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When To Eat Before Exercise: Start Focusing On Pre-Workout | Nutritionist Explains... | Myprotein
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Jan 30, 2025
An expert nutritionist explains why pre-workout is so essential, what’s best to eat and when you should be eating it. Jamie Wright, an expert nutritionist, explains why optimizing your pre-workout is the key to performing at your best in a session at the gym or overall exercising. What is pre-workout? It’s the all-important fuel that allows you to push your mind and body to its absolute limit and then some. Many take for granted just how crucial the pre-workout period is for having a great training session and, what most people don't know about pre-workout, it’s not all that complicated to nail it. Find out how to get the best out of your sessions in this video. Follow Jamie on IG: jamiesdietguide *** Chapters: 00:00 - Preworkout explained 01:22 - Nutrition goals 01:36 - Hydration / water 02:33 - Electrolytes 03:30 - Carbs 04:18 - Protein 04:40 - Snacks 06:10 - Summary 06:30 - Any more pre-workout questions?
View Video Transcript
0:00
optimizing your pre-workout is the key
0:02
to performing at your best in a session
0:03
it's the all-important view that allows
0:05
you to push your mind and body to its
0:07
absolute limit and then some many tier
0:09
for granted just how crucial the
0:10
Pre-Workout period is for having a great
0:12
training session what's quite sad about
0:14
that is that it's not all that
0:15
complicated to really kneel it
0:19
hi I'm Jamie an accredited nutritionist
0:21
and I help people across the world
0:23
improve their body composition gain lean
0:25
muscle and perform at their very best
0:27
with Cutting Edge clinically backed
0:29
nutrition strategies today we are
0:31
talking about why pre-workout is so
0:33
important what's best to eat and when
0:35
you should be eating it so let's break
0:36
it down why do we need to focus on
0:38
pre-workout nutrition exercise is hard
0:40
work I know that may be shocking to some
0:42
of you but it is so hard in fact that it
0:45
can deplete our carbohydrate stores
0:46
increase the breakdown of protein
0:48
structures including muscle protein
0:50
reduce our circulating electrolyte
0:52
levels and even leave us dehydrated
0:54
while just how severe you experience
0:56
these consequences of exercises all
0:58
dependent on the duration intensity and
1:00
environment of the activity you perform
1:02
it's a reflection of just how strenuous
1:04
it can be in our body if we don't
1:06
address these issues with purposeful
1:07
dietary intake it can hamper our
1:10
performance during a session and
1:12
recovery after as well even leading to
1:14
per performance and recovery and
1:16
exercise sessions which then follow so
1:18
the goal of nutrition around training
1:20
should be to have a carbohydrate sparing
1:22
effect and to restore stored
1:24
carbohydrate to reduce protein breakdown
1:26
to increase muscle protein synthesis to
1:28
restore any loss in electrolyte levels
1:30
and to optimize hydration levels and
1:32
ultimately avoid dehydration here's what
1:34
you should be having before training to
1:36
ensure your body performs at its
1:38
absolute best hydration is one of the
1:40
most overlooked dietary factors when it
1:42
comes to pre-workout nutrition
1:43
dehydration levels equivalent to just
1:45
two percent of your total body weight
1:47
can lead to significant reductions in
1:49
your ability to perform both physically
1:51
and mentally fluid intake is a key
1:53
component of maintaining hydration
1:54
levels especially in hotter humid
1:56
conditions a really simple way to gauge
1:58
just how much fluid you should be
2:00
drinking is to go by the color of your
2:01
pee as disgusting as that may sound your
2:03
pee is actually a fantastic indicator of
2:05
your hydration status ideally you'd like
2:07
it to be clear to straw yellow in color
2:09
and if it's darker than this you need to
2:11
increase your fluid intake if it's
2:13
already clear then don't be too hasty to
2:15
gozle down more fluids you can actually
2:16
also over hydrate as well which is when
2:18
you're consuming fluids at a rate beyond
2:20
the capacity of your kidneys to remove
2:22
it over hydration can be nasty and
2:24
people can experience nausea headaches
2:26
disorientation and may even throw up so
2:29
it's really best to avoid it for
2:31
hydration you'll also want to make sure
2:33
you're getting in plenty of electrolytes
2:35
these super duper important little
2:36
minerals work tirelessly to transmit
2:39
signals around the body and help
2:40
regulate everything from your heartbeat
2:42
to your muscle function a Telltale sign
2:44
of an electrolyte shortage is the
2:45
dreaded crumb if you've ever had one of
2:47
those in the gym then you'll appreciate
2:48
just how important electrolytes are
2:50
While most of us get plenty of
2:51
electrolytes from a balanced diet
2:53
exercises and athletes may want to
2:55
consider supplementing with them before
2:57
as well as during exercise or
2:59
competition it's much more practical to
3:01
keep on top of them this way and helps
3:03
to prevent any awful cramping when
3:05
you're in the middle of a tough session
3:06
or hard-fought game isotonic drinks or
3:09
even coconut water are both perfect
3:11
options for upping your fluids and
3:13
electrolytes before or even during the
3:15
session technically pre-worker can refer
3:17
to any time leading up to an exercise
3:19
session or competitive event this could
3:21
be 24 seconds before or even up to 24
3:24
hours before for the sake of Simplicity
3:26
we'll assume that the Pre-Workout window
3:28
refers to the 60 Minutes leading into
3:30
activity easier that way now the whole
3:32
goal of this pre-exercise window is to
3:34
provide a readily available source of
3:36
energy for most that's going to be a
3:38
starchy or sugary carp there are those
3:40
here are adapted to use dietary fat as
3:42
their primary energy source like those
3:44
following a keto diet but we just be
3:45
sticking to carbohydrates here providing
3:47
our body with a really quick to digest
3:49
or readily available carbohydrate allows
3:51
the body to use it in place of its own
3:53
carbohydrate stores this can help
3:55
prolong exercise delay fatigue and even
3:57
enhance performance it can also better
3:59
mentally prepare someone for exercise
4:01
making them more alert and focused fun
4:04
fact you can actually generate a similar
4:06
effect just by washing out your mouth
4:07
with sweetened fluid you don't even have
4:09
to drink it you just swish it around and
4:10
spit it back out and when you do that
4:12
you might get some funny looks in your
4:13
local gym but it's for the sake of
4:15
science so it's fine and having a source
4:17
of protein may also be good pre-workout
4:19
too as it can help negate protein
4:21
breakdown and stimulate the creation of
4:22
new protein but I personally don't like
4:25
to recommend it too close to training
4:27
you see having a more complex meal like
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this close to training especially when
4:30
continuing protein as it digests quite
4:32
slowly makes some people feel a bit
4:34
uncomfortable bloated and even nauseous
4:36
so it's best to keep it basic and just
4:39
stick to your carbohydrates if you're
4:40
wondering which food sources are best
4:42
and look no further than the humble
4:43
banana Mother Nature has already
4:45
perfected pre-workout nutrition in the
4:47
form of bananas rich in readily
4:48
available carbohydrates as well as being
4:50
a source of electrolytes and
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contributing to our hydration watermelon
4:54
is another great option as it fits a
4:56
similar profile to bananas the only real
4:58
issue with watermelon is that it's much
5:00
more voluminous meaning essentially
5:02
because it's mainly water you'd have to
5:04
eat a much greater serving in terms of
5:06
the actual weight to get the same amount
5:08
of nutrients as a banana it's great for
5:10
managing satiety and hunger not so great
5:13
if you're just about to jump into a
5:14
serious exercise session there are other
5:16
fruits which are also great to have
5:17
before training two dried fruit is
5:20
amusing especially with some roasted
5:21
coconut as is pineapple and mango you'll
5:24
want to avoid foods that have a higher
5:26
fiber content as this actually slows
5:28
down the rate of carbohydrate absorption
5:29
in the gut again great for mostly every
5:32
other situation just not ideal for
5:34
performance nutrition some of my other
5:36
favorite pre-workout snacks are coated
5:37
rice cakes cereal Flapjacks small
5:40
handful of sweets energy gels and even
5:43
Bagels seriously and I mean this from
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the bottom of my heart microwave
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cinnamon ribs and bagels for training
5:49
will change your life the EMA
5:51
pre-workout nutrition is to optimize
5:53
your performance in session by providing
5:55
a readily available source of energy as
5:57
well as ensuring your hydration is on
5:59
point carbs are your best friend
6:00
pre-workout and you'll want to go for
6:02
those that are easy to break down absorb
6:04
through the gut and be soaked up into
6:06
our working muscle keep on top of your
6:07
fluids by monitoring your pee remember
6:10
anything darker than clear to straw
6:12
yellow and you'll need to add in some
6:13
more fluids don't go too over the top
6:15
with your hydration efforts if your pee
6:16
is already clear don't want to over
6:18
hydrate oh and please do try the
6:20
microwave cinnamon raisin bagel 30
6:22
seconds is all you'll need and it'll
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just make your training or matches so
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much better bagels are literally the
6:27
best for everything absolutely
6:29
everything as always if you have any
6:31
more questions let me know in the
6:33
comments below and remember to like And
6:34
subscribe to the my protein YouTube
6:36
channel for more grit evidence-based
6:38
nutrition information
6:39
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