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What To Eat Pre, During And Post Workout | Nutritionist Explains... | Myprotein
Jan 30, 2025
An expert dietitian breaks down the importance of nutrition for supporting our performance and our recovery.
It can be easy to get confused with what nutrition advice to follow. Expert dietitian, Elle Kelly, breaks down the purpose of pre intra and post-workout fueling. Elle starts by taking a look at pre-workout. The purpose of understanding why we should fuel pre, intra and post is to ensure that our body is prepared for the workout and recovery. Nutrition will depend on your goals.
Let us know in the comments below if you change how you will fuel yourself after watching this video.
Follow Elle on IG: ellekellynutrition
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Chapters:
00:00 - The purpose of nutrition
01:45 - What is a pre-workout meal?
03:34 - Intra and post-workout
05:07 - The four R's
06:37 - Fruit and Veg
07:29 - Fats
07:39 - Got any more workout nutrition questions?
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0:00
we all know the importance of nutrition
0:02
for supporting our performance and our
0:03
recovery and therefore how we achieve
0:05
our fitness related goals but with so
0:07
much nutrition advice circulating social
0:09
media it can be easy to get confused
0:11
with what nutrition advice to follow
0:15
my name is Elle specialist eating
0:17
disorder and sports dietitian and I'm
0:19
going to break down the purpose of
0:21
pre-intra and post-workout feeling let's
0:23
start by taking a look at pre-workout
0:25
the purpose of pre-workout fueling is to
0:27
ensure that your body is prepared for
0:29
the workout ahead the importance of
0:31
pre-workout nutrition will depend on
0:33
your goals are you training for
0:35
performance or is this Leisure the
0:37
requirements of your spores for example
0:39
is it power or endurance based the
0:42
intensity this will dictate Which
0:44
substrate will be the predominant fuel
0:45
provider the duration this will
0:47
influence how much energy you need the
0:49
timing of the day is your pre-workout
0:51
meal the first meal you've eaten or have
0:53
you been eating regularly throughout the
0:54
day in the lead up to the session your
0:56
digestion and preferences you should be
0:58
doing what works for you and of course
0:59
your overall energy requirements and
1:01
intake in many sports especially high
1:04
intensity ones carbohydrates are the
1:06
preferred fuel source we can store
1:08
carbohydrates in the form of glycogen in
1:10
our muscles and our liver glycogen is
1:12
converted back to glucose us and is drip
1:14
fed into the bloodstream in the absence
1:16
of food when glycogen stores are at full
1:18
capacity they can normally provide us
1:20
with energy for up to 24 hours however
1:22
the rate at which we use glycogen is
1:25
much higher when we are exercising and
1:27
glycogen can be used up pretty quickly
1:29
throughout some sports especially high
1:31
intensity ones and this is why it is
1:33
important to ensure that these stores
1:34
are topped up before we go into a
1:36
training session when it comes to
1:38
pre-workout nutrition the timing of a
1:40
meal is really important to consider if
1:42
you are eating two to three hours prior
1:44
to recession the meals should be high in
1:46
carbohydrates preferably starchy
1:48
carbohydrates to provide longer lasting
1:51
energy it should also contain a source
1:52
of protein to support your overall daily
1:54
requirements and ideally be low in fat
1:57
and fiber to prevent digestive issues if
1:59
you are eating 30 to 60 minutes prior to
2:01
training the meals should be rich in
2:03
carbohydrates but preferably simple
2:04
carbohydrates for fast acting energy it
2:07
should also contain minimal amounts of
2:09
fat as this slows down the digestion and
2:11
the release of energy and ideally it
2:12
should be low in 5 to prevent digestive
2:14
issues now protein is the one
2:16
macronutrient that we cannot store in
2:18
our body which is why it is important to
2:20
spread our intake out across the day
2:22
considering that the purpose of
2:23
pre-workout fueling is to provide energy
2:25
the importance of protein in this meal
2:27
can depend on a few factors protein can
2:29
take longer to digest and slow to
2:31
provide energy but you may choose to
2:33
include some protein with your
2:34
pre-workout meal in order to support
2:36
your overall daily protein requirements
2:38
some research has actually shown that
2:40
the ingestion of protein prior to a
2:42
workout can increase the amount of amino
2:44
acids in the amino acid pool which may
2:46
improve muscle protein repair my protein
2:48
has some snacks which can be useful for
2:50
pre-workout fueling like protein
2:51
Flapjacks and oat bakes caffeine is also
2:54
something that may be considered as part
2:56
of your pre-workout regime to experience
2:58
the benefits of caffeine such as
2:59
improved alertness it is recommended to
3:01
take between three to six milligrams per
3:04
kilo of body weight at least 30 minutes
3:06
prior to your session this would look
3:08
like 210 to 420 milligrams for an
3:11
individual who weighs approximately 70
3:12
kilos and you can get this from a scoop
3:14
of my protein pre-workout or a strong
3:16
coffee everyone responds differently to
3:18
caffeine so the timing and dosages will
3:20
differ among individuals remember your
3:23
pre-workout meal is a small window
3:24
within the day and your overall energy
3:26
intake is important not feeling
3:28
adequately prior to a session can lead
3:30
to fatigue and quicker and feeling
3:31
weaker which can impact our performance
3:33
and our progression coming into sessions
3:35
fasted can be counterproductive for this
3:38
reason especially if your goal is to
3:39
improve your performance or strength
3:41
next up intro workouts the purpose of
3:44
intra-workout feeling is to provide an
3:46
additional source of energy so that
3:48
performance can be sustained in some
3:50
cases inter-workout nutrition can be
3:51
essential in other cases it may be
3:54
beneficial and in some it's just not
3:55
necessary at all ensure workout
3:57
nutrition may be required when sessions
3:59
or events last longer than 90 minutes or
4:01
60 minutes if they're at a high
4:02
intensity if you haven't had adequate
4:04
feeling before a training session if
4:06
you're training twice in a day or having
4:08
sessions close together as this makes it
4:10
harder to ensure glycogen stores are
4:12
primed again for the next session or if
4:14
you are participating in multi-day
4:15
events where again the time for glycogen
4:18
resynthesis is limited ensure workout
4:20
nutrition is similar to pre-workout
4:22
nutrition except the emphasis is really
4:24
on the consumption of carbohydrates in
4:26
order to provide fast acting energy
4:27
digestion is also an important factor to
4:30
consider with inter-workout nutrition as
4:32
changes in our digestion is common with
4:34
exercise examples of suitable
4:36
intra-workout Foods include dried fruit
4:38
like dates or raisins fruit toast and
4:40
rice cakes and honey sports drinks and
4:42
energy gels can also be useful or you
4:44
could add carbohydrate to your drink
4:46
throughout the session by using my
4:47
protein dextrose glucose carb mix and
4:50
finally post-workout the purpose of
4:52
post-workout nutrition is to enhance the
4:54
recovery process exercise is a stress on
4:57
the body especially if it's intense so
4:59
it's important to support recovery
5:00
through nutrition and hydration what you
5:02
do in the hours following one session
5:03
can really play a crucial role in how
5:05
you perform in subsequent sessions and
5:07
this applies to both recreational gym
5:09
goers and athletes I often advise that
5:12
there are four r's to remember member
5:13
when it comes to recovery number one
5:15
repair our body is in a constant state
5:18
of muscle protein breakdown and repair
5:20
but the rate of this is elevated after
5:22
exercise in order to promote muscle
5:24
protein synthesis AKA repair and growth
5:27
a certain amount of amino acids from
5:29
protein is required
5:31
quantity of protein consumed is not only
5:33
important for recovery but also the
5:35
quality a specific amino acids play
5:37
important roles in muscle growth and
5:39
recovery for example three to four grams
5:41
of leucine is required to stimulate
5:43
muscle protein synthesis this is usually
5:45
easily obtained through animal protein
5:47
sources such as whey protein milk yogurt
5:50
and chicken a multitude of studies
5:51
suggests that approximately 20 to 40
5:53
grams of protein is a sufficient amount
5:55
to maximally stimulate muscle protein
5:58
synthesis post-workout this looks like
6:00
one to two scoops of my protein impact
6:02
way which provides 20 grams of high
6:04
quality protein per scoop number two
6:06
replenish during exercise muscle
6:09
glycogen stores become depleted and the
6:11
body's ability to resid the size
6:13
glycogen is at its peak during the
6:15
initial few hours following exercise but
6:17
this can continue over a longer period
6:19
it is important to consume carbohydrates
6:21
within this post-workout window to
6:23
replenish the stores in order to prevent
6:24
fatigue and promote recovery number
6:26
three rehydrate depending on how much we
6:29
sweat there is a loss of both fluid and
6:31
electrolytes during training and it's
6:33
important to rehydrate after to prevent
6:35
electrolyte imbalances and number four
6:38
re-nourish exercise can cause increased
6:41
levels of oxidative stress which
6:42
produces free radicals which can cause
6:44
inflammation and play a role in impaired
6:46
muscle repair and thus performance
6:49
antioxidants are molecules found in
6:51
fruit and vegetables and can help to
6:52
protect against free radical damage by
6:54
neutralizing free radicals fruits and
6:56
veg are often overlooked when it comes
6:58
to post-workout nutrition as we can
7:00
become very focused on macronutrients
7:02
like carbs and protein and forget about
7:04
the micronutrients however these are so
7:06
important for providing vitamins a c and
7:08
e which are all antioxidants I know it
7:11
sounds as though fats are not important
7:13
when it comes to fueling workouts but
7:15
the main reason as to why fats are
7:17
limited around training times is because
7:19
they are slow to be digested which isn't
7:22
ideal when we need fast acting energy
7:24
for performance or we want carbs and
7:26
protein to start the repair process ASAP
7:28
fats are super important in our diet so
7:31
and should be included in all of our
7:33
other meals fats provide us with energy
7:35
but are also a key nutrient for
7:36
supporting our hormonal health so I hope
7:39
this simplifies the aims of pre-intra
7:41
and post-workout nutrition and gives you
7:43
some ideas of how your diet can support
7:45
your goals as always if you have any
7:47
questions please let me know in the
7:49
comments below and remember to like
7:50
subscribe to the my protein YouTube
7:52
channel for more great evidence-based
7:54
nutrition information
7:56
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