pRE AND POST WORKOUT

 
 

what should we eat pre and post workout?

what happens when we train?

Your body uses carbs stored in your muscles (glycogen) and carbs floating around in your blood (as glucose from your last meal) to power you through your workout. Once you have used up a lot of that available glycogen and glucose, your body starts looking for more glucose.

How To Match Your Carbs To Your Training

CrossFit athletes are often highly committed to their training, so it is not unusual for them to not only do the workout of the day, but also more accessory work, additional skill or strength practice, or even an extra metcon. Suddenly, that already-tough 30-minute workout becomes an hour-long rampage that has your body crying out for more fuel.

Carbs are "muscle sparing," which means when your body has enough of them, it will not draw into muscle tissue for fuel. This becomes more important as your workout reaches the one-hour point and beyond.

To find out just how much energy you need, start by assigning a level to each of your workouts. Refer to the guidelines below for CrossFit-specific examples of "light," "moderate," and "hard" training sessions. In the course of a week, your workout intensity may vary. Just stay consistent in how you label each one.

Light Workout:

  • 30-60 minutes

  • Strength/skill WOD + one metcon

Moderate Workout:

  • 60-90 minutes

  • WOD + extra metcon/accessory work

Hard Workout:

  • 90+ minutes (total in a day)

  • 2-3 skill/movement WODs + 1-2 metcons

How Many Carbs?

Now it's time to assign the number of carbs you need for each workout level.

Take into account what exactly your training is… If you do 1 CrossFit class per day then this accumulates to about 40 minutes of actual work… There may also be some strength in there too so actual activity may decrease again.

Also, something to keep in mind is that the maximum amount of carbohydrates that can be digested and absorbed during exercise is 60–80 grams per hour.

  • Non-training day: 0.5-0.75 grams of carbs per pound of body weight per day

  • Light workout: 1.0 grams of carbs per pound of body weight per day

  • Moderate workout: 1.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight per day

  • Hard workout: 2.0 grams of carbs per pound of body weight per day

These numbers may seem pretty high but use them as a guide. It will also depends on your own specific targets too for your macro percentages.

PRE AND POST WORKOUT

I recommend eating the majority of your carbs shortly before and after your workout.

Ideally, we want to eat our pre-workout meal one to three hours before training to allow for adequate digestion. 

Here is what to include in your meal:

PRE WORKOUT

  • Protein. Exercise damages muscle tissue, but protein can reduce markers of damage — which means you recover faster. It can also help you maintain or increase muscle size, which is important for anyone who wants to improve their body composition or athletic performance. A protein shake is an easy go-to option, but whole foods (such as lean meat or low-fat Greek yogurt) are also fine as long as your digestive system can handle them. Aim for around 40–60 grams of protein for men and 20–30 grams for women as a good starting point.

  • Carbs. Whether you are an endurance athlete going for a long run or a CrossFit athlete preparing for a high-intensity WOD, carbs can improve your performance and help increase muscle retention and growth.

  • Fat. Fat slows digestion, therefore minimising them before a workout can be beneficial. Fats do not seem to improve athletic performance (carbs are better for this), but they are important for vitamins, minerals and feel satiated throughout the day — and they taste great. For this reason space them out in the day and keep


POST WORKOUT

Post-Workout Nutrition

With post-workout nutrition, our goals are to kickstart recovery, rehydrate and refuel. 

Try to eat within two hours of finishing training for optimal recovery. This depends, however, on what you ate pre-workout. If you didn’t eat much pre-workout or you ate it several hours before your workout, your post-workout nutrition becomes more important. 

What do you need to include in your post-workout meal? 

  • Protein: Protein post-exercise prevents protein breakdown and stimulates synthesis, which can lead to increased or maintained muscle tissue.

Pair a protein shake with other foods that slow down the digestion of the protein, such as the carb and fat sources listed below. 

  • Carbs: We are looking for a blend of minimally processed whole-food carbs post-workout, such as oats, sweet potato, rice and/or fruit like bananas or apples. However, if you completed a particularly intense session or you train multiple times per day, you may need foods that are higher on the GI scale (will digest quicker).

  • Fats: Try experimenting with 15–30 percent of your meals’ calories coming from fat and pay attention to how your digestive system feels. If you notice discomfort or the food feels heavy in your stomach, consider reducing the amount of fat.

Summary

Before, during and after training, we want a combination of protein and high-quality carbohydrates. The amount of each macronutrient will vary depending on your needs and personal preferences. Before training, aim to make your meal consist of easy to digest carbs plus protein, with little to no fat. After training, consume complex carbs and protein, and it is better to add more fat to this meal.

  • Ideally, we want to eat one to three hours before training as well as within two hours after training for maximal benefit.

  • Do not forget that the total amount of protein and carbs consumed over the course of your day is still more important than any specific nutrient timing strategy.

 
 
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