to four hours prior to the workout:
- Nut butter and sliced banana on two pieces of wholemeal bread
- Oatmeal with nuts and seeds
- An omelette
- A small serving of poached chicken with rice and sweet potato on the side
30 minutes to an hour before a workout, eat the following snacks:
- Protein smoothie
- A handful of almonds and a bit of fruit
- A small pot of plain yoghurt with banana slices
- A protein bar
We hope our article on how important is a pre-workout meal was helpful. Enroll in our 6262 fitness online fitness classes to achieve your fitness goals.