How to Eat Before and After Lifting

!±8± How to Eat Before and After Lifting

The pre and post meal is a huge factor in whether or not your routine will be as successful as it should be.

Pre Lifting Meal

Eating approximately 30 minutes before a workout ensures you have the energy to complete a purposeful lifting routine. If you have ever tried lifting weights on an empty stomach, and again with the right food in your system you can feel the difference in energy, strength and endurance.

30 minutes before you lift eat a combination of starchy carbs and protein. A fantastic choice is 1 cup of oatmeal mixed with protein powder. This combination is light enough that you won't feel weighed down, but more than enough carbs for energy and protein for muscular fuel. Drink a glass of water to wash it down for adequate hydration.

If you eat 1-2 hours before a workout then it is perfectly fine to eat a plate of whole wheat pasta or a bagel with peanut butter.

Post Lifting Meal

After you lift it's important to eat. This starts the proper recovery process. Rest and recovery are crucial for building mass. After a workout you are left feeling drained and depleted of all strength and energy.

30 minutes to 1 hour after lifting, drink a simple sugar to raise insulin levels. This helps carry nutrients in the muscles more quickly. Your muscles also need the glycogen put back in to them. If they don't have this restored, you risk muscle tissue breaking down for this purpose! Muscle glycogen can be restored by drinking fruit juice. Even better, mix some dextrose (glucose, a simple sugar derived from corn) in to juice, water or a protein shake.

Also eat protein to help build and repair torn muscle fibres so they will build back up to be stronger and bigger than before. 30-50 grams of lean proteins such as fish, brown rice, tofu and eggs will be more than enough to feed your muscles for recovery and growth.

Eating before and after a lifting routine helps aid the recovery process and gives you energy and strength. This way you don't feel tired and drained for the rest of the day. If you don't eat, your muscle size and strength will not progress nearly as much as it could and all your hard efforts in the gym will likely go to waste.

Eating and lifting go hand in hand. They are critical to success.

Eat For Results!