Benefits of pre, intra and post-workouts
Your body requires high levels of energy for optimum performance during any form of exercise – and post-workout nutrition can be just as important for recovery. Key macronutrients should be consumed in your daily diet: protein and carbohydrates. Protein in particular, is directly linked to muscle maintenance and growth
You can also source protein from supplements, which can give your protein levels an extra boost to support your workout. Here, we explore the benefits of meals, snacks and supplements pre, intra and post-workout.
Pre-workout
Pre-workout nutrition should be taken at least 30 minutes before you begin to exercise. It needs time to fully digest and be put to good use. This is why only simple carbohydrates, such as whole grains and brown rice should be consumed as a pre-workout – this is because complex carbohydrates cannot be digested in time, unless consumed 2-3 hours prior.
During exercise your muscle stores decline rapidly. The aim of pre-workout nutrition is to saturate your muscle stores ahead of your workout to prevent feeling fatigue prematurely. In other words, you want to increase your time to exhaustion and prolong depletion.
Intra-workout
Usually an intra-workout drink is consumed to keep the body hydrated and to maintain high energy levels during exercise. It can replenish the energy that is burned throughout the workout so you can make every rep count.
Post-workout
Following your workout it’s important to replenish the stores that you have burned through exercise. Post-workout nutrition should be within 30 minutes to an hour after you stop exercising.
For muscle gain, protein synthesis must exceed the rate of protein synthesis. Protein is needed for protein synthesis to take place – it is required for muscle maintenance and growth. If protein synthesis exceed protein breakdown, muscle mass isn’t at a loss.
