Pre Workout: What To Eat | Nutrition

You got questions? Hopefully I have the answer. In today’s Q and A. I’m gonna go over what to eat – pre workout so a question was asked in the group, and I’m gonna be honest with you guys they asked Sam, I need to know what to eat pre-workout, post-workout, it doesn’t matter really based on my activity. It doesn’t matter if I’m doing HIIT training that day or I’m doing strength training, or if I’m doing aerobic training, what do I need to eat pre and post-workout in terms of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and all that stuff. I tried to make a video on that, but it ended up being about 10 minutes long and nobody wants to sit and watch a 10 minute video. So we’re gonna keep this one nice and short. I’m gonna stick to pre-workout today. And then we’ll make more videos later on covering the post-workout nutrition.

So pre-workout nutrition, based on your activity. So let’s talk about HIIT training, strength training, and endurance training. Okay. What do you want pre-workout really, for all three of those, your safest bet is to have a source of carbohydrates and a little bit of protein beforehand. Things we want to consider. How does our body digest the carbohydrates we’re eating and the protein we’re eating?, how much of that are we gonna eat? how do, does it make us feel afterwards? So you wanna think about all those things beforehand. So if you’re eating a protein source that yeah, maybe a good protein source, but you know that it gives you gas or indigestion. Probably not something you’re gonna want to eat before a workout. Same thing with carbohydrates. Now, typically you just want a simple, nice fast-acting carbohydrate. You can have like white rice, you can have some fruits, some vegetables and then a lighter source of protein is gonna be good pre-workout.

When you want to eat those, you’re gonna want to eat those at least two hours beforehand to tap into that energy. Why do we eat carbohydrates? And before, before those activities… simply, it’s gonna give you more energy throughout when you start to train your body burns through glucose, that is the sugar in your blood. And we wanna just make sure there’s enough of that so you can keep on pushing throughout the workout. Really, no matter what activity it is, how do those three – HIIT, endurance or strength training, carbohydrates and a little bit of protein are gonna be the best that hands down, remember two hours beforehand. Now I’ll give you a little nuance information for all my low carb lovers out there. If you are on the low carb diet, which I don’t really recommend, if you’re really chasing performance in the gym, it’s gonna be a lot more difficult, but let’s just say you really like your low carb diet. 

What can you do pre-workout for that? You can, um, really have a decent little bit of fat source. You’re not gonna wanna really overload fat before you train, because it’s gonna make you feel a little bit fuller, kind of that bloated feeling, and a little bit of protein beforehand. And one thing you’re gonna want to do is make sure that you have adequate amounts of electrolytes in your system. So a good electrolytes supplements – LMNT, that’s a lot of sodium things like that.

That’s gonna keep you hydrated through your workout, and you’re definitely gonna want to drink a big, big glass of water. And that goes for all my low carb people and all my people that do enjoy carbohydrates. So to recap really quick to bring it all together, pre-workout about two hours before you’re gonna want to stick to a nice fast acting source of carbohydrates. 

I would recommend some fruit or maybe some white rice, and then a good source of protein, any type of lean meat, that’s easily digestible for you. And then if you’re a low carb advocate, make sure you’re drinking lots of water, get some sodium, some magnesium in you before your training. And then you can have a little bit of fat as well. All right. That covers it for today for pre-workout meals. I hope you found some value in this video. If you’d liked it, give me a thumbs up. If you’d love it, gimme a heart and as always stay strong.

-EarthFIT Coach Sam