Pre Workout Food

[wesp]

Howdy,

What do folks think are good foods to eat before working out? Most of my friends that bodybuild suggest high GI foods, which makes sense for immediately available energy, but I have some concern about the long-term effect of spiking your blood sugar (diabetes runs in my family- probably more lifestyle than anything but I'm trying to be cognizant). Should there be protein in a pre workout meal or does that just slow down metabolism of the "energy foods" (i.e. high GI stuff)?

What about during a cut phase? Does something high GI still make sense?

Right now I usually do a banana for my workouts, and wanted to find out if other folks think that's a good choice or if I should consider something different.


Thanks, 

Wes


P.S. I'll probably be posting a lot on the Nutrition and Weight Management section because I'm looking to learn as much as I can about getting clean gains. I've already got 10 lbs of fat I should lose for general health, however, I'm trying to put on more muscle at the moment so I'm trying to learn as much as I can to do that properly.

[joshvillen]

MY current routine is, 2 hours before (protein shake, coffee, creatine, beet juice), 1 hour before (1 banana, more coffee), 30-40 minutes before( banana #2 more coffee), During ( grapes and sips of water)

Then recovery begins with protein, creatine, and what ever simple carb I can get my hands on quickly

[jessebruni]

Life Choice makes these amazing mint chocolate chip protein bars, something like 250 calories per bar. I'll eat one an hour before climbing and I'm good to go.

[MarkAnderson]

Wake up > 1 Nature Valley Protein Granola Bar, ~1 liter water > Workout

[jorgemendoza]

1 hour before workout: 32 oz of water
30 minutes before workout: Small apple
*FWIW, I workout in the afternoon after work (4:30-5ish)

[stpatty]

I really like the "pre-workout" stuff.. it gets me psyched and has a little creatine. I've gotten on the gnarly train, and have used it for a while. I'll usually eat a banana and drink a serving of gnarly pump (their website). I've had good results with it, but could totally be placebo.

[wesp]

Thanks for all the replies! Some great ideas- I'd still love to get some input concerning the high GI foods. Is there much defensible research concerning the effect of using simple sugars or other types of high GI foods regularly- specifically for the purpose of working out- and the relationship with Type II Diabetes? I know I shouldn't drink a double gulp of soda everyday and just sit on my couch. If I'm immediately converting those sugars to energy production though, does it make a difference?

A little odd-ball question for a climbing training forum but I figure it's relevant if you want your body to still produce insulin at 65...

[Will S]

Ideally, you would put down some whey and/or BCAAs around 30min before you arrive at the gym. Studies have shown whey taken before being more effective than during or after the session.

Sometimes I'll have a shake that has some carbs on the way to the gym. Other days I just have about 5g BCAAs in water and about 50 cal of something with simple carbs (usually split a mini-bar into two, and eat one half before starting, one an hour into the session).

The circulating BCAAs have a sort of sparing effect on muscle breakdown. Especially when working full body (boulder or strength training vs. hangboard), BCAAs before seems to help a lot with soreness and recovery. Regular whey shake has a good BCAA profile, usually ~5g in 25g of protein, but I prefer having an additional product so I can enhance the shake or take the BCAAs alone when desired.

Muscle Feast has a great BCAA powder that mixes well and is in a 4:1:1 ratio (most are 2:1:1 with lower leucine). All these BCAA powders taste nasty, but caps are really expensive,  the powders aren't THAT bad tasting, and this one doesn't clump.

[wesp]

I'm reading "Nutrient Timing" right now by John Ivy and Robert Portman (both Ph.D.s) which really emphasizes all of the same things you are suggesting Will in terms of the benefits of mixing high GI carbs with protein before, during, and immediately after intense exercise.

I guess I'm just kind of ignorant about what causes Type II Diabetes- is it just overrelease of insulin? Is periods of prolonged insulin exposure in the bloodstream? The book preaches the power of insulin as probably one of the most important hormones for muscle growth due to the fact it facilitates transport of nutrients into muscle cells after exercise since muscles are more insulin sensitive during exercise. Sounds good and I'd love to do it... but, taking maltodextrin or other things with a really high GI every day that I work out for a few hours makes me a bit wary about the long-term effects. I think there's a lot of instances where the recommendations for strength gaining-especially bodybuilding-emphasize short-term gains over long-term health. Purified sugars are like crack cocaine for your body... pumping it full of them everyday even though I'm being active... I don't know.

I guess I'll just have to dig deeper and research more or accept it's uncharted territory. Just wanted to see if anyone on the forums had experience or knowledge pertinent to this.

[jlarson]

Oct 14, 2015 7:00:25 GMT -7 wesp said:

I guess I'm just kind of ignorant about what causes Type II Diabetes- is it just overrelease of insulin? Is periods of prolonged insulin exposure in the bloodstream? 

There are two parts to Type II Diabetes: 1) loss of sensitivity to insulin in the cells and 2) decreased production of insulin by pancreatic cells.  What happens in a healthy person who loses sensitivity to insulin is that pancreatic cells pick up the slack and just produces more insulin.  This works until the pancreas ages and loses some of it's metabolic firepower (ability to produce large quantities of insulin).  That's when hyperglycemia occurs and Type II diabetes develops.

As I understand it, 2) is generally out of our control.  We're all going to age and slowly lose metabolic efficiency.  However 1) is very much in our control as the prime cause of losing sensitivity to insulin is obesity.  Fat cells (adipocytes) secrete a bunch of stuff that reduces cellular sensitivity to insulin.  Non-obese people very rarely develop Type II Diabetes for this reason.  In fact, exercise actually increases sensitivity to insulin.

All this to say; in a non-obese person who is preparing to exercise no pre workout meal would be expected to lead to Type II Diabetes.

If you have the access and the interest, most of what I've written is paraphrased from a paper published in Nature 2006 by Steven Kahn.

[wesp]

Oct 28, 2015 10:53:34 GMT -7 jlarson said:

Oct 14, 2015 7:00:25 GMT -7 wesp said:

I guess I'm just kind of ignorant about what causes Type II Diabetes- is it just overrelease of insulin? Is periods of prolonged insulin exposure in the bloodstream? 

There are two parts to Type II Diabetes: 1) loss of sensitivity to insulin in the cells and 2) decreased production of insulin by pancreatic cells.  What happens in a healthy person who loses sensitivity to insulin is that pancreatic cells pick up the slack and just produces more insulin.  This works until the pancreas ages and loses some of it's metabolic firepower (ability to produce large quantities of insulin).  That's when hyperglycemia occurs and Type II diabetes develops.

As I understand it, 2) is generally out of our control.  We're all going to age and slowly lose metabolic efficiency.  However 1) is very much in our control as the prime cause of losing sensitivity to insulin is obesity.  Fat cells (adipocytes) secrete a bunch of stuff that reduces cellular sensitivity to insulin.  Non-obese people very rarely develop Type II Diabetes for this reason.  In fact, exercise actually increases sensitivity to insulin.

All this to say; in a non-obese person who is preparing to exercise no pre workout meal would be expected to lead to Type II Diabetes.

If you have the access and the interest, most of what I've written is paraphrased from a paper published in Nature 2006 by Steven Kahn.

Thanks! I really appreciate the tip on educational resources. I'll read that article for sure! I picked up another source on general nutrition (and athletic nutrition) on the forums that I've been reading that has been making a big difference on my nutrition education. This was just one of those lingering questions I and some of the other people I train with have. We was just kind of concerned about the long-term effects of using really high GI foods- even if it's just for workout supplements- on a regular basis.

Once again- thank you so much. I really appreciate your tip.