FEMALE MUSCLE

Q: How much time prior to a workout do you eat and what do you eat?

A: Typically, I like to be finished my meal about 30 minutes before my workout. I know a lot of lifters who need at least one hour after the meal before they can train. Something like this is definitely a personal issue, and you just need to listen to your body and see how you feel. If food is coming back up during your training session, you definitely need to allow your body more time to rest and digest before training! As far as food choices go, most of my meals are about the same size, typically about 40 to 50 grams of protein and 50 to 60 grams of carbs. I try to keep my fats lower for my pre-workout meal, only because fats are slower to digest. Part of the reason why I believe I can eat closer to my workout is that I regularly eat every 2.5 to 3 hours, and the meals are moderately small. If you have to down a lot of calories, you will definitely want to give your body some time to digest the food! I will rarely train before my third meal. I would prefer to have a few small meals before hitting the gym, not just a couple of big ones. It’s definitely a trial-and-error process to figure out what works best for you and during the off-season when I’m better fed, I can be much more flexible not only with timing but also with my choice of foods. In my diet season, meal times and food choices are set in stone!

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