Many people often overlook is the vital importance of pre-workout nutrition for long-term muscle-building goals. A sound nutrition regimen, if followed correctly, will help you experience dramatically noticeable gains in muscle size and strength. To visualize the importance of pre workout supplementation, picture your body running on an empty stomach while training. You may feel a little sluggish and your performance may suffer. If you're lucky, you may still achieve a little bit of a pump. But what you may not realize is that you're experiencing a dual negative effect.
Your pre-workout nutrition are the meals you eat before and after working out. Once you ensure you’re getting all of your totals right for the day, the meals directly surrounding your workouts are next in line in terms of the amount of impact and influence it has on the results you get.
The reason why should be fairly obviously. The PRE and POST workout meals happen play a key role in the effectiveness of those workouts.
In the most basic sense:
- What you eat before (and if needed, during) your workout is crucial for fueling the workout itself and maximizing your performance throughout.
- What you eat after your workout is crucial for optimizing the recovery process (which basically begins as soon as your workout ends) and ensuring that your body has all of the supplies it needs in order to recover, adapt and improve the way you want it to.
Achieving a good pump is vital to new muscle growth because it helps deliver key muscle building nutrients, oxygen and amino acids to working muscles, effectively creating an optimal anabolic environment conducive to new growth.
Many studies have documented the potential of pre-workout protein consumption to improve athletic performance. Consuming protein alone or with carbs prior to exercise has been shown to increase muscle protein synthesis.
Study shows a positive anabolic response after the ingestion of 20 grams of whey protein before exercise.
Other benefits of eating protein before exercise include:
- A better anabolic response, or muscle growth
- Improved muscle recovery
- Increased strength and lean body mass
- Increased muscle performance