Not sure what to eat before and after a workout? How about when to eat it?

It all depends on your goals and your training regimen.

Here’s a quick overview of nutrient timing and who could use it.

Determining what to eat before and after a workout all depends on your goals and training regimen. Just like your workout programming and recovery strategies, nutrient timing is a helpful tool to provide framework for performance.

For most recreational exercisers hitting a workout to look and feel their best or burn off some steam, nutrient timing probably doesn’t need to be on top of the priority list.

Instead of stressing about what to eat before and after a workout, it’s advised to:

For competitive athletes or you’ve hit a really hard workout that leaves you feeling drained or depleted, these strategies can make a big difference in energy, performance and recovery. Now you know it’s time to put some nutrients back into your system to stop muscle breakdown and replenish your glycogen stores. That being said, if nutrition isn’t dialed in the other 23 hours of the day, nutrient timing won’t really change much.

Pre-workout nutrition is essential to help athletes sustain energy, boost performance, stay hydrated, preserve muscle and enhance recovery.

Of course your actual needs will vary depending on your body size, goals and the duration and intensity of your workout.

Do you need to eat or drink during your workout?

It all depends on how long it has been since your last meal, the duration of your workout and the type of exercise you’re doing.

Did you know?
Different intensities of exercise require different fueling strategies to get the best performance. During longer exercise bouts, you may need to take on additional fuel during your session. For example:

Hydration should be such a simple thing. You workout, you sweat, you get thirsty, you drink water and repeat. But, many commercial sports drink brands have made it overly complicated and as a result, less effective. Some are laden with sugar and other “light” version have dangerous sugar substitutes, which you absolutely don’t want.

Be a label reader. Look for fast absorbing drinks that don’t have added junk in them, like Vitargo (use code: Angela15 to get 15% off!) Vitargo is a  carbohydrate fuel replenishment that you can use pre-workout, during exercise, and after to get glucose to muscle cells faster.

Post-workout nutrition is essential to help athletes recover properly, rehydrate, refuel and build muscle as well as improve performance for future sessions.

It’s time to restock your stores.

If you eat a balanced, nutrient-dense meal one to two hours before a workout and another balanced, nutrient-dense meal within one to two hours after a workout, you’ll most likely meet your workout nutrition needs without any other supplements or strategies.

If your goals are modest and you don’t necessarily have any unique physiological needs, it’s best to balance quality sources carbohydrates, protein and fats before and after a workout.

For endurance athletes or CrossFit athletes who log a lot of high-intensity hours each week, your carbohydrate and caloric needs are likely higher than average.

Consider adding a protein and carbohydrate drink during long (60 minutes) training sessions.

For strength athletes or weightlifting athletes with serious strength and muscle growth in mind, your protein and calorie needs are likely greater than average.

You could also consider adding a protein and carbohydrate drink during long (60 minutes) training sessions. You could also benefit from the muscle-preserving essential amino acids during your training.

Overall, what you eat day-to-day will profoundly impact how much you have in the tank, which directly relates to exercise. Whether you’re a regular CrossFit athlete, swimmer or weightlifter, it’s important to have “enough of the right stuff” if you plan to go hard or go long.

As mentioned above, much of these factors are very much individualized. This is just a general overview. For more specific recommendations on nutrient timing for your own unique needs, please contact Coach Angela, Sports Nutritionist, at angela@salusnj.com.

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