Performance in the gym doesn’t just come from caffeine and motivation. A pre-workout meal can lay the foundation for a sweaty session, and make your long-term fitness goals more achievable. Depending on your goal, don’t over complicate your plate — follow our inspiration for the best pre-workout meals to fuel your fire.
Having a small meal or snack before a workout is almost always a good idea, according to Celeste Fisher, National Council of Strength & Fitness certified personal trainer and coach. Fisher has over three years of experience in coaching, involving working with clients on workout goals and nutrition plans.
“You want to fuel for a workout or else your performance is going to be horrible,” said Fisher. “Especially if you’re trying to lose weight or gain muscle, it’s all about being able to perform at a high level, especially at the level of an athlete, which you can’t do if you’re not fueling yourself before workout.”
Even though it may seem counterintuitive, eating before a workout is beneficial for all goals, including weight loss. It can improve the quality of performance and metabolic outputs.
A study published in the National Library of Medicine found that eating before a workout can also help increase insulin sensitivity. This means the body will make more effective use of glucose instead of turning it into fat.
As a rule of thumb, grabbing a quick snack before a workout can be smart. That said, choosing the right kind of snack can be a little more nuanced depending on its macronutrient composition, or ‘macros’ for short. These three macros are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
According to Fisher, a good pre-workout meal should be about 50 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fat, and 20 percent protein.
“You want to focus on carbs, because carbs are our body’s main source of energy, and if we don’t get enough carbs before a workout, we’re not going to be able to perform as well — whether that’s lifting weights or doing cardio,” said Fisher.
Carbohydrates fuel a majority of the body’s functioning by turning into blood sugar and being used for energy. That’s why many common pre-workout meals emphasize dietary staples like bananas and bread.
“During your workout, the very first 5-10 minutes, your blood glucose spikes, from then on for the rest of your workout drops all the way down,” said Fisher. “So if you don’t have that little bit of glucose right before your workout, you are not going to perform well because your blood glucose is going to drop.”
Sierra Hawker, avid gym-goer whose goal is to gain muscle, loves apples with honey as a pre-workout snack.
“It’s a healthy yet fast acting carbohydrate with natural sugars that will give you quick energy for your workout,” said Hawker. “Apples supply fiber and vitamins, and the honey is quick glucose. So both help boost energy levels and sustain performance during exercise.”
Since carbs should make up a majority of a pre-workout meal, that means fats and proteins should be lower. Although they both play vital roles in reaching fitness goals, both weight loss and muscle gain, it’s best not to over-indulge when consuming before a workout. Digesting these macronutrients involves a more complicated process than breaking down carbs. Eating a high-protein meal and then engaging in an intense HIIT workout might give some unsavory digestive symptoms.
“The only thing that I would say to avoid is eating straight protein or foods that are super high in fiber, just because it can cause a lot of bloating and gas, which you don’t want in a workout,” said Fisher.
Depending on fitness goals, a carb-focused pre-workout meal can look a little different.
According to Fisher, whether your goal is to lose weight or gain muscle, the meals will look “similar macronutrient wise,” meaning they’ll have the same proportions of carbs, proteins, and fats. The only difference will be the amount of food.
For example, Fisher’s go-to pre-workout snack is rice cakes with powdered peanut butter and honey — notice the carb focus with a few fats and proteins too. For someone who is looking to put on more muscle, replacing the rice cakes with toast is a great swap to increase calories. Fisher even suggests adding banana slices for more quick-acting carbs.
Anthony Akinrinmola, personal trainer at Equinox and a University of Miami alumnus, prefers another form of fast-acting carbs: “I like to eat a bowl of fruit before my workouts because it doesn’t fill me up, and it’s full of simple sugars so I feel energized.”
Need some more inspiration on easy pre-workout meals to get you further towards your goals? Check out these ideas, categorized by low and high calorie options.
On a Cut
PB & J Rice Cake
Pumpkin Greek Yoghurt Rice Cake
Mixed Berry Overnight Oats
Apple with Cinnamon and Honey
Carrots and Garlic Hummus
On a Bulk
Avocado Egg Toast
Protein Pancakes
Breakfast Tacos with Potatoes, Eggs, and Cheese
Peanut Butter and Cocoa Overnight Oats
Mixed Fruit Bowl with Almond Butter and Dates
Fasted Cardio
Fasted cardio has gained some traction in online fitness communities as a trendy way to lose fat quickly. The concept is to perform aerobic activity, such as the stairmaster or cycling, on an empty stomach. For example, waking up and doing an hour of incline walking before eating anything would count as fasted cardio.
On an empty stomach, the body has no fuel to use from previous meals, so it burns stored energy sources— or fat cells — instead of food. In theory this may sound great, but its effectiveness is far from proven.
Fisher is a little skeptical about fasted cardio, especially when its aim is to remain in a fat-burning heart rate zone.
“You might be in that fat burning zone, but if you’re not eating enough protein, that muscle is going to be the first thing to go,” said Fisher, meaning the body will also rely on burning existing muscle as an energy source in addition to fat.
One study published by Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute found that fasted exercise led to higher rates of fat oxidation, or burning fat for energy, in low-to-moderate forms of exercise. This advantage diminished as the exercise grew more intense.
“When I’ve tried doing fasted cardio, I sucked at it,” said Fisher. “It’s horrible because my body doesn’t have enough fuel, and especially because I have more muscle, my body wants to use that muscle a lot faster, so I get a lot more fatigued. I feel really, really awful when I try to do fasted cardio.”
Overall, fasted cardio can be a solid option for those with extremely particular goals, like professional athletes or bodybuilders. That said, it’s likely not the best option for the average Joe who’s looking to get fit.
words, photo&design_lizzie kristal.
This article was published in Distraction’s Fall 2024 print issue.
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