what is the best food/drink pre-workout

[chase35]

wondering what is the best thing to eat or drink before lifting weights. Today is just my third trip to the gym so i'm very new. I'm pretty sure it's carbs like a banana but i'm not sure, thanks for your help!

[Jodi_Lane]

wondering what is the best thing to eat or drink before lifting weights. Today is just my third trip to the gym so i'm very new. I'm pretty sure it's carbs like a banana but i'm not sure, thanks for your help!

I'm not really THAT sure on this subject but I do know, that I don't like to eat much before I goto the gym...but I'll say an apple or bananna seems to make me feel pretty good when I run.

[terracotta]

Complex carbs (such as oats) + a slow digesting protein (such as chicken) 1 hour before - you want the complex carbs for long lasting energy.

Then post workout, have a fast digesting protein (like whey) and some simple carbs (like milk) and/or fruit. You want to get the postworkout meal in as close after your workout as you can so that you can get it in the post workout window when the foods will be used optimally.

[BB2K]

here's a dumb question, what about on cardio days? I do cardio 3 times a week in the morning, what should I eat before i go do cardio? how long before i do it? How much do i eat? I usually do it on an empty stomach but have heard thats a bad idea. any suggestions?

[terracotta]

Precardio you want to take in as many calories as you will be burning during the session. Postcardio your body has to work to reach steady state again, and this is when it makes use of your fat stores.

(of course all this is assuming your cardio sessions are less than 60 min)

If you are concerned with fat loss, I strongly suggest you do HIIT which has the greatest post exercise fat burn.

[terracotta]

as for the timing, I suggest 1 hour before cardio so that your body has time to digest the food and you don't get sick.