How-To Guide: Workout Nutrition

There are messages a-plenty when it comes to optimizing peri-workout nutrition with supplement companies, sports nutrition authorities and body building forums all offering opinions. The result is a lot of confusion. My aim is to try and deliver a back-to-basics approach to pre, during and post workout nutrition.

To alleviate too much confusion, we will apply the following principles to sub-elite exercisers whose goals are health and fat-loss related.

• When training to drop body fat, total calories for the day matters most, with timing and types of foods being of secondary importance.
• Pinpoint precision is not necessary for the vast majority of exercisers as there is an overlap in meals throughout the day.

• The purpose of the pre-workout nutrition is to increase exercise performance, enhance muscle-building and saving and to boost muscle and liver glycogen stores.
• Tolerances vary in terms of how much and the type of food is consumed. Some people can tolerate a fairly big meal within an hour of exercise while some need a near-empty stomach.
• Aim to consume a protein + carbohydrate meal within 90 minutes of working out. An amount of .25g per pound of target weight for both carbohydrate and protein should suffice. Use fat as tolerated.
• In terms of carbohydrate type, a mix of high and low glycemic index carbs works fine for most people. Solid or liquid forms are just fine.

• Focus on maintaining hydration - aim for about 1L of water per hour of exercise the pre-exercise carbohydrate meal should take care of the rest.
• If your activity is less than 2 hours long, there is no need to ingest carbohydrate and or protein during activity.

• The purpose of post-exercise calorie intake isn't unlike that of pre-workout meal goals. After exercise, there is an optimal window whereby insulin sensitivity is heightened.
• Get your post-workout meal into your body as soon as possible (try within 30 min of training).
• Post exercise meal can be liquid or solid and should be about .25g per pound of target weight of protein and about .5g per pound of target body weight for carbs.
• Regarding essential amino acids, branch-chained amino acids and glutamine - no need to fret as most whey protein blends carry enough of these compounds to satisfy most people's goals.

What the above boils down to getting a carb+protein mix on either side of your exercise sessions. For most people this is sufficient in terms of optimal glycogen uptake, protein synthesis and averting protein breakdown.

What are your strategies for pre, during and post workout nutrition?

References:
Alan Aragon Research Review. Nutrient Timing parts 1,2,3.
Kleiner, Susan M. Power Eating. 2006