What to eat before strength training?

 A question often comes up among bodybuilders: "What should you eat before a workout?" “Everyone is looking for the perfect meal or snack to consume before a 

session to have the maximum energy. Nutrition is therefore very important in the practice of a sporting activity since it is considered as the fuel for the body and the muscles. Therefore, it can be interesting to have a snack around a workout as before and / or after to meet the needs of the body. It can improve energy and athletic performance while having less fatigue to support the effort. In this article, we will therefore take a look at the macronutrients in our diet in order to determine what we can eat before a resistance training session.

Focus on the different macronutrients

In our diet, we find 3 macronutrients which are proteins, carbohydrates and lipids.

The proteins

Proteins are essential macronutrients for athletes and bodybuilders. Indeed, according to scientific studies, it has been shown that diets rich in protein can promote muscle mass gains and spare muscle mass loss even during calorie restriction since they help to maintain and develop mass. muscle (1). Proteins are very present in our daily diet: as in white and red meat, eggs, fish, dairy products, legumes… We also find them in the form of food supplements such as whey protein for example.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the macronutrients considered as the main source of energy for the body and muscles. The body can store it in limited quantities in its muscle glycogen stores. Carbohydrates are divided into two categories: simple carbohydrates and complete carbohydrates. It is also the latter that should be favored thanks to their low glycemic index. This means they can provide long-term, sustainable energy without raising blood sugar. Simple carbohydrates provide quickly available energy and increase blood sugar.

Simple carbohydrates are great when consumed around training to provide immediate energy while maintaining your glycogen stores. For this, there are exercise drinks such as maltodextrin or dextrose. In your diet, we advise you to turn to complete carbohydrates which can be rice, quinoa, pasta, legumes, etc.

Lipids

Lipids are the macronutrients that can be beneficial for health, if they are composed of omega 3. Indeed, cardiac societies recommend the intake of 1 g / day of the two omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid. (DHA) for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, the prevention of sudden death and the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (2).

However, they take a long time to digest and are therefore not recommended around training since they will not bring you real benefits. You can find it in fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, but also in vegetable oils such as olive oil, linseed oil, etc. It is essential to turn to quality lipids.

Why eat before strength training?

There are bodybuilders who like to eat before a workout to perform and have more energy, while avoiding having an empty stomach. During strength training, the body and muscles draw on your fuel reserves in order to be able to provide an intense and lasting effort. These reserves are generally your glycogen store made up of carbohydrates and sugars which is depleted during the session. When reserves are exhausted, the body will naturally draw on muscle reserves and therefore proteins, which can cause muscle catabolism, which is clearly not the goal.

What to eat before a workout?

As seen previously, we advise you to consume carbohydrates before or during exercise, to have enough energy during your training. For this, you can take training carbohydrates like maltodextrin or dextrose powder which you can mix with water, BCAAs or the drink of your choice. BCAAs are so-called essential branched amino acids, composed of leucine, isoleucine and valine, which cannot be synthesized by the body and which must be provided by diet and supplementation. According to scientific studies, consuming BCAAs before and after exercise has beneficial effects in reducing exercise-induced muscle damage and promoting muscle protein synthesis (3).

We also advise you to have a snack or a meal about 1h30 before your session to provide enough amino acids to the muscles but also carbohydrates in the form of oatmeal or fruit such as a banana or an apple.

As you will have understood, it can be interesting or even very useful to eat before a workout and to consume fast carbohydrates and/or BCAAs during the workout for better results.

(1) Devries MC, Phillips SM. Supplemental protein in support of muscle mass and health: advantage whey. J Food Sci. 2015; 80 Suppl 1: A8-A15.

(2) von Schacky C, Harris WS. Cardiovascular benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Cardiovasc Res. 2007; 73 (2): 310-315.

(3) Shimomura Y, Murakami T, Nakai N, Nagasaki M, Harris RA. Exercise promotes BCAA catabolism: effects of BCAA supplementation on skeletal muscle during exercise. J Nutr. 2004; 134 (6 Suppl): 1583S-1587S