Eating an exercise-friendly meal or snack before a personal training session has a significant effect on the quality of workout you experience. Have a look at this blog post to know what to eat before training!
The quicker and harder you work during a personal training session maximizes your results both physically and mentally. After all, that is what we’re working towards when we exercise, isn’t it?
For the best results from your training, try eating a complete meal containing protein, fat, and carbs two to three hours beforehand.
However, with life’s curveballs which can be thrown at you on any given day, sometimes when you’re unable to consume a full meal before exercising. Or, you ate five hours before a session and you aren’t hungry enough to take down a whole meal two hours later. In either of these cases, you can still eat exercise-friendly foods less than two hours before a workout, or even 45 minutes to an hour before a workout without it consuming time which you can’t afford to lose or fill you up too much.
Be mindful that the sooner you eat before a workout, the smaller your food intake should be.
If Your Workout Begins Within Two To Three Hours
First off, I highly recommend you avoid any meals containing high volumes of grease as it will slow you down significantly during your personal training session. If you are starting your day off, a highly recommended pre-workout meal is avocado toast, which is a fried-egg placed over avocado spread on toasted whole-grain bread, along a cup of any fruit on the side for a natural energy boost.
This is a great breakfast if you are at the beginning of your day. Not only is avocado toast delicious, avocado has numerous health benefits as you’re consuming great sources of protein, carbohydrates, and fat.
If you are a big fan of the old fashioned bread and protein combination, energizing sandwiches on whole-wheat bread to eat before exercising in the two to three hour timeframe are a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chicken salad sandwich, tuna salad sandwich, egg sandwich, or a turkey sandwich, which are all protein-filled.
While you do want to be wary of meat consumption before a personal training session, white meat is a good source of protein and okay to eat two to three hours before working out. With these sandwiches, I suggest avoiding cheese and sticking strictly to the protein, whole-wheat bread, along with a side salad of your choice. The healthy way!
Remember that exercising doesn’t always have to interfere with enjoying a complete meal. You can still do both and thrive in a personal training session which is ahead of you. A good meal for this is consuming lean protein, like salmon or white-meat, with brown rice and roasted vegetables on the side.
I suggest brown rice as it contains higher volumes of protein, fat, and carbs than white rice, all workout-complementary sources of nutrition. I highly recommend this meal or one similar to this because you’re getting the best of both worlds, eating tasty food that will have you ready to rumble before exercising.
Don’t forget, you don’t necessarily have to cut down on your food intake as long as you make the right changes to your diet. After all, food is one of the main ingredients to survival and it’s imperative to make sure we’re meeting the right level of nutrition for our bodies.
Looking to get on the right track with your diet? Start by booking your sessions with HOKALI, and working with experienced, high-level trainers who can assign you a personalized diet plan which suits you!
If Your Workout Starts Within Two Hours
If your workout starts within two hours, it’s best to take a step down with your meal so you don’t slow up during your session.
Whole-grain cereal with milk of your choice or oatmeal are both simple, easy meals containing enough nutrition to energize you before and during a workout. Mixing these with fruit and almonds make for an even better meal and will give you an additional boost of energy and nutrition.
However, if you’re not a fan of either of these, a protein smoothie is always a healthy alternative. Try drinking one with milk, protein powder, and any fruit of your preference. Implement your favorite fruits, milk, and protein powder into your smoothie and you’ll be feeling good as ever with a natural energy rush before your personal training session! I mean, who doesn’t love smoothies?
If Your Workout Begins Within An Hour Or Less
It is important to not workout on an empty stomach as you will lack the energy essential for exercising and put yourself at risk of fainting. Instead, the most effective alternative is to eat as small and light as possible when your workout is in the coming hour or less.
Nutritional bars with protein, like nuts, are always a quality pre-workout snack. They are light but still give your body enough nutrition to push through a workout and not feel like you’re exercising on an empty stomach. Fruit included in nutritional bars make for an even healthier snack!
If your diet is more direct, consuming fruit, like a banana or orange, will always do the trick before exercising as well. The body craves fruit as it contains good, refreshing nutrition that will never slow you down. In fact, it will only speed you up with the natural energy it provides. Pay attention to the way you feel when eating fruit before a workout vs. how you feel when you don’t.
Lastly, greek yogurt is another extraordinary source of protein. It contains a higher protein level and less sugar than regular yogurt while still being considered a “light snack.” All of these three, energy-snacks are workout-complementary.
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Wanna know how to avoid gaining weight? Have a look at this blog post!
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