Need an energy boost before you hit the gym? Here’s what you should eat before a workout if you need a little extra grunt.
Photo by Rachel Hathaway
Las Vegas-based nutritionist Andy Bellatti explains:
Before a workout, you want to snack on high-quality carbohydrates that will provide steady energy (think an apple, a banana, oatmeal) as well as some lean protein (protein sources that are also high in fat are not a good idea pre-workout because they will bog you down; if you are vegetarian or vegan, skip the nuts and instead opt for edamame or a smoothie made with a plant-based protein powder) about 1 hour before you begin your workout.
While you might want to reach for a small meal, some cereal, or some kind of crappy processed food, you shouldn’t. Keep quality carbohydrates and sources of protein around so you can grab a quick snack when you need one. That way you’ll be ready to exercise and won’t get too hungry afterwards.
Comments
8 responses to “The Best Snacks To Have Before A Workout”
I love to eat a packet of home brand pikelets with jam before sport. Long chain carbs for slow burning energy in the pikelets and short sugars in the jam for immediate energy. Never makes me sick in the guts
What next, have a little picnic afterwards as well? If you don’t want it to be a waste of time, don’t snack before going to the gym and stick to drinking water while you’re there.
And don’t forget to push the zone 110%.
Not everyone goes to the gym to lose weight. Some people want to increase muscle, others want to work on their fitness, and so on. I don’t usually eat before my gym workouts (because I go first thing in the morning) but I swim in the evenings and I need a snack beforehand otherwise I get exhausted much quicker, and I’m working on my endurance.
BTW what does “push the zone 110%” even mean?
it’s about being that douche in the gym that grunts loudly to let everyone know how much they’re lifting
And those things will be aided by not snacking before you go. It’s a well-worn path that people give up on the gym because they don’t see results, especially as the majority of those people will be there to lose weight. As such, it’s worth pointing out that snacking before going is a bad idea.
Pushing the zone was a light-hearted comment. There is a serious point – if you turn up, snacked up, drinking sports drinks and don’t properly expend yourself, you’re on a hiding to nothing.
And don’t forget, pain is weakness leaving the body.
That’s impossible, no one can give more than 100%, by definition that is the most anyone can give.
MATTINGLY! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO TRIM THOSE SIDEBURNS!
Some of us actually want to dominate in our workouts and in our lives and implement preworkout nutrition in order to do so.
You have 23 hours in your day to starve yourself all the way to skinny fat. Maybe for that one hour you give your body the fuel it needs to push it 110% in the zone to the max hyperbolicalise etc etc!