Pre-Workout Nutrition: Eating For Muscle Gain

Eating For Muscle Gain - Prime Your Body Before Your Workout!

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A wise man once said “If you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail”, and this holds true for your workouts too.

Every workout is a battle, and to succeed you need to be mentally and physically ready.

In this article, we will cover the physical side of preparedness by teaching you how to prime your body by eating for muscle gain before battling the weights.

If you are eating for muscle gain prior to your workout, you will enter the gym at peak strength and will provide your body with the necessary tools to pump iron as effectively as possible.

Eating for muscle gain, especially before your workout, helps you to achieve three very important goals:

1) Increase your strength potential to the max.

2) Provide a continuous stream of energy for both your mind and muscles while you are working out.

3) Keep muscle breakdown to a minimum and provide your body with sufficient nutrients to start the post-workout recovery process.

Solid food should not be the start of your eating for muscle gain program prior to training. You need to ensure that you’re properly hydrated before starting your workout. Since water is so important in terms of maintaining peak energy and strength levels, it’s very important to consume enough water in the hours before your workout.

You should down an ‘eating for muscle gain’ pre-workout meal about 60 minutes before hitting the gym. A major part of this meal should be protein. To prevent muscle breakdown during your workout you have to keep your body in an anabolic state—protein helps you do this.

30-40 grams of protein from high quality sources such as whey protein and casein is the ideal mix. Blend 25-30 grams of whey protein in 300-400ml of skim milk to get this mixture.

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. When you mix your whey with milk, the release of proteins is slowed and this helps provide your body with a constant stream of amino acids throughout your training session.

On top of the protein shake, also make sure to consume 1-2 portions of a high quality, low-glycemic carbohydrates. Carbohydrates that are low on the glycemic index are such a great choice because they are broken down and absorbed by the body at a gradual pace; thereby, giving you a constant source of energy to sustain 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. When this happens, your insulin levels experience a quick rise followed by a sharp fall.

This crash in insulin levels will cause you to tire mid-workout. If you’re about to perform a high intensity workout, you need to choose carbohydrates that don’t cause such a rapid rise and fall in insulin levels.

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. Don’t workout unless you have consumed a pre-workout meal.

So, here’s the recap:

Around 60 minutes before your hitting the weights:

1) 300-400ml of milk mixed with 25-30 grams of whey protein.

2) 1-2 servings of slow release carbohydrates such as an apple, brown rice, or oatmeal. 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.

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