Pre & Post-Workout Nutrition

Figuring out how to properly fuel yourself before, during, and after training can be difficult. 

What works best for you doesn’t work for everyone else and what works for you today may not tomorrow. 

When it comes to prioritizing exercise nutrition, sufficient daily calories will always be most important. If you’ve got that down and want to improve performance, taking a look at your pre and post-workout nutrition can help.

You may have heard of the anabolic window, a bro-centric sense of urgency to slam protein immediately after lifting or risk losing gains. 

In reality, most folks can see benefits from eating their pre and post-workout meals roughly 3-6 hours apart. Those that eat less, are leaner, or exercise with super high volume may have more specific needs.

Pre-Workout

Meal Composition:

What you eat before exercising can determine how effective your session will be which in turn can determine how much muscle you’ll grow. 

Carbs are the most important macro to give your energy. A good rule of thumb is to include roughly .5g per pound of body weight or about 25% of your daily carb intake in your pre-workout meal. 

Protein is less important before but you should include some. .25g per pound of bodyweight is sufficient.

Because fat is the hardest macro to digest, eating it too close to your session can cause gut distress. You don’t have to eliminate it completely but somewhere in the 0-15g range is good, depending on how well you tolerate it.

Pre-Workout Meal Timing:

Depending on your individual needs and circumstances, eating 1-1.5 hours before exercising is typically optimal. Keep in mind that eating too close to your workout could cause an upset stomach, but, eating too early could cause lightheadedness or insufficient fuel. 

It’s a balancing act and may take a bit of trial and error to understand your specific needs. 

If you don’t have a lot of time to eat beforehand, aim for a lower calorie snack with quick digesting carbs. 

Pre-Workout Meal ideas: 

• When you have more time:

  • Protein oats with fruit and a little peanut butter 

  • Large sweet/baked potato with some chicken breast and apple slices

  • PB&J

  • Protein pancakes/waffles

• When you’re short on time:

  • Rice cakes with protein peanut butter

  • Protein shake and a banana

  • DIY Lunchable with low-fat mozzarella, deli slices, and crackers

  • Clif bar

  • Sour candy/gummy worms

No Pre-Workout?

Some folks just perform better when fasted, especially if you’re training early in the morning. This isn’t a big deal and you aren’t going to see major negative effects if this is just how you prefer to operate.

If you do skip your meal before, incorporating an intra-workout snack may be beneficial (more on that later).

Post-workout

After working out, your number one priority is to replenish your carbohydrate stores and begin recovery. 

Meal Composition:

You’ll need protein to begin the process of muscle protein synthesis. Aim for a minimum of 30g with your post-workout meal.

Carbs, though still important, play less of a role after you train. Anywhere from .5-.75g per pound of bodyweight will be sufficient here.

Fats will have less of an impact after training because you will have more time to digest. 10-15g with your post-workout is a general rule of thumb. 

Post-Workout Meal Timing:

Just like your pre-workout meal, when you eat after exercise is going to depend on your individual needs, preferences, and circumstances. You’ll just have to find what works best for you.

For most folks, eating 1-1.5 hours after will optimize recovery. 

Meal Ideas:

• Tofu and potatoes with a side of veggies and fruit

• Chicken breast and rice with a side of fruit and veggies

• Protein pasta with red sauce and ground turkey

• Stir fry with steak, chicken, or tofu and rice

• Protein shake with fruit

Intra Workout

An intra workout is most beneficial for folks who’ve skipped a meal before working out or who didn’t eat several hours before or had a long, grueling training session with high volume. 

Otherwise, if you sufficiently fuel beforehand, an intra workout isn’t super necessary. Unless you just really want it, in which case, go for it!

Intra Composition & Timing

You’ll want roughly .5 carbs for every hour of your workout starting at about half an hour in.

So, if you’re training for 60 minutes, you’ll want to get in about 15g carbs. (Start at the 30 min mark leaves 30 mins in your workout x .5 = 15)

Intra Ideas:

• Regular Gatorade (not zero, you want the sugar)

• Sour candy

• Gummy worms/bears

Special Considerations

If exercising totally fasted is your jam, again, not an issue. Have something like fruit or a protein shake available shortly after you’re done to get in some nutrition for recovery and then eat a full meal whenever you can next. 

Athletes and those who exercise for greater than 2 hours: you may want to consider adding EAAs (essential amino acids) to your intra workout. 30-60g of gel or liquid carbs for every hour of training will also improve performance with intense exercise. 

If you’re a competitive athlete, your nutrition and timing should be catered specifically for your needs. Work with a coach to understand exactly what your peri nutrition plan should be. 

Closing

It’s obvious why it’s so hard to hammer down a clear-cut answer on pre and post-workout nutrition. Individual needs, meals and timing, digestion, training volume, intensity, length, and personal preference are all factors that can change effect the nutrition you need. 

The general population doesn’t need a specific plan. Eat enough calories in your day, have some carbs and a little protein before working out and have some protein and little carbs after.

It doesn’t have to be complicated (it just can be).