Workout question.

[ifall 0]

Does it make much of a difference if I eat dinner before I workout or not? I am getting back onto a workout schedule and my buddy who works out with me usually doesn't get home 'til around 8:00 or 9:00 or somewhere in between. I get home around 6-ish and like to eat fairly soon after I get home. I figured I can then run over to his house to work out when he gets home. This actually works out pretty nicely because he lives about 2 miles away so I can get the cardio workout I need running to and from his house.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Eating before you work out should help you lose weight. You should eat a smaller than usual dinner at least 1 hour before your work out and have an high protein, low carb snack right after if you are building mass. At that time of day you don't need carbs for activity, you just need a little bit to help you digest the protein. A bit of broccoli or a small OJ is good.

[tigra 0]

My trainer expects me to have at least a snack or small meal before a session- he always asks. I usually go straight from work so I keep stuff like cereal here at the office. And for early morning workouts, I also need to have something- at least a protein shake or an energy bar. I find for me personally, if I don't, I will be starving after the workout and eat pretty much anything that isn't nailed down.

[ifall 0]

Thank you! What I'm looking to do is to build a little mass and just generally stay healthy. I can't really lose much of what I have. I'm a pretty skinny guy. Any suggestions on a good high protein/low carb snack? Thanks a lot!

[Andrewwhyte 1]

A can of tuna (they have those half sized cans that have a bunch of flavours like peanut satay or lemon pepper) and a four oz cup of real juice right in the locker room before your sauna is what I like.

[Hausse 0]

6pm rice and chicken
Right before training BCAA
Right after training glucose or maltodextrin shake with About 1g/kg body weight possibly with creatin monohydrate.
Then about 30-45 min after 60g whey protein
And then about 1-2 hours after another big rice and chicken dinner.

That's the way to go if you are seriously working out do build up mass.
Why would you possibly want to eat a low carb snack if you want to get mass?

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Quote

Why would you possibly want to eat a low carb snack if you want to get mass?

Carbs are good before your work out for energy, but why do you need them in any quantity afterwards? Protein builds muscle, not carbs.
BTW Why do you wait to eat the whey?

[dan_iv 0]

Not intending to offend anyone that has given advise here but if you really want some good advice as far as nutrition goes in relation to your workouts check out this forum -> http://www.discussfitness.com/forums/

People will argue about timing your food intake as well as the macro nutrient splits, and supplements all the time. The bottom line is you are going to need to figure it out based on your progress of your workouts and your body measurements.

If you serious about it go to the forum I posted and start looking through information available there.

This is a good sticky thread over there to start with too... http://www.discussfitness.com/forums/f3/some-links-and-helpful-tips-21713.html

[Hausse 0]

Nah your not right there. If just protein would build muscles (and you are right there, muscles are proteins), I'd be huge by now It is right that proteins are very important, but the most important thing is that muscles can just be built up when a calories surplus exists (assuming you are a natural).

When you are working out, you use the glycogens (not sure if that's the right word in english) which are saved in your muscles. As soon as you finish the training you want to replace them by eating short chained carbs, so the muscle can start recooperating as fast as possible. That is also the reason why you should wait with the protein shake. The first priority for the body is to refill the glycogen and after that the broken muscle fibers are repaird (this is then the process where you build up muscles). The creatin usually goes with the carbs because it needs some transporting matrix and carbs are ideal there.

Edited because Dan was faster: I agree that forums are a great source. The thing you have to watch out for is that you are on the right forum for you. If you are overweight and just looking to loose weight, you want to be on a fitness forum. On the other hand if you want to build up mass, go to a bodybuilding forum. They are fairly easy to recognize because most of them have a steroids section. This is not saying start doing steroids, but it means that most people who are doing steroids know how to eat since that is the most important factor in bodybuilding and can give better advice on building up mass than the usual fitness type person.

[dan_iv 0]

Nice summary of glycogen storage and muscle repair! I haven't participated in those forums for quite a while but there are a good bunch of people there giving advice as well as support.

[ifall 0]

Thanks everybody! This has been very helpful!

[Hausse 0]

If you are interested PM me I can give you an example nutrition plan I made for a judo olympics contestor. Nothing usable for usual people but still interesting and helpful to see.

[IrinaKasper 0]

for beginners, I recommend to watch the video http://happybody.tv/air-squats/ how to do the exercises to get a good result. Because if you'll do it wrong you will not see the result and you will not have the motivation to continue to train

[Icemann 0]

ifall

Does it make much of a difference if I eat dinner before I workout or not? I am getting back onto a workout schedule and my buddy who works out with me usually doesn't get home 'til around 8:00 or 9:00 or somewhere in between. I get home around 6-ish and like to eat fairly soon after I get home. I figured I can then run over to his house to work out when he gets home. This actually works out pretty nicely because he lives about 2 miles away so I can get the cardio workout I need running to and from his house.

It will not make any different as long as it fits within your daily macro. However I would just have a small amount of food for pre-workout since it would have little effects on your insulin level. And then for pw, have about 30-50g of fast carbs like fruits (fructose), white bread, or even gummy bears to spike your insulin level, hence make your body absorb creatine and protein more easily. Ingest a small portion of complex carbs and protein, like porridge or whole wheat bread with PB for pw for long lasting energy, then some fast sugars immediately following your workout, and have your meal around 15-30 minutes later.