Guidelines and tips on what to consider when selecting pre and post-workout nutrition, including the importance of fueling the body before and after exercise, the nutrients to look for, and when to eat based on exercise intensity and duration.
Our body needs fuel to function. Whether it’s going for a swim, training for a triathlon, CrossFit, going to a bootcamp class, or trying a HIIT workout, we want to feel and perform our best. With a wide variety of options, it can be tricky to sort out where to start and what to choose when it comes to nutrition pre and post workout. We’re here to help! We’re sharing some basic guidelines and simple tips on what to be mindful about and look for when planning your nutritious workout fuel.
Food for Fueling Your Body
Before selecting what to eat pre and post workout, it helps to know why fueling our bodies before and after a workout is so important. Your body’s demand for energy increases when you are in a state of activity like exercise, and your body has to readily draw energy from somewhere in order for you to participate in [physical activity. The foods we eat give us energy, which through the metabolic process is converted into our body’s energy currency, ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate).
Glucose is also a form of energy that we mainly consume through carbohydrates and is stored in our body as glycogen. During a workout, as the intensity increases, your body draws more energy from the stores of glycogen in your muscles. To support your body during this time, consuming a meal or snack with carbohydrates will help you power through.
When Should I Eat?
Creating a balance that works for you, with your body, is the best place to begin.
Plan to consume food 1 - 2 hours before and after a workout as it will help prime your body for a workout beforehand, and replenish your body afterwards supporting recovery.
Just as with all things in life, this is not a one size fits all, and may vary person to person. If you workout first thing in the morning, getting up an hour earlier to eat probably does not sound ideal. If that’s the case, it's okay to stay in bed and get your sleep! Instead, focus more on your post workout nutrition. If you feel that you are struggling through your workouts in the early morning having fasted (i.e. not eating anything beforehand), then maybe consider more substantial or foods with ingredients that will better support your workout the next day.
What Nutrients Should I Look For?
When considering what foods to power your workout and provide your body with the energy it needs, you’ll want to have enough of the following:
- Fuel (think: calories) to complete your workout
- Carbohydrates to support the production of ATP and protein to support muscle recovery
- Fluids
Leading up to your workout, make sure that the foods you consume are easily digestible so that your body can absorb the nutrients beforehand.
Post workout, your nutrition needs will be very similar to pre workout since your body will need to restore the energy sources you’ve depleted during exercise. Foods that include both carbohydrates and protein will support glycogen restoration.
Something important to consider as you think about your nutrition is your exercise intensity and duration. For less strenuous exercise (think: a long walk, or a gentle yoga class) following your normal dietary habits is a great choice! For more strenuous exercise (think: a long run, or a HIIT class) eating a meal or snack ahead of time may help you perform your best.
Where Do I Find the Nutrients I Need?
Based on the intensity and duration of your workout, there’s a number of options when choosing what to eat. Here’s a quick guide on our go-to fuel for before and after a workout.
- Pre workout: light easily digestible nutrients, carbohydrates for easily accessible energy
- Post workout: protein to rebuild muscle, carbohydrates to replenish glycogen stores that depleted used during exercise, and fluids for hydration
Here are some examples for you to choose your own adventure and create a meal or snack that best fits your needs:
While you try out different foods pre and post workout, you may find yourself experimenting with portions. For some, a whole banana may be enough to get their body primed and ready for a workout; for others, that may be too much. Or, half banana with a spoonful of nut butter is just the trick. Find what combination your body responds best to and what works well for you .
As you get closer to your workout time, be mindful that you don’t want to consume foods that will make you feel sluggish. Foods with a lot of fibers and fats take longer to digest. Eat food that is easy to digest so that when you start your workout, your energy is focused on building your muscles versus digesting food!
Why is it Important?
Food converts to energy. When you eat before a workout you’re giving your body the energy it needs for physical activity, and eating after a workout helps your body replenish glycogen stores that depleted during the workout.
- Protein is important surrounding your workouts because exercise is catabolic. This means that we are actually breaking down muscle mass through the creation of little micro-tears in the muscle itself. When we consume protein, we are supplying our body building blocks called amino acids that help repair the damage caused through exercise.
- Carbohydrates break down into sugars, and your body uses carbs to create ATP for energy. Before exercising, you should consume some carbohydrates to have energy readily available. After exercise, you’ll need to replenish lost stores of energy. Carbohydrates paired with a protein are also beneficial on a hormonal level, prompting insulin to be released into the body. This opens up your cells to receive recovery-favoring nutrients that will promote that healing process. Further, eating carbohydrates post workout help increase the uptake of protein. This is also known as “protein sparing.” Eating carbohydrates allows your body to use the amino acids from protein for muscle repair, and the carbohydrates are then used to replenish glucose.
As you increase your activity level, especially going from lighter more sedentary to increased intensity, practice mindfulness of how your body responds and adjust accordingly. Dialing in pre and post workout nutrition can be especially helpful when pursuing aesthetic goals or following a more athletic exercise regimen.
When feeling burnt out during longer, more intensive activity (think: a long run) it may be that your body has depleted the glycogen stores. This is why distance runners use things like energy gels. Whereas with a 30 minute walk, the duration and intensity is much lower and doesn’t require or use as much energy.
Someone training for a triathlon, or involved in heavy weight training will require a more dialed in approach to prevent injury and support recovery.
Wrapping It Up
Our body needs fuel to function and thrive. When it comes to the gym, training at home, playing sports, or long distance runs, providing your body with the best foods, before and after a workout, is one of the best ways to feel and perform your best. As you consider the foods you eat, it is helpful to take into consideration the level of intensity and duration of your workouts to determine what combination of nutrition most suits your body and lifestyle.
Guidelines and tips on what to consider when selecting pre and post-workout nutrition, including the importance of fueling the body before and after exercise, the nutrients to look for, and when to eat based on exercise intensity and duration.
Our body needs fuel to function. Whether it’s going for a swim, training for a triathlon, CrossFit, going to a bootcamp class, or trying a HIIT workout, we want to feel and perform our best. With a wide variety of options, it can be tricky to sort out where to start and what to choose when it comes to nutrition pre and post workout. We’re here to help! We’re sharing some basic guidelines and simple tips on what to be mindful about and look for when planning your nutritious workout fuel.
Food for Fueling Your Body
Before selecting what to eat pre and post workout, it helps to know why fueling our bodies before and after a workout is so important. Your body’s demand for energy increases when you are in a state of activity like exercise, and your body has to readily draw energy from somewhere in order for you to participate in [physical activity. The foods we eat give us energy, which through the metabolic process is converted into our body’s energy currency, ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate).
Glucose is also a form of energy that we mainly consume through carbohydrates and is stored in our body as glycogen. During a workout, as the intensity increases, your body draws more energy from the stores of glycogen in your muscles. To support your body during this time, consuming a meal or snack with carbohydrates will help you power through.
When Should I Eat?
Creating a balance that works for you, with your body, is the best place to begin.
Plan to consume food 1 - 2 hours before and after a workout as it will help prime your body for a workout beforehand, and replenish your body afterwards supporting recovery.
Just as with all things in life, this is not a one size fits all, and may vary person to person. If you workout first thing in the morning, getting up an hour earlier to eat probably does not sound ideal. If that’s the case, it's okay to stay in bed and get your sleep! Instead, focus more on your post workout nutrition. If you feel that you are struggling through your workouts in the early morning having fasted (i.e. not eating anything beforehand), then maybe consider more substantial or foods with ingredients that will better support your workout the next day.
What Nutrients Should I Look For?
When considering what foods to power your workout and provide your body with the energy it needs, you’ll want to have enough of the following:
- Fuel (think: calories) to complete your workout
- Carbohydrates to support the production of ATP and protein to support muscle recovery
- Fluids
Leading up to your workout, make sure that the foods you consume are easily digestible so that your body can absorb the nutrients beforehand.
Post workout, your nutrition needs will be very similar to pre workout since your body will need to restore the energy sources you’ve depleted during exercise. Foods that include both carbohydrates and protein will support glycogen restoration.
Something important to consider as you think about your nutrition is your exercise intensity and duration. For less strenuous exercise (think: a long walk, or a gentle yoga class) following your normal dietary habits is a great choice! For more strenuous exercise (think: a long run, or a HIIT class) eating a meal or snack ahead of time may help you perform your best.
Where Do I Find the Nutrients I Need?
Based on the intensity and duration of your workout, there’s a number of options when choosing what to eat. Here’s a quick guide on our go-to fuel for before and after a workout.
- Pre workout: light easily digestible nutrients, carbohydrates for easily accessible energy
- Post workout: protein to rebuild muscle, carbohydrates to replenish glycogen stores that depleted used during exercise, and fluids for hydration
Here are some examples for you to choose your own adventure and create a meal or snack that best fits your needs:
While you try out different foods pre and post workout, you may find yourself experimenting with portions. For some, a whole banana may be enough to get their body primed and ready for a workout; for others, that may be too much. Or, half banana with a spoonful of nut butter is just the trick. Find what combination your body responds best to and what works well for you .
As you get closer to your workout time, be mindful that you don’t want to consume foods that will make you feel sluggish. Foods with a lot of fibers and fats take longer to digest. Eat food that is easy to digest so that when you start your workout, your energy is focused on building your muscles versus digesting food!
Why is it Important?
Food converts to energy. When you eat before a workout you’re giving your body the energy it needs for physical activity, and eating after a workout helps your body replenish glycogen stores that depleted during the workout.
- Protein is important surrounding your workouts because exercise is catabolic. This means that we are actually breaking down muscle mass through the creation of little micro-tears in the muscle itself. When we consume protein, we are supplying our body building blocks called amino acids that help repair the damage caused through exercise.
- Carbohydrates break down into sugars, and your body uses carbs to create ATP for energy. Before exercising, you should consume some carbohydrates to have energy readily available. After exercise, you’ll need to replenish lost stores of energy. Carbohydrates paired with a protein are also beneficial on a hormonal level, prompting insulin to be released into the body. This opens up your cells to receive recovery-favoring nutrients that will promote that healing process. Further, eating carbohydrates post workout help increase the uptake of protein. This is also known as “protein sparing.” Eating carbohydrates allows your body to use the amino acids from protein for muscle repair, and the carbohydrates are then used to replenish glucose.
As you increase your activity level, especially going from lighter more sedentary to increased intensity, practice mindfulness of how your body responds and adjust accordingly. Dialing in pre and post workout nutrition can be especially helpful when pursuing aesthetic goals or following a more athletic exercise regimen.
When feeling burnt out during longer, more intensive activity (think: a long run) it may be that your body has depleted the glycogen stores. This is why distance runners use things like energy gels. Whereas with a 30 minute walk, the duration and intensity is much lower and doesn’t require or use as much energy.
Someone training for a triathlon, or involved in heavy weight training will require a more dialed in approach to prevent injury and support recovery.
Wrapping It Up
Our body needs fuel to function and thrive. When it comes to the gym, training at home, playing sports, or long distance runs, providing your body with the best foods, before and after a workout, is one of the best ways to feel and perform your best. As you consider the foods you eat, it is helpful to take into consideration the level of intensity and duration of your workouts to determine what combination of nutrition most suits your body and lifestyle.
