10 Best PRE WORKOUT Meals | What to Eat Before a Workout

Check out my client Seth’s transformation where he put on a whole bunch of muscle

People respond differently to eating before a workout. Some people can get a better workout if they eat beforehand because of the energy that this food will provide.

Meanwhile, other people can’t eat before their workout without feeling nauseous and it interfering with their performance.

There is no set in stone answer for whether you should or shouldn’t be eating before your workout, it all depends on what helps you perform better in the gym. 

For this video, let’s pretend that you’re the type of person that responds very positively to eating before a workout.

The big question that you probably have is what should you eat to maximize your performance? I want to give you the 10 best-proven pre-workout foods.

1. Bananas

These are great because they’re easily digestible, and provide your body potassium,

which you’ll be needing because I”m sure you’re going to be sweating really hard during your workout.

Any fruit before a workout could help, try mixing it in with some protein source such as fat-free Greek yogurt.

2.White Rice

and brown rice mix. This was always one of my favorite pre-workout meals.

You eat the white rice for fast easily digestible energy, and you eat the brown rice for slower digesting longer duration energy.

When you have both your energy levels should stay high throughout your entire workout.

Have this with some chicken breast or legumes

3. Oats

Oats are another slower digesting carb because they provide soluble and insoluble fiber.

They also contain B vitamins which are the vitamin responsible for converting carbohydrates into energy.

4.100% whole wheat or brown rice pasta

This is another one of my favorites something about pasta just gives you tons of energy.

Throw in a solid protein source with the pasta and you’ll kill it during your workout.

5.Whole Grain Bread

If you don’t have time to cook this is a quick, easy, and convenient way to get your pre-workout carbs in.

You can have this with some hard boiled eggs for protein.

6.Baked potato

You can have a yam or a sweet potato as well, but the baked potato will be digested and available for energy faster than the sweet potato.

You can have this with some fish or any kind of low-fat protein that you like to eat with potatoes.

7.Green Smoothie with fruit

Whats a better way to go into your workout than with all of your micro and macronutrients available for use.

To make this smoothie just blend up some green veggies like kale, chard, broccoli,

and spinach with some fruits. You can add a scoop of protein in this smoothie to have your protein needs covered.

8. Ezekiel turkey or chicken wrap

Ezekiel wraps are hard to work with, but if you heat them up beforehand they’re more malleable.

If you really hate how crappy Ezekiel wraps are regular multi-grain wraps will be okay too.

Double wrap your turkey or chicken with two wraps to increase carbs if you need the extra calories and energy. 

9.Apples with Peanut Butter

This meal is not the best pre-workout meal because of the fat found in peanut butter,

but if you really don’t want to eat a whole meal having some apples with peanut butter can give you the energy you need for your workout.

This meal is not for those people that take forever to digest their meals,

because that peanut butter will still be digesting while you work out.

Obviously, we want our blood flow going to our muscles not our gut during a workout.

10.Power Bars and Protein Bars

Although this is not one that I would refer to as the greatest pre-workout meal it could be a real lifesaver if you can’t get to any real whole food.

Power bars are good to give your body the carbs it needs for energy, protein bars are good for…you guessed its protein.

You ideally want to have both carbs and protein before your workout,

but carbs are more important in relation to your energy levels during your workout. Try to have both, but definitely, have the carbs.

Now I want to real quick answer all pre-workout meal timing questions.

How long before your workout you should eat these foods is another question that is very dependent on the individual.

If you have a fast digestive system then you may want to eat your pre-workout meal 30-60 minutes before your workout.

On the other hand, if food tends to take a while for you to digest you may want to have your pre-workout meal 2-2 1/2 hours before your workout.

The last thing that I want to say is more isn’t always more. You may experience an increase in your energy levels at the gym by having some carbs before you go.

However, if you eat more and more carbs it doesn’t mean you’ll have more and more energy.

It takes energy to digest the meal, and your blood flow is redirected to your stomach. It will really take away from your workout if you’re exercising on an overly full stomach,

so remember you can eat before your workout, but don’t overeat. All that being said, if you’re the type of person that can’t eat before your workout it’s okay.

You can still get plenty of gains eating after the workout.