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How you prepare your pre-workout nutrition will greatly affect your performance during workout. In reaching your target and seeing noticeable results later you'll need to have enough energy to finish your workout routine. This is where your pre-workout meal becomes a big help in reaching your workout goals. This type of nutrition can also be applied before starting any intense physical activity other than your regular exercise.
Preparing for a workout is like preparing to go on a trip, play a game, go to a party, and so on, where we make good preparations to have the best experience. Preparation is especially important when we are building good health, although this task can easily be overlooked, especially when we are in a rush for something or give little importance to it.
Preparing for workout would mainly involve nutrition. Whether you are heading for the gym to do some weightlifting or going for a walk or maybe jog, whatever your workout is you need to make sure that you are properly hydrated and are eating the right foods that will give you enough energy to finish your workout session.
Around 65-70% of calories in your pre-workout nutrition should come from carbohydrates and 15% of calories coming from protein. The carbs you’ll need here are complex carbs (natural carbs that are slow to burn) coming from fruits, vegetables, whole grain, cereal, etc. Complex carbs will give you longer energy. Avoid simple sugar from processed food because this makes you lose energy during workout. If your workout is just an hour away, you need to eat around 300 calories. If your workout is three hours away, you may eat around 600 calories. Since these are slow-burning calories the more you eat the longer it takes to digest and convert to energy. So, what are the foods you need for your pre-exercise nutrition? Below are fruits that will energize your body:
- Banana (1 banana is around 105 calories)
- Apples (1 apple is around 95 calories)
- Peaches (1 peach is around 66 calories)
- Pineapples (1 cup of diced pineapple has around 74 calories)
- Grapes (1 cup of grapes is around 105 calories)
You can also make your favorite smoothie out of these fruits.
Other great sources would be:
- Yogurt (8 ounces low-fat is around 130 calories)
- Oatmeal (1 cup is around 145 calories)
- Raw almonds (10 almonds would give 70 calories)
- Lentils (1 cup of boiled lentils is around 290 calories - this is my number 1 pick)
- dark chocolates (1 square of at least 72% cacao content would give around 20 calories)
- brown rice (1 cup long-grain is around 216 calories)
You may combine these foods to make your pre-workout meal; just count the calories for maximum efficiency. Applying creativity here to make your meal delicious will be a simple challenge.
To make sure that you have enough fluid in the body, drink around 20 ounces of water an hour before workout. You may also drink water as you carry out your exercise to refill lost fluids.
So, there is your complete pre-workout nutrition. Another thing that is of importance is your post-workout nutrition because you'll need to replenish your body with nutrients coming from easy-to-digest natural carbs and protein within 30-60 minutes after workout.
If you need a complete meal plan and strategic workout, your best option is a good fitness program that is fully loaded with daily nutrition guide and weekly workout sessions.
Lemuel, good article. I like the breakdown of how many calories you can get from each type of food. I'm one of those skinny-unless-I-work-out kind of guys, so I actually need to find ways to get more calories in my diet, not less. Any tips for efficient muscle maintenance other than the protein powder I take now? I've been buying the "Body Fortress" brand just because it's inexpensive and does a decent job with the workout energy level and muscle maintenance afterward. If there's a better natural way, though, I'd prefer it.
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Thank you, Andrew. I think we have the same metabolism. If I don't work out I get skinny, too. :) Nutrition and enough rest is important for muscle maintenance. And pre-workout and post-workout nutrition are two of the most important meals. Although these meals can be easily overlooked, they bring very good results when it comes to building healthy muscles. Rest allows muscle repair and growth. Although there are workouts for building bigger muscles, they should be supported by precise food intake. So, knowing exactly what to eat and when to eat are crucial. I provided a link to post-workout nutrition in the above article, you might want to check that out - a lot of info there. Thanks for taking time to comment.
Hi Carmen. Those are powerful smoothies. There is another article I read which states that eating two bananas can give you power to finish a two-hour workout. :) So, now you have the pre-workout and post-workout nutrition I'm sure they will help give you better results as you workout in the gym or at home.
Great article! I should definitely try some of your advice. Most times I make the huge mistake of going to the gym directly from my office, obviosuly on an empty stomach. No need to tell about my low gym performances!
Check you final link. It didn't work when I clicked on it.
Thank you for this very informative article, Lemuel. I need all the energy I can get!
Thanks for the great info Lemuel. Now all I need to do is apply what you say. :))
Thanks Lemuel, your articles always appear very well researched.
I liked this article, Lemuel, for it's healthy eating suggestions. I'm so easily distracted I figure I could snack up and then 'forget' what I was doing it for! ;-) Seriously though this is great advice. Love your niche. You have some great stuff to offer!
This couldn't have come at a better time as I am starting to exercise and developing a healthy eating diet! Thanks!
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