What's the best thing to eat before working out at the gym?

If you think in detail about what is best to eat before working out in the gym, then you are serious about your workouts. Those who do not pay attention to diet are less likely to achieve impressive results. Every athlete should know a few simple rules.

1. Firstly, in order to have the strength to carry out intense exercise, the body requires a certain amount of calories;
2. And secondly, to build muscles, it is necessary to provide the body with a sufficiently high level of protein - the main building material for our muscles.

You should eat food two hours before exercising on any exercise equipment or with free weights. This is the best time. If you eat earlier, by the time you start exercising, you will feel hungry, which will prevent you from getting into a normal working mood. If it’s later, your stomach will be overloaded by the time the class starts, which will also prevent you from giving your best...

Choose foods that are quickly digested. For example, you can eat vegetables and fruits. They only take an hour to digest. Next in terms of absorption rate are various cereals, dairy products, and fish. It takes about two hours to completely digest them.

Meat products take longer to digest than others: about 4 hours. The time depends on the fat content of the meat. Chicken and other poultry meats are processed much faster than pork or beef.

If there is only an hour left before the start of active work in the gym, it is better to postpone a hearty lunch. Suitable snacks:

1. a small amount of chicken;
2. vegetable salad;
3. fruits.

In this case, part of the carbohydrates from which the body receives energy will be processed before the start of the workout.

If you can’t have a proper lunch before class, be sure to drink a sports protein shake. It will serve as a good source of energy. We have a constantly growing collection of protein drink recipes here - read for your health!

Scientists have proven that if you consume carbohydrates, it slows down fatigue, increases physical endurance and performance. It is thanks to carbohydrates that glucose in the blood increases: this makes our muscles work more actively.

The best way to get the right amount of energy for your gym workout is to count the calories in each meal. On average, when exercising, 1 kg of a trainee’s weight requires 20 kilocalories. This amount is necessary for an hour of practice at a slow or medium pace. So, if you weigh 95 kilograms, before exercise you need to eat food whose total calories are 1900 kcal. If you plan to exercise intensely for 1.5 hours, you should consume a little more calories.

The question of what food is best to eat before training is often decided based on practical experience. To determine the best option, experiment with portion sizes and timing.

Well, read about what is better to eat after a fitness or bodybuilding session in our next articles in this section. Eat wisely and you will be guaranteed success!