Quick & Easy Carbo Source Pre-Workout

[bobmen10000]

I typically workout late afternoon to early evening. If I eat dinner before I generally feel like shit most of the workout, e.g. minor stomach pain & gas. However, I am usually very hungry around workout time (or just in general) so having a snack would be great to hold me over through the session. i think something carb based and low on fat and protein would be preferable, as the latter two tend to give me the most stomach discomfort in general.

Suggestions?

[broseph]

I hate when people don't actually answer the questions being asked...

Buuuuuut is there any way you can just rearrange your meal times for the day so you have a meal a couple hours before training?

Otherwise, if I haven't eaten in a while and have to lift, I'll mix up some Gatorade to drink throughout the session. I'm not sure the carbohydrate dosing is actually contributing to my performance, but it feels like I'm doing something. And feeling like it is half the battle.

[quark]

A banana or other fruit?

[Griff]

I'm a late evening lifter-- usually get home from work at 7, put the kids to bed at 8 and get out to the gym around 8:30. Eat dinner after around 10.

Usually have a late afternoon snack at work around 4-5 and that tides me over until dinner. If I miss that and I'm really hungry I'll have a price of fruit--usually a banana, but sometimes pineapple, melon, etc if we have it. Its enough to take the edge off, but never upsets my stomach.

I'll mix up some Gatorade to drink throughout the session. I'm not sure the carbohydrate dosing is actually contributing to my performance, but it feels like I'm doing something. And feeling like it is half the battle.

Yeah, I always mix up some Gatorade, too. Not for performance reasons, but there's something about sipping an electric blue drink while I lift that appeals to my inner bro.

[bobmen10000]

I hate when people don't actually answer the questions being asked...

Buuuuuut is there any way you can just rearrange your meal times for the day so you have a meal a couple hours before training?

Otherwise, if I haven't eaten in a while and have to lift, I'll mix up some Gatorade to drink throughout the session. I'm not sure the carbohydrate dosing is actually contributing to my performance, but it feels like I'm doing something. And feeling like it is half the battle.

It is hard for me to eat earlier as I am coming home from work and typically that means fast food, I have tried pushing the workout to later in the evening, couple hours after eating a home cooked meal, but I don't like working out that late. Preference if nothing else, as my performance sucks whether it is 6pm or 10pm.

Banana sounds reasonable enough. And I do like Gatorade. I may try a banana tonight and see how that goes. Plus it may help with the occasional cramp/spasm I get while benching.

Appreciate the responses.

[brkriete]

When I did early AM workouts, I would have a banana and a granola bar and a big glass of water.

[Allentown]

Half of your dinner pre-workout, the rest after?
Cliff bar & fruit?

[brkriete]

Half of your dinner pre-workout, the rest after?
Cliff bar & fruit?

smoke and a pancake?
flapjack and a cigarette?
Cigar and a waffle?
Pipe and a crepe?
bong and a blintz?

[michael]

Eat a bowl of cereal.

[DrHades]

Baby food. No joke

[Murelli]

Banana

[OverheadDeadlifts]

Honestly? Candy/sweets work great. Can keep them wherever you want, they don’t spoil, lots of variety, no fat, no protein, tasty and quick.

Fruit would seem like the better choice but (paraphrasing Jordan) fructose is preferentially metabolised by the liver rather than skeletal muscle, so it’s not the best as a pre workout carb.

[Manveer]

Pop tarts

/thread

[Jay870]

I train first thing in the AM on an empty stomach. I don't really do a pre-workout because I'd puke it up, so I pop 200mg caffeine first thing, then during the course of the session I work my way through 2 scoops of XTend in 28oz of water, and half-sleeve of Bottle Caps candy (dextrose/malto). Both those are supposed to empty from the gut and hit the blood pretty fast.

[TheCheat]

Fruit or sugary sweets are ideal, something with fructose since you're primarily concerned with liver glycogen pre-workout (unless you're doing something extreme like keto).

[Toxguy]

I like mixing country time powder. I’ve had the lemonade and icedtea kinda mixed with protein powder. Tastes really good. I prefer finding orange powder and mixing with vanilla whey—tastes like orange creamsicle but you can mix without protein of course. 1tbsp is like 20g carbs

[mouse]

Pop tarts

/thread

Concur

[cwd]

I had a cookie and a cup of hot chocolate before my session yesterday (6 hours after a low-carb lunch, in a week when I lost 5 lbs).
Went really well.

Just out of superstition I will stick with hot chocolate from now on.

[RyanB]

I eat a lot of oats. I usually let some "quick 1-min oats" soak in a glass of water all day then just drink them later (chug them back, never bothers my stomach and doesn't really taste like anything). Or a pack of instant oats 45-60 mins before workout, maybe as you're leaving work.

[damufunman]

Fruit or sugary sweets are ideal, something with fructose since you're primarily concerned with liver glycogen pre-workout (unless you're doing something extreme like keto).

Can you expand on this? I would think one would want to get glucose for muscle usage?