Why Your Pre Workout Food Matters

Your pre workout food needs to complement your exercise intensity level. That means that if you plan on a high intensity or long endurance workout you’ll be better off eating a full pre workout meal, and if you plan on a lower intensity or shorter workout it’s better to stick with a smaller and more easily digestible pre workout snack.

You Are What You Eat

Have you ever heard the phrase “you are what you eat”? It refers to the fact that what you put into your body directly affects the performance that you can expect to get out of it. Imagine that your body is a high performance race car. You wouldn’t dare fill your body with “regular, unleaded, 87”. And you would absolutely never just throw in whatever fluids you could find lying around closest to you. So why would treat your body any differently?

The only way to see real and lasting progress and gains is to stop eating whatever the fastest and easiest meal options around you, and start really focusing on fueling your body with the best possible meals. This includes your pre workout food and your post workout food, as these are quite possibly the most important meals (or snacks) of the day.

Pre Workout Meals Vs. Pre Workout Snacks

Pre Workout Meals

A pre workout meal tends to be:

• A larger portion
• Foods with slower digestion rates
• Eaten within an hour or two prior to your workout
• Best for high intensity workouts
• Best for long, endurance workouts
• A combination of lean protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates

Pre Workout Snacks

A pre workout snack tends to be:

• A smaller portion
• Foods with quicker digestion rates
• Eaten within 30 minutes to an hour prior to your workout
• Best for low intensity workouts
• Best for short workout sessions
• A combination of lean protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates

Pre Workout Food That’s Right For You

Finding the right combination of foods for your body may take a bit of trial and error but in general it’s best to stick with a combination of lean protein source, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats before a workout. These foods will give you the energy that you need to push through to the end of your workout, and then they will help your body to recover and grow once your workout is done.

Deciding when to eat your pre workout food can also be a bit of a guessing game until you learn what works best for your own body. Remember that just because a certain combination and time schedule works for a friend of yours, doesn’t mean that it will also work for you. It’s also important to keep in mind that just because a certain pre workout meal or snack works for you one day, doesn’t mean that it will work for you the next, especially if your workout on each day varies greatly.

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