What do YOU eat BEFORE your workout??

**davewins** · 02-08-2006, 05:43 AM

Just curious on your pre-workout meal as I was of your post-workout. Got some good tips that I used for post-workout. Now, myself and others can learn from what YOU eat before your workout. I have been hearing about how important a pre-workout protein shake is good but I also heard that it takes long to digest so while it's in your stomach the blood is more focused aroun the stomach to help with digestion which would hinder your workout. I guess you have to eat one close to 2-3 hours before working out??

**kalagan** · 02-08-2006, 05:47 AM

i eat 1 hour and 30 mn before my workout...most of the time it's tuna (or chiken) with rice or oats and olive oil or peanuts...

**smartboy4** · 02-08-2006, 06:44 AM

I usually go to the gym at about 2-3.30 pm.
Don't eat a proper lunch before that, just whey protein.

JUST before workout, and RIGHT after i warm down from the workout at the gym.

**davewins** · 02-08-2006, 01:37 PM

What really is the benefit of a pre-workout shake?? I am not getting that...

**acaylian** · 02-08-2006, 01:44 PM

about an hour pre-workout: protein shake: 40g whey, 1/4 cup milk, 3/4 cup water, creatine, (add eca if i'm tired and didn't get a lot of sleep the night before).

post workout: 40g whey shake in the gym mixed with gatorade, i get home and usually cook some veggies (broccoli, carrots) boiled and eat them with chicken breast (baked or can) or tuna (can) with cayenne pepper (acts as a natural thermogenic and personally i love the taste

). sometimes i vary it up but that's pretty much a normal workout day for me around workout time.

**SPACECLOWN** · 02-08-2006, 01:57 PM

CytoSport Cytomax Pre-Formance

I go to the gym 1 hour after I wake up and with the limited time to digest the food I use a shake. This works especially well on cardio days because I was feeling ill when running after my typical breakfast (oatmeal, egg beater, protein shake). Pre-Formance is protein and carbs.

And to answer the importance well the simplest answer I can think of is you need fuel to run. Good carbs for energy and the way I understand it if you go on an empty stomach there is a possibility to burn muscle. I am not a dietician but thats just what I think.

Xc · 02-08-2006, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by acaylian

about an hour pre-workout: protein shake: 40g whey, 1/4 cup milk, 3/4 cup water, creatine, (add eca if i'm tired and didn't get a lot of sleep the night before).

I was thinking that it was not wise to mix up creatine with a protien shake, because they are both fighting for absorption, and end up getting small amounts of both (maybe its just the post work out shake, but i would think that the same would hold true for the pre-work out shake)

**acaylian** · 02-08-2006, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by Xc

I was thinking that it was not wise to mix up creatine with a protien shake, because they are both fighting for absorption, and end up getting small amounts of both (maybe its just the post work out shake, but i would think that the same would hold true for the pre-work out shake)

hmm, i'm not sure. you're probably right but it seems to work okay for me so i'm not going to fret over it. i try to keep a constant supply of protein in my body throughout the day (not going more than 2-3 hours without a new shake or meal), so my body is constantly absorbing thus i think i'll encounter this issue no matter what. anyways i'm getting good gains with the routine so not going to overcomplicate things for the time being

.

**ayomo** · 02-08-2006, 03:23 PM

6-8oz chicken, 1 cup brown rice, lettuce and ketchup all mixed up in a bowl.

Xc · 02-08-2006, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by acaylian

hmm, i'm not sure. you're probably right but it seems to work okay for me so i'm not going to fret over it. i try to keep a constant supply of protein in my body throughout the day (not going more than 2-3 hours without a new shake or meal), so my body is constantly absorbing thus i think i'll encounter this issue no matter what. anyways i'm getting good gains with the routine so not going to overcomplicate things for the time being

.

Ahh i was more refering to the creatine side not getting absorbed properly (i guess i didnt realy explain myself clearly, sorry. i meant that if you take creatine and a protein shake at the same time they are fighting for absorbtion. This would be ok for the protien since you're probably getting a constant supply throughout the day, but more of the creatine side of it it waisted, especialy if you take it once a day [before work outs])

But of course all of this is generalization. if it works for you, then i agree, keep it up with what you are doing (y)

**acaylian** · 02-08-2006, 06:37 PM

Originally Posted by Xc

Ahh i was more refering to the creatine side not getting absorbed properly (i guess i didnt realy explain myself clearly, sorry. i meant that if you take creatine and a protein shake at the same time they are fighting for absorbtion. This would be ok for the protien since you're probably getting a constant supply throughout the day, but more of the creatine side of it it waisted, especialy if you take it once a day [before work outs])

But of course all of this is generalization. if it works for you, then i agree, keep it up with what you are doing (y)

yeah i understood what you meant, it's just that the protein doesn't absorb "instantly" the second i eat it, so it's always being absorbed by my body throughout the day, so no matter what time i take the creatine it's going to have to fight for absorption with the protein if this actually does occur.

**kalagan** · 02-09-2006, 01:06 AM

Originally Posted by davewins

What really is the benefit of a pre-workout shake?? I am not getting that...

the main benefit IMO is that, if you can't have a real meal, that's provide you protein (and BCAA) that you need for training.

**Itachi** · 02-09-2006, 04:50 AM

Oatmeal
Tuna
Flax oil
Milk
Banana

**HalleluYAH** · 02-09-2006, 05:11 AM

Originally Posted by davewins

What really is the benefit of a pre-workout shake?? I am not getting that...

Timing of amino acid-carbohydrate ingestion alters anabolic response of muscle to resistance exercise.

Tipton KD, Rasmussen BB, Miller SL, Wolf SE, Owens-Stovall SK, Petrini BE, Wolfe RR.

Department of Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77550, USA. ktipton@utmb.edu

The present study was designed to determine whether consumption of an oral essential amino acid-carbohydrate supplement (EAC) before exercise results in a greater anabolic response than supplementation after resistance exercise. Six healthy human subjects participated in two trials in random order, PRE (EAC consumed immediately before exercise), and POST (EAC consumed immediately after exercise). A primed, continuous infusion of L-[ring-(2)H(5)]phenylalanine, femoral arteriovenous catheterization, and muscle biopsies from the vastus lateralis were used to determine phenylalanine concentrations, enrichments, and net uptake across the leg. Blood and muscle phenylalanine concentrations were increased by approximately 130% after drink consumption in both trials. Amino acid delivery to the leg was increased during exercise and remained elevated for the 2 h after exercise in both trials. Delivery of amino acids (amino acid concentration times blood flow) was significantly greater in PRE than in POST during the exercise bout and in the 1st h after exercise (P < 0.05). Total net phenylalanine uptake across the leg was greater (P = 0.0002) during PRE (209 +/- 42 mg) than during POST (81 +/- 19). Phenylalanine disappearance rate, an indicator of muscle protein synthesis from blood amino acids, increased after EAC consumption in both trials. These results indicate that the response of net muscle protein synthesis to consumption of an EAC solution immediately before resistance exercise is greater than that when the solution is consumed after exercise, primarily because of an increase in muscle protein synthesis as a result of increased delivery of amino acids to the leg.

**dukefan82** · 02-09-2006, 08:31 PM

I like to eat the same Pre-Workout meal everyday, 2 hours before my 1pm workout. I eat a grilled Chicken and Cheese sandwich, 1.5 Cottage Cheese, and 8oz of skim milk. Seems to give me energy and fuel my training demands..