Any food, be it protein powder, oats and or wht have you, eaten 30 mins before workout will barely be digested and absorbed before your workout is over. The only thing that will come close to being effective that close are predigested nutreients such as BCAA and the likes.
Jacked is not an intra workout supplement IMHO. Take it 30 to 45 mins before workout. 15-20 mins before workout sip on an intra formula (I prefer BCAA's) and when you hit the gym you are *jacked* AND have intra workout muscle sparing nutrients (BCAA's) in your blood stream.
Well, being a bit older maybe your digestive rate etc isnt what it used to be? (no offense intended) I can put all the money on the table and say that 27g of carbs from oats and 20g of pro from whey is digested by the time I work out and fueling my body to aid in srength, endurance and keeping me in less of a catabolic state. How do I know this? Through simple trial and error.
I log everything I do as well as diet. Which foods fill me out, make me full (appetite) etc etc... So simply logging my workout effectiveness when having the pre wo shake vs not...numbers weigh heavily towards having it before my WO as does simple logistics. You have to create and do your best to "keep" an ababolic environment for the body. By having this pre wo shake that I do helps keep the body in a better balance throughout my wo. Your not growing/anabolic when you workout. YOur actually working against yourself putting your body in a catabolic state. So you must do everything in your power to lessen that fact. A simple pre wo shake like I have leans me in the other direction!
Point being...its a very bold statement you make saying that it "will not" be digested by the time my workout was over. 30mins I have shake, 10mins to gym, 5mins in locker room, 10mins warming up, 2warm up sets to start, so by that time its almost an hour later give or take before I hit my very first work set.
If that meal (if to call it that) wasnt digested then I would feel sluggish and wouldnt achieve the pumps and vascularity that I do in the gym. All the blood would be circulating to aid digestion so...