What you eat around your workouts significantly impacts your performance, energy levels, and recovery. Yet nutrition often confuses gym-goers, with conflicting advice about timing, macronutrients, and supplements creating unnecessary stress.
The good news? Effective workout nutrition doesn't require complicated meal timing or expensive supplements. This guide strips away the confusion, providing practical, science-based strategies for fuelling your fitness routine.
The Basics of Workout Nutrition
Your body uses different fuel sources depending on exercise intensity and duration. Understanding this helps you make better nutrition choices.
Energy Systems Simplified
Carbohydrates are your body's preferred fuel for moderate to high-intensity exercise. They're stored in muscles as glycogen and provide quick energy. When glycogen depletes, performance drops noticeably—you've hit "the wall."
Fats fuel lower-intensity, longer-duration activities. Your body has abundant fat stores, but accessing them for energy takes longer than carbohydrates.
Protein isn't a primary energy source during exercise, but it's essential for muscle repair and growth afterward.
Key Principle
The intensity and duration of your workout determines your primary fuel needs. A 30-minute weights session has different requirements than a 2-hour endurance event.
Pre-Workout Nutrition
What you eat before training affects your energy, focus, and ability to push through challenging workouts.
Timing Your Pre-Workout Meal
The ideal timing depends on meal size:
- Large meal (500+ calories): 3-4 hours before exercise
- Medium meal (300-500 calories): 2-3 hours before exercise
- Small snack (100-200 calories): 30-60 minutes before exercise
Training on a completely empty stomach isn't ideal for most people, as low blood sugar can cause fatigue and poor performance. However, some people prefer fasted morning workouts—experiment to find what works for you.
What to Eat Pre-Workout
Focus on easily digestible carbohydrates with moderate protein and low fat:
- 2-3 hours before: Oatmeal with banana, whole grain toast with eggs, rice with chicken and vegetables
- 1-2 hours before: Greek yogurt with fruit, smoothie with protein, peanut butter on toast
- 30-60 minutes before: Banana, energy bar, rice cakes, piece of fruit
Foods to Avoid Before Exercise
- High-fat meals: Slow to digest, may cause discomfort
- High-fibre foods: Can cause bloating and cramping
- Spicy foods: May cause heartburn during exercise
- Unfamiliar foods: Never experiment before important workouts
Pro Tip
Keep non-perishable pre-workout snacks in your gym bag for emergencies: protein bars, individual nut butter packets, or dried fruit. This prevents the "I'm too hungry to train" excuse.
During-Workout Nutrition
For most gym sessions under 60-75 minutes, water is all you need during training. However, longer or more intense sessions may benefit from additional fuel.
When to Fuel During Exercise
- Under 60 minutes: Water only is fine
- 60-90 minutes: Consider small amounts of easily digestible carbs if intensity is high
- Over 90 minutes: Consuming 30-60g carbohydrates per hour helps maintain performance
Easy Intra-Workout Options
- Sports drinks (for sessions over 60 minutes)
- Energy gels or chews
- Banana or other soft fruit
- Homemade sports drink (water, honey, salt, lemon)
Post-Workout Nutrition
Recovery nutrition supports muscle repair, glycogen replenishment, and adaptation to training. This is where protein becomes particularly important.
The Post-Workout Window
The "anabolic window" is often overstated—you don't need to consume protein within 30 minutes or lose gains. However, eating within 1-2 hours of training is beneficial, especially if you train fasted or your next meal is hours away.
What to Eat Post-Workout
Aim for a combination of protein and carbohydrates:
- Protein: 20-40g supports muscle protein synthesis
- Carbohydrates: Replenish glycogen stores, particularly after intense sessions
Post-Workout Meal Ideas
Immediately after (if not eating a meal soon):
- Protein shake with banana
- Greek yogurt with berries
- Chocolate milk (surprisingly effective!)
- Protein bar
Full meals (within 2 hours):
- Grilled chicken with sweet potato and vegetables
- Salmon with rice and salad
- Eggs on toast with avocado
- Stir-fry with tofu or beef and noodles
- Tuna salad sandwich
Recovery Priority
If you can only focus on one post-workout nutrient, prioritise protein. Adequate protein intake (1.6-2.2g per kg body weight daily) is the most important factor for muscle recovery and growth.
Hydration
Proper hydration is arguably more important than food timing. Even mild dehydration impairs performance, concentration, and recovery.
Daily Hydration
General recommendation: 30-40ml per kg body weight daily, plus additional fluid for exercise. A 70kg person needs approximately 2.1-2.8 litres daily before accounting for workout losses.
Exercise Hydration
- Before: 500ml in the 2 hours prior to exercise
- During: 150-250ml every 15-20 minutes of exercise
- After: 500-750ml for every 0.5kg lost during exercise
Signs of Dehydration
- Dark urine colour
- Headache during or after exercise
- Excessive fatigue
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Muscle cramps
Portable Gym Bag Nutrition
Having the right snacks in your gym bag prevents poor food choices when hunger strikes. Choose non-perishable options that survive the gym environment.
Gym Bag Snack Ideas
- Protein bars: Choose options with at least 15g protein and minimal added sugar
- Nut butter packets: Individual servings are convenient and mess-free
- Dried fruit and nuts: Mixed trail mixes provide carbs and healthy fats
- Rice cakes: Light, easy to digest pre-workout carbs
- Protein powder single-serve packets: Just add water post-workout
- Jerky: High-protein, non-perishable snack
Common Nutrition Mistakes
Avoid these frequent errors that undermine workout nutrition:
- Overcomplicating things: Basic whole foods work brilliantly; fancy supplements are rarely necessary.
- Training completely fasted without adaptation: If you prefer fasted training, build up gradually.
- Eating too much before training: A heavy stomach impairs performance and comfort.
- Ignoring overall diet: No amount of workout nutrition fixes a poor overall diet.
- Relying solely on supplements: Real food should form the foundation.
- Not adjusting for activity: A light yoga session has different needs than heavy weight training.
Putting It All Together
Here's a sample nutrition approach for a typical gym session:
Evening weight training session (6 PM):
- Lunch (12 PM): Balanced meal with protein, carbs, and vegetables
- Afternoon snack (4 PM): Banana and handful of almonds from gym bag
- During workout: 750ml water
- After workout (7:30 PM): Protein shake while preparing dinner
- Dinner (8 PM): Chicken stir-fry with rice and vegetables
Remember, consistency with good nutrition habits matters far more than perfection on any single day. Focus on building sustainable practices that support your training rather than obsessing over optimal timing and supplements.