It can be confusing to know what and when to eat when it comes to fuelling your workout. This article will break down the purpose of fuelling prior to and during your workout, what to aim for and provide you with some inspiration so that you can get the most out of your sessions.

Pre-workout nutrition

Pre-workout nutrition refers to the meal or snack that you may have prior to a workout. The purpose of that pre-workout meal is to ensure that your body is prepared for the workout ahead by providing the energy and nutrients required.

The emphasis of pre-workout nutrition will depend on a couple of factors such as:

• your goals from your training session e.g. are you training for performance or is it leisure?

• the type of sport

• the intensity and the duration of the session

• how much you have or have not eaten that day

• your digestion and preferences

Carbohydrates:

In most sports, particularly high intensity ones, carbohydrates are the preferred fuel source (1). We can store carbohydrates in the form of glycogen in our muscles and in our liver. In the absence of food, this glycogen can be converted back to glucose and dripped back into our bloodstream in order to maintain stable blood glucose levels (2).

When glycogen stores are at full capacity, they can normally provide us with energy for up to 24 hours, and we normally top them up throughout the day as we eat. However, the rate at which we use glycogen is higher when exercising, and glycogen stores can become depleted even quicker through high intensity sports.

So, in order to maintain high performance levels during exercise and prevent early-onset fatigue, it is important to ensure that glycogen stores are topped up before going into a training session – which is why carbs are so important!

Protein:

Protein is the one macronutrient that we cannot store in our body (3), which is why it is important to spread our intake out across the day (4).

Considering that the purpose of pre-workout fuelling is to provide energy, the importance of protein in this meal can depend on a few things. 

Protein can take longer to digest and therefore slower to provide energy but you may choose to include some protein within your pre-workout meal to support your daily protein requirements.

Some research has actually shown that the ingestion of protein prior to a workout may improve muscle protein repair (5) too.

Caffeine:

Consuming caffeine before exercise has been extensively studied and found to have performance benefits, from improving alertness, blocking adenosine receptors (6,7) (which are associated with the perception of pain), enhancing muscle contractions by promoting the release of calcium (8,9) and improving muscular endurance (10).

To experience the benefits of caffeine it is recommended to take between 3-6mg per kg body weight at least 30 minutes before your session (10). For someone who weighs 60kg, this would look like 180-360mg of caffeine, which you could find in a large coffee or a scoop of a standard pre-workout supplement.   

It is worth mentioning that caffeine tolerance varies among individuals, with many not tolerating it at all. Inappropriate consumption can have the opposite effects such as difficulty concentrating, gut issues, experiencing shakes, and increased anxiety. Dosages greater than 10mg per kg body weight are considered dangerous (11) so take care when experimenting with dosages to find what works for you.

Hydration:

It is important to start exercise hydrated to lower the risk of becoming dehydrated through exercise. Dehydration can impact physical and mental performance, such as increasing the perception of how hard exercise feels and concentration. Dehydration can also lead to nausea and other gastro-intestinal problems during and after exercise (12).

Aiming for a clear or pale-yellow coloured urine is a useful way to measure adequate hydration.

Meal timing:

When it comes to pre-workout nutrition, the timing of a meal is important to consider.

If you are eating 2-3 hours prior to a session, the meal should…

• be high in carbohydrates, preferably starchy carbohydrates, like potatoes, rice or pasta, to provide longer lasting energy

• contain a source of protein, to support your overall daily requirements

• contain a moderate amount of fat and fibre, as high amounts of fat and fibre can take longer to digest

If you are eating 30 to 60 minutes to training, the meal should…

• be rich in carbohydrates, preferably simple carbohydrates, like fruit, rice cakes or jellies for fast acting energy

• contain minimal amounts of fat as this slows down digestion and the release of energy

• be low in fibre to prevent digestive issues

Pre-workout meal and snack ideas: