Guest viewing limit reached
  • You have reached the maximum number of guest views allowed
  • Please register below to remove this limitation

How soon should you work out after eating a meal?

IPO Greatness

New member
Has anyone else thought as hard about this as I have? I used to eat, then run to the gym right away, thinking that having my muscles fueled with glycogen and protein would help me through my workout. Intense days, deads or squats, I would find myself throwing up, or ready to squirt. When I backed off the time more, I found my workouts were better. My so called expert friend I know, says the best time to workout is 2 hours after a meal. I have had good lifts in the gym this way, but wonder about my glycogen stores. I take glutamine and BCAA's before a workout. I noticed a lot of guys are trying to take a bunch of carbs, and maybe a supplement, in hopes of something similar to shooting insulin I believe. Is there an optimum time to eat before a workout?:hmmm:
 
I don't know if there's an optimum time, but I usually lift 1 hour after a big meal. Any sooner and I'm close to puking like you, any later and I get real fatigued towards the end of my routine.
 
IPO Greatness said:
Has anyone else thought as hard about this as I have? I used to eat, then run to the gym right away, thinking that having my muscles fueled with glycogen and protein would help me through my workout. Intense days, deads or squats, I would find myself throwing up, or ready to squirt. When I backed off the time more, I found my workouts were better. My so called expert friend I know, says the best time to workout is 2 hours after a meal. I have had good lifts in the gym this way, but wonder about my glycogen stores. I take glutamine and BCAA's before a workout. I noticed a lot of guys are trying to take a bunch of carbs, and maybe a supplement, in hopes of something similar to shooting insulin I believe. Is there an optimum time to eat before a workout?:hmmm:
Click to expand...

I find if I wait at least 2 hours after my workout is much better too. For me however I am starting to get really hungry by that point and I workout for 1.5 hours and then do 20+ mins. of cardio. So to keep from feeling like I was going to starve I took 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter right before to curb the craving. I read it in a cutting book I have found. It seems to work pretty well and the extra calories are minimal.

When eating right before a workout, a huge amount of food, I felt more fatigued or less energetic b/c my body was trying to process the food. When cutting I have felt better knowing that the energy stored in my body was being used for fuel as opposed to the food I just ingested. It depends on your goal.
 
IPO Greatness said:
Has anyone else thought as hard about this as I have? I used to eat, then run to the gym right away, thinking that having my muscles fueled with glycogen and protein would help me through my workout. Intense days, deads or squats, I would find myself throwing up, or ready to squirt. When I backed off the time more, I found my workouts were better. My so called expert friend I know, says the best time to workout is 2 hours after a meal. I have had good lifts in the gym this way, but wonder about my glycogen stores. I take glutamine and BCAA's before a workout. I noticed a lot of guys are trying to take a bunch of carbs, and maybe a supplement, in hopes of something similar to shooting insulin I believe. Is there an optimum time to eat before a workout?:hmmm:
Click to expand...
Depends on the composition of the meal and size of the meal.

Things like fat and soluble fibre slow the rate of digestion quite a lot, so a higher fat meal might take hours to digest fully (6+ hrs), whilst a meal like chicken breast and rice would take much less time (2-3 hrs).

So basically the 'heavier' the meal, the longer you'll have to wait for it to digest. This might have advantages or disadvantages depending on your current meal pattern.

I've tried a number of different pre-training meal protocols, and I prefer to eat a large, mixed meal 3-4 hours prior to the gym (e.g. chicken salad, with olive oil-based dressing and large fruit salad with yoghurt) and then drink something light (e.g. glass of milk/protein shake) immediately prior/during my workout to prevent those horrible 'hunger' pangs during training.

If you prefer to eat quite soon before training, make the meal 'light' e.g. mainly carbohydrates and protein (e.g. porridge oats and whey) or even liquid (milkshake, protein shake etc.).

Experiment and find what works for you, there is no 'optimal' time, only what works for you as an individual.
 
solid food meal consisting of 600-700 calories then ill wait 1.5-2 hours,

if its just a shake and olive oil , or a shake, (both with cream of wheat) 1 -1.5 hours
 
I usually eat a meal, goof off for 20 minutes, chug a shake, and then mosey out to the car and hit the gym.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top