Pre workout nutrition : know what to eat before a workout.

Athletes and fitness enthusiasts are always ready to find out ways to improve their performance and achieving their goals. It’s a fact that good nutrition can help your body to perform better and recover faster.

Optimal nutrition intake before any intense workout session will not only help you to maximise your performance but also minimise muscle damage.

So it is very important to know what you should eat before a workout session. Filling up your body with right nutrients prior to exercise will help you to boost your energy levels and strength.

• Carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are responsible for glucose that act as a fuel for muscles. Human body processes and stores glucose in form of glycogen that is present in liver and muscles.

For short, high intensity workouts glycogen stores in muscles are main source of energy. Human bodies glycogen stores are just limited. And these stores get depleted during whole day living processes. So it’s quite as initial to take carbohydrates some hours before workout so that you could get enough of energy.

• Protein.

Several scientific studies and researches have proved this fact that pre workout protein consumption improves athletic performance. Several concrete evidences reveal that eating protein prior to exercise has been shown to increase muscle protein synthesis.

Intake of protein as pre workout will give you a better anabolic response and muscle growth.

• Fats too are important.

As already mentioned, glycogen is the main fuel for short, high intensity workouts. But fat is the main source of fuel for longer and moderate intensity workouts.

There are handful of studies that investigate the effects of fat intake on athletic performance. But the thing is, these studies look at high fat diets over a long period rather than prior to exercise as pre workout.

• Know the right time of pre workout meal.

The timing of pre workout meal is a key aspect of successful workout session. To maximise your results of training, one should try to complete meal containing carbohydrates, protein and fat 2-3 hours prior to exercise.

If you are looking for a pre workout nutrition before one hour of the workout. Just choose foods that are simple to digest and contain mainly carbohydrates and some protein.

• Best examples of great pre workout meal.

The main aspect on which your pre workout meal depends is the amount of time you have left before workout. But it’s a fact that one should eat a mixture of carbohydrates and proteins prior to exercise.

1. Before 2-3 hours to workout.

Some source of lean protein, whole grain bread, salad, egg omelette may serve the purpose. Fruits like banana, avocado, dry fruits, nuts and roasted vegetables.

2. Just one hour left for workout.

The food you will intake one hour before your workout will play a key role in your whole workout session. You can include foods like Greek yoghurt, banana, protein bar, whey protein, orange, apple. But just keep in mind take easily digestible food items to get digested before workout. This will help you to get enough of energy and prevent from bloating, gas and other digestive issues.