When it comes to weightlifting, what you eat before your workout can make a significant difference in your performance, energy levels, and recovery. Proper nutrition before a lifting session not only provides the fuel your body needs but also enhances your ability to push through challenging workouts and build muscle effectively. 

Here’s why eating before lifting is crucial:

1. Energy Boost: Consuming carbohydrates before a workout ensures that your body has an immediate source of energy. Carbs break down into glucose, which is the primary fuel for your muscles. Without this energy, you may find yourself fatigued and unable to lift as effectively.

2. Improved Performance: A well-nourished body performs better. Having the right nutrients in your system can increase your strength, endurance, and concentration, allowing you to complete more reps and lift heavier weights.

3. Muscle Preservation: Eating before you lift helps prevent your body from breaking down muscle tissue for energy, which is especially important if you're tempted to train fasted or have gone several hours without eating.

4. Enhanced Recovery: Consuming protein and carbs before a workout can kickstart muscle repair and growth, as your muscles will have the necessary nutrients available to recover and grow after the stress of lifting.

5. Hydration: Eating foods with electrolytes and drinking enough fluids helps maintain hydration, which is vital for muscle function and reducing the risk of cramps and injuries.

Easy Ways to Fuel Yourself Before Hitting the Gym

Finding the right pre-workout meal can be overwhelming, so we’ve made a list of some suggestions to help! You ideally want to eat around an hour before your session and although protein is important, carbs are priority for fueling that next 1 rep max! 

On-the-Go Easy Meals

We know first hand it can be hard ensuring we’ve eaten something first thing in the morning. Especially if you’re rushing trying to get ready and out the door on time. Here’s some quick and easy or grab-n-go ideas to fuel your morning workouts at SLAM. 

• Toast with Peanut Butter: Whole-grain toast provides complex carbs, while peanut butter offers healthy fats and protein to fuel your next PB.

• Breakfast Bars: Opt for bars that are high in carbs and protein to give you sustained energy and support muscle recovery and keep you energized.

• A Classic roll: This might be a surprise to see in here but you can’t go wrong with a bacon roll or some scrambled eggs and toast! 

• Breakfast shakes: Brands like “Up & Go”, Huel, Weetabix offer easy to consume breakfast shakes with a good amount of carbs for those who struggle with eating in the morning! 

• Overnight oats/instant oats: It’s a staple for a reason, you can’t go wrong with oats! With millions of delicious overnight oat recipes and versatility these are a great option. For the summer overnight oats with greek yogurt and honey is a refreshing but energizing option and for those cold winter mornings, sometimes you cant beat a bit of Ready brek.

PM Session Suggestions

If you prefer to join us in the evening, you might have more time to prepare a meal or have a late lunch if you’re coming straight from work. For larger meals you want around 2-3 hours to allow digestion to kick in. Here’s some tasty suggestions! 

• Grilled Chicken with Rice: A quick and balanced meal with lean protein and carbs that provides sustained energy and supports muscle repair. Feel free to spice it up with seasonings or a sauce of choice.

• Turkey and Avocado Wrap: Whole-grain wraps filled with turkey and avocado provide healthy fats, protein, and carbs for energy and muscle growth.

• Pasta with Marinara Sauce: A classic carb-rich meal that can be topped with lean protein like chicken or a vegan substitute for added benefits. 

Alternatively, all of our previous AM suggestions are great options too if you prefer a lighter meal. An on-the-go snack is never a bad idea if you had an earlier lunch and as we mentioned before you want to make sure you’ve eaten around an hour before your workout. 

Emergency Snacks!

Sometimes you need a quick energy boost right before a workout, or maybe you’ve forgotten to eat. Here are some handy snacks to keep in your gym bag!

• Sweeties! A bag of Haribo can be a lifesaver when you need that extra boost. From Tangfastics to strawbs they’re going to offer that instant carb energy. 

• Cereal Bars/Rice krispies squares: These are convenient, easy to store and provide those ready to go carbs.

• Banana: Rich in carbohydrates and potassium, bananas are perfect for quick energy and preventing muscle cramps.

• Flapjacks: Trek flapjack bars are a great emergency staple to have on hand. They store well, taste great and offer the energy you need.

• Lucozade/Sports drink: A sports drink that offers carbohydrates and electrolytes, ideal for quick hydration and energy replenishment.

Fueling in Warm Weather

Exercising in warm weather can increase your sweat rate, leading to a greater loss of fluids and electrolytes. It’s important to consider our previous days hydration levels too or if it’s been particularly warm overnight. It's crucial to adjust this accordingly to avoid feeling unwell:

Include electrolyte-rich drinks or supplements to replenish lost minerals and maintain muscle function. You can readily get powders or sachets to keep in your gym bag or Lucozade and more stores offer different sports drinks.

Conclusion

Eating before training is a crucial aspect of maximizing your workout potential and ensuring that you’re performing at your best. Whether you’re lifting in the morning, afternoon, or evening, fueling your body with the right nutrients helps improve performance, supports muscle growth, and speeds up recovery. By planning your pre-workout meals and snacks, you can ensure that you’re always powered up and ready to be strong AF!