Eating For Muscle Gain: Pre-Workout Nutrition

The old saying goes “If you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail”—this advice is very important for all of your workouts as well.

The gym is your battleground and every workout is a war—to taste success you need to be physically and mentally prepared.

Today, we are going to talk about how to deal with physical preparation and teach you how can prime your body before battling the weights by eating for muscle gain.

Eating for muscle gain helps give your body the necessary tools to workout as effectively as possible because it ensures that you go into the gym at peak strength.

There are three main goals that you want to achieve when eating for muscle gain before a workout:.

1) Increase strength potential to the maximum.

2) Offer a steady flow of balanced energy to your mind and muscles that will sustain you throughout the workout.

3) Minimize the breakdown of muscles during the workout and provide your body with all the ingredients necessary to start the process of recovery after your workout.

Solid food should not be the start of your eating for muscle gain program prior to training. Ensuring that you’re properly hydrated before your workout is the first step. In the hours before you train, drink a lot of water, as it helps to peak your strength and energy levels while you train.

Your ‘eating for muscle gain’ pre-workout meal should be consumed approximately 60 minutes before you go into the gym. Protein should be a big part of this meal. If you get enough protein, it can put your body into an anabolic state during your workout, and help to reduce muscle breakdown.

30-40 grams of protein from high quality sources such as whey protein and casein is the ideal mix. Ideal recipe: take 300-400ml of skim milk and mix in 25-30 grams of whey protein.

As whey protein is naturally high in BCAA's, which help to prevent muscle catabolism during your workout, it’s a smart pre-workout choice when eating for muscle gain. To provide your body with a steady release of amino acids throughout your workout, mix your whey with milk to slow down the release of protein.

You should also get 1-2 portions of low-glycemic carbohydrates along with your protein. Low glycemic carbohydrates are perfect before your workout because they are absorbed gradually into the bloodstream, giving your body a constant supply of energy to fuel your workout.

When eating for muscle gain, especially before your workout, stay away from high glycemic carbohydrates because they are released too quickly into your bloodstream and result in a surge of insulin being released to balance your blood sugar levels. If you do this, your insulin levels spike up and then crash.

The fall in your insulin levels will weaken you and make you feel sluggish and tired. Choose carbohydrates that won't cause this rapid fluctuation in insulin levels because it’s the last thing that you want to experience in the middle of a high intensity workout.

To maintain an even stream of sugars throughout your workout, choose pre-workout carbohydrates like oatmeal, apples, or brown rice that ensure steady energy levels.

The key to pre-workout nutrition, when eating for muscle gain, is to keep the portions small so that they can be easily digested and you don’t feel sick during your workout. Do not workout on an empty stomach.

To summarize:.
Around 60 minutes before your hitting the weights:.
1) Around 25-30 grams of whey protein mixed with 300-400ml of milk.
2) 1-2 servings of carbohydrates like brown rice, oatmeal, or apple, which are gradually released into your system. Oatmeal, brown rice, apple)

I also like to have a cup or two of coffee before hitting the gym because it increases my energy and amplifies focus.