What you choose to eat in the window before you begin training makes a huge difference to your performance, how you feel during your workout, and your recovery between sessions.
Fuelling efficiently for a training session is an underrated training tool, so we will dive into the what, why, and how!
A little bit of science to kick us off
During exercise, our muscles require glucose for fuel. When we consume carbohydrates, they are broken down into glucose before being absorbed into our blood. Any glucose that is not immediately used will be converted into glycogen and stored in the liver or muscles.
During short bouts of exercise or high-intensity workouts, your muscles will use stored glucose as energy, hence these stores must be full before exercising. If not, your body begins to look to other sources of energy. Thus, having readily available carbohydrates will allow you to exercise at a higher intensity for longer, i.e., getting the most out of your workouts!
Our bodies can also burn fat for energy, which is the primary fuel source for lower-intensity exercise and longer workouts. This is because our liver and muscle glycogen stores are limited and can only hold so much, and so when they are depleted the body must dip into fat stores. Where your body has the choice, it will choose carbohydrates as its first point of call.
You can find out more about carbohydrates, fats, and protein in our blog article on macronutrients here.
So how do I now put this into practice?
In an ideal scenario, you want to have a well-balanced meal 2-3 hours before working out, containing a mixture of carbohydrates, protein, and a small amount of fat to provide adequate energy to fuel your workout. Having this a few hours prior allows digestion to occur before commencing your workout, preventing stomach discomfort during exercise.
Both fats and protein slow down the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, so the closer your meal is to your workout, the less fat, and protein you want to eat. Eating too much fat close to your training may lead to stomach discomfort – which is far from ideal!
Good examples of meals to eat 2-4 hours before include:
If you only have 45 – 90 mins before your session, you want to have a smaller, easy-to-digest snack made up predominantly of carbohydrates and protein. Some good examples include:
Just keep in mind that the closer you eat to your workout, the less time you will have to digest these foods, so aim to choose something you know you can digest easily.
What happens when you train first thing in the morning?
If you’re an early bird exerciser, then of course you don’t want to be setting the alarm for 4 am so you can get your pre-workout porridge in! It comes down to personal preference if you like to have something small before, or if you are happy to train while fasted first thing. It can be a great idea to have something small such as a banana or a slice of toast with honey to provide a quick energy source. This is recommended if you are doing a strength session or high-intensity session over 60 minutes.
If you struggle to stomach something first thing, which is very common, then there are two options you can look at. Firstly, you can try a liquid-based snack, like fruit juice, coconut water, or even blending some protein powder with juice or coconut water to get a small amount of protein in alongside carbohydrates. Alternatively, if you are training while fasting, I suggest ensuring that you have had an adequate meal containing carbohydrates, protein, and fats the night before. That way, you have sufficient glycogen stores in the body ready to provide fuel for your early morning workout. If you don’t implement one or both options, you may experience feeling light-headed or lethargic.
Whilst training fasted does encourage your body to use fat stores for fuel, if you feel lethargic and light-headed during your morning session, you are likely to fatigue sooner and drop the intensity of your workout. This means that your workout won’t be as effective as it might be if your body has had adequate fuel. Also, sometimes training fasted can leave you feeling very hungry, causing you to overeat for the rest of the day. As you will remember from our blog 7 must-know fundamental nutritional principles for fat loss, being in a calorie deficit is superior to a fasted weights session.
I like using the car analogy: food to us is like petrol to a car. If your fuel tank is empty, you won’t get very far. Trying to workout after a long fast with very little in the tank won’t get you very far.
It will always come down to personal preference and figuring what works for you. I suggest experimenting with different options until you find the one that fits your needs best. Listen to your body! It will also depend on the goal and intensity of your training. Spending a little extra time planning and focussing on your pre-workout nutrition is a tool that can make a huge impact on training performance, but is so often overlooked. Having more fuel in the tank means more energy, which means you’ll be faster, stronger, and more alert when exercising. Win win win!!
We will be diving into what to eat after your workout in our next blog post, so keep your eyes out for that one!
Nutritionist Becs
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