How to Finally Nail Your Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition

 Pre-Workout

Goal of pre-workout meal: Give your body carbs to provide energy for your workout and protein to begin protein synthesis.

During a heavy weight training session, your body uses glycogen stored in the muscles to power your body. Glycogen is made up of glucose that comes from carbs. That’s right — your muscles store carbs. Through glycolysis, your body converts glucose into ATP, which powers muscle contractions when you lift. For optimal performance in the weight room, we need to ensure that our muscles are fully replenished with glycogen by consuming carbs beforehand.

During a workout, muscle damage occurs. As soon it does (like when you finish a heavy squat set), your body begins to remove and repair damaged muscle tissue through a process called protein synthesis. Protein synthesis is what makes you bigger and stronger. To optimize the protein synthesis that occurs immediately after doing a heavy set, we need to have some protein in the system before the workout begins. Not a lot, just some.

Timing: Ideally 60 to 90 minutes before your workout. This will give your body time to turn those complex carbs into glycogen in your muscles.

Here are some sample pre-workout meals:

Matt Reynolds’ Pre-Workout Meal

• 2 scoops whey protein (~40 grams of protein)
• Pack of instant oatmeal (~27 grams of carbs)
• Spoonful of peanut butter (~8 grams of fat)

Sirloin Steak and Potatoes

• 6 ounces of sirloin steak (~46 grams of protein and 24 grams of fat)
• 1/2 large sweet potato (~20 grams of carbs) 

Yogurt and Berries

• 7 ounces of full fat Greek yogurt (~18 grams of protein, 8 grams of carbs, 10 grams of fat)
• 1/4 cup of blueberries (~5 grams of carbs)

If you work out first thing in the morning and you’d like a little something more than some BCAAs and water, drink a light protein shake that includes some sort of fast-burning carbohydrate, like honey or fruit, and little or no fat. You want to ingest just enough carbs to give you energy during your workout, without feeling heavy, or getting a crash:

Pre-Workout Shake

• 1 scoop of whey protein (~20 grams of protein)
• 1 tablespoon of honey or 1 medium banana (~17-27 grams of simple carbohydrate)
• 8 ounces water

Post-Workout Meal

Goal of post-workout meal: Encourage protein synthesis and replenish glycogen stores with low-glycemic carbs.

As discussed above, as soon as we perform a heavy lift, protein synthesis begins to repair damaged muscle tissue. Our pre-workout meal provided us some protein to help kick-start that process. Protein in our post-workout meal keeps the process going.

Besides protein, we also need to provide our muscles with plenty of carbohydrates to replace the glycogen we used during our heavy lifting session. At the end of a relatively intense workout, your body has used up anywhere from 30-40% of its glycogen stores. While eating carbs throughout the day will help replenish them, we’re going to kick things off with a higher carb meal right after our workout.

To avoid huge insulin spikes that can get in the way of protein synthesis and lead to carb crashes, we’ll eschew simple carbs and opt for the complex variety.

Timing: Within an hour after working out. If you don’t get it within that timeframe, don’t sweat it. The idea that you have to consume your post-workout meal within a certain timeframe to maximize protein synthesis is a myth. In fact, recent research shows that the so-called “window of gains” after working out lasts 24 hours. Again, overall diet is more important in the long run than pre- and post-workout meals. We focus on pre- and post-workout meals because there’s an opportunity to optimize performance, not because they’re deal breakers.

What to eat: Lean protein, complex carbs that are easy to digest, and little or no fat (fat gets in the way of digestion). Make this one of your more carb-heavy meals of the day.

Along with your post-workout meal, consume 5 grams of creatine.

Here are some examples of healthy, gains-maximizing post-workout meals:

Chicken & Sweet Potatoes

• 1 grilled chicken breast (~43 grams of protein)
• 1 sweet potato (~40 grams of carbs)

Pork and Rice 

• 1.5 lean pork chops (~48 grams of protein)
• 1 cup of rice (~40 grams of carbs)

Eggs and Oatmeal 

• 3 whole eggs (~18 grams of protein, 15 grams of fat)
• 6 ounces of egg whites (~18 grams of protein)
• 1 cup of oatmeal (~42 grams of protein)

Post-Workout Protein Shake 

• 2 scoops of whey protein (~40 grams of protein)
• 1 packet of instant oatmeal (~27 grams of carbs)
• 1 banana (~17 grams of carbs)
• 16 ounces of water
• 5 grams of creatine

Pre- and post-workout nutrition isn’t the end all, be all of a strength training diet, but getting these meals right can help you reach your fitness potential in and out of the gym.