How and What to Eat Before/After Weight Training Workouts

This particularly holds true if you are trying to sculpt your body through weight training routines. While a wholesome and well balanced diet is crucial, you will need to ensure that you are giving your body the specific food types that are needed to build muscle tissue. So, here is a look at what you ought to be eating before and after weight training workouts.


Inside This Article I will Reveal you:
1. What is a good pre weight training food?
2. Pre-workout snacks
3. What is good post exercise food?
4. Post-workout meals
5. What should you drink post-workout? and
6. How much protein should you take when weight training?
1. What is a good pre weight training food?

Working out on a full tummy can lead to gastric distress; however, it is also essential that you give your body the right type and amount of fuel to prepare it for a grueling session. Regardless of how efficacious your exercise regimen is, it will prove futile if your body is starved of vital nutrients.
So, eat a heavy meal of 600 to 800 calories 3 to 4 hours before weight training. This will ensure that you get the proper nutrition and the food is digested before you start working out. As you get closer to your workout time, choose smaller snacks, opting for a liquid meal an hour before the session that will give the body all the glucose that it needs. You can consume a small snack of 400 to 500 calories about 2 to 3 hours before weight training.

Remember to avoid food items that cause gas build up in the digestive tract such as beans and broccoli. Your meals should comprise of a wholesome amount of carbs, protein and very little fat. Replenishing your body with the right amount of fluids is also essential; consume no less than 17 to 20 ounces of fluids 3 to 4 hours before weight training and follow it with another 7 to 10 ounces a few minutes before the workout to get the body prepared for the taxing session.

2. Pre-workout snacks

• A whole grain toast with a spoon of peanut
• butter
• Fruit juices
• Cereal with low fat milk
• Minestrone soup
• Yoghurt with fruits
• Salad with light/low fat dressing
• Chicken breast with whole wheat bread
• Fruits
• Grilled chicken with pasta (whole wheat)
• Steamed vegetables

You can also combine these snacks to create a complete meal that includes chicken breast with pasta, a salad for starter and fruits for dessert.

3. What is good post exercise food?

The type of food that you eat right after weight training will have a huge impact on how well and fast you build muscles. Nutrition is important to help your body recover from the strenuous exercise regimen and regain the lost nutrients.
As a matter of fact, the first sixty minutes after the workout session are the body's golden hour, when the glycogen stored in the cells is used up and the enzymes responsible for the conversion of glucose to glycogen are highly active.
So, any sugar consumption is diverted directly to the muscle tissue to replenish the lost glycogen. A post workout meal also performs the vital function of replacing the lost fluids and rehydrating the body. You should give your body a diet rich in fluids, potassium and other minerals and vitamins along with carbs and protein for quick recovery.
Food items such as brown rice, whole grain breads, popcorn, potatoes, fruits etc are rich in carbohydrates and help to replete the glycogen stores. Ideally, you should consume at least 50-100 gm. of carbs post workout.
You should also include lean proteins found in chicken and turkey breast and tuna in your meals; these help in muscle rebuilding. Bananas, raisins and potatoes are a rich source of potassium, so they help to replace the mineral lost during workout. You should also include lots of fluids in the post workout diet to rehydrate the body. Try to consume 20 ounces of water for every pound of body weight after an exercise routine.

4. Post-workout meals

• Sandwiches made from two slices of whole
• wheat bread with a lean protein in between and any type of veggies are easy
• to make, taste great and will give your body all the nutrition it needs.
• Baked chicken breast with rice or pasta
• A bagel with peanut butter
• Potato steamed or baked with a topping of low fat cheese and some fruit.

5. What should you drink post-workout?

A lot of people have trouble eating a big meal after an intense weight training routine. If you are one of them, you should consider using a post-workout recovery drink. These preparations help to replace the lost fluids and the glycogen store in the body.
While there are several products available in the market that can simply be mixed with water to make a wholesome post workout drink, you could also whip up a delicious recovery drink at home with regular ingredients found in your refrigerator. Simply use 1 scoop of whey protein in any flavor of your liking, ¾ cup low fat milk and one banana; blend it all together to make a refreshing smoothie.

6. Is sugar good after weight training workout?

Liquid carbs and even sugar that eventually gets turned into glycogen are essential nutrients in the post-workout period. After an intensive routine, your body will have used a lot of the stored glycogen which will need to be replenished quickly to keep you going.
When you drink liquid carbs with a high glycemic index, you give the muscles all the nutrition they need when they are in a state to soak up the carbs fast. The glycemic carbs also spike up the insulin level in the body. This will ensure that the carbohydrates are directly sent to the muscle cells.

7. How much protein should you take when weight training?

This is a very common question coming from people interested in muscle building. While protein is crucial for the repair and rebuilding of muscle tissue, overloading on protein will not help as it will simply be flushed out of the system.
Most people with average weight do not need more than 70 gm. of protein each day. If you are into muscle building, you can increase the daily recommended dose to 140 gm. but it would be best to not exceed that amount. Although excess protein will not harm healthy people, it will prove detrimental for individuals who suffer from renal problems and also those who are overweight or diabetic.
How insulin affects weight training?
Insulin is an important storage hormone that redirects the various nutrients to their right places; for instance, insulin is responsible for storing the glucose from the food into the liver and the muscle cells while the amino acids are used for muscle tissue repair and build up. Diabetics develop a condition known as insulin resistance in which the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the hormone fails to store glucose in the cells; this is one of the primary reasons why diabetes may lead to weight gain and vice versa.

A post and pre work out diet and recovery drinks which are rich in protein and glycemic carbs illicit a very strong response from insulin which results in a powerful anabolic muscle building period. It is normal for body builders to manipulate the amount of insulin in the body through proper diet, exercise and even supplementation.
Regardless of your fitness goals, nutrition is vital and unless you eat properly, you will not be able to build muscle or even lose weight. It is particularly important for people struggling with obesity to understand that starving yourself will not lead to weight loss, instead the metabolic rate will slow down in response making it more difficult to lose weight.

If you are not sure about the food items that you should eat before and after weight training regimens, get in touch with a nutritionist for proper guidance. While weight training is hard, it can yield stupendous results when combined with appropriate dietary practices.

Abdul Matynne is the author of the ebook, "The Ten Commandments of Weight Training", a guide with Muscle Building Nutrition and Workout Plans.

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