What To Eat Before And After Every Workout

Do you know what to eat before and after every workout? Here are some quick guidelines for you to follow.

Whether you are looking to pack on some serious muscle or you want to lose weight and get leaner, nutrition is the foundation of what you will look like. While what you eat throughout the day is of extreme importance, how about what to eat before and after every workout? Do you know anything about that?

What you eat before and after your gym session can have a big impact on how productive your time working is. And that is what Max Posternak decided to elucidate in a video.

Max Posternak is the founder of Gravity Transformation, a website focused on giving tips and training guidance for people looking to improve their fitness and lose weight. His YouTube channel has over 4 million subscribers.

“What you eat before and after a workout will have an impact on how well you perform at the gym, how quickly you recover, and the results that you’ll see in the mirror,” Posternak explains.

That is why it is important to understand what to eat before and after every workout to reap all the benefits that come from working out.

Table of Contents

What To Eat Before And After Every Workout
- Pre-Workout
- Post-Workout
VIDEO – What To Eat Before And After Every Workout

What To Eat Before And After Every Workout

Regardless if you want to build muscle or lose weight – two things that are usually seen as a either/or type of situation when it comes to fitness – you need to pay attention to your pre- and post-workout nutrition if you want to keep progressing.

Pre-Workout

During a workout, you will want to keep your protein breakdown rates low and protein synthesis rates high. Amino acids are the building blocks of muscles and are essential for increasing muscle protein synthesis.

Without enough amino acids in your bloodstream, your body will break down muscle to fuel itself, which is the last thing we want, even if you want to lose body weight and burn fat.

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To prevent muscle breakdown, you should have a sizeable consumption of protein no later than 4 hours before your workout session. If you work out during the night and have had a snack, lunch or dinner before your session with some protein in it, you should be good to go.

If you like to wake up and work out early in the morning, having a protein shake will help you a lot.

aim to have between 20-40 grams of protein about an hour or two before your training session.

You should also have carbs before your workout as this will allow you to move heavier weights, for more reps, and aid in your recovery. Have at least 30-40 grams of carbs before your workout.

Posternak also talks about working out while fasting, whether or not to have fats before hitting the gym, and supplementation.

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Post-Workout

In this list of what to eat before and after every workout, now we jump to after you hit the gym! The post-workout part of it all.

Your muscle breakdown increases after a session working out so fuelling your body properly after training is important so you don’t lose muscle.

aim for 20-40 grams of protein within a couple of hours after finishing your workout.

The type of protein should be easy to absorb, such as a protein shake.

Having carbs after your workout will also help you build muscle faster since insulin levels will raise and remain elevated for a long period. Carbs will also replenish glycogen levels in the muscle cells.

Posternak suggests eating 30-50 grams of fast-digesting carbs such as bananas, potatoes or white rice. Fats are not necessary to have after a workout, so if you do, choose a healthy option such as a fatty fish full of omega-3.

And that was Posternak’s advice on what to eat before and after every workout. To hear the full explanation from the man himself, click on the video below.