Best Macros for Your Pre-Workout Nutrition

Boost anabolism and increase muscle-protein synthesis by dialing in the most favorable combinations for protein and carbs

With all the attention post-workout supplements and nutrition receive, it’s easy to get the impression that pre-workout nutrition is less important. But that may well not be the case when it comes to maximizing human performance and building muscle. Let’s see how what you eat before your training session can prime you for growth!

It Starts with Protein

It seems that any discussion on sports nutrition begins with protein, and with good reason. Protein is the only macronutrient that stimulates muscle-protein synthesis, which is crucial to building muscle during your post-workout recovery from your workout.

In regard to pre-workout nutrition, however, consuming protein to stimulate protein synthesis is beneficial because some studies have demonstrated that protein synthesis actually declines during a workout. Consuming adequate protein to stimulate muscle-protein synthesis during training could help prevent the exercise-induced reduction in anabolism. In fact, one study performed at the University of Texas suggested that pre-workout nutrition may actually be more important than post-workout nutrition in terms of maximizing anabolism. Whether that’s the case is up for some serious debate, but what’s clear is that consuming adequate protein to maximize muscle protein synthesis pre- and post-workout is a must if you’re looking for the best gains possible.

How Much Protein? The logical next question is “How much protein?” Based on the current protein research, the amount of protein required to maximize muscle growth depends upon the leucine content of the protein itself. Leucine is the amino acid in protein responsible for actually stimulating muscle-protein synthesis. Various protein sources have different leucine contents, but it seems that around 0.015 grams of leucine per pound of body weight will max out protein synthesis at a meal. For a 200-pound person, this would correspond to 3 grams of leucine. That would be equivalent to about 30 to 40 grams of protein for most protein sources. For a protein source such as whey protein, it would only require about 28 grams of protein because it has such a high leucine content. Food sources such as chicken or beef would be closer to 35 to 40 grams of protein. Since many people have sensitive digestive systems and heavy, whole-food protein sources can make them feel sick during a workout, it may be better to consume a whey shake one to two hours before a workout since it’s a high-quality protein source that’s rich in leucine and easy to digest. If you prefer whole food, however, that’s fine, but you may want to wait a bit longer (two to three hours) before working out.

Carbs for Synergism

Carbohydrates are probably the most controversial macronutrient in terms of making pre-workout recommendations because everyone tolerates them very differently. Elite bodybuilders such as Jay Cutler used to require 800 grams of carbs per day just to maintain their weight, while others say they gain body fat consuming anything more than 200 grams. So there’s a wide range of carbohydrates that encapsulate what may be optimal for your daily intake. For the longest time, it was theorized that you needed a large dose (75 to 100 grams) of a simple carbohydrate such as dextrose to maximize muscle-protein synthesis and muscle-glycogen content.

However, carbohydrates in and of themselves aren’t anabolic, as they don’t increase protein synthesis by themselves in adults. Carbohydrates and insulin do, however, have synergistic effects on protein synthesis when combined with amino acids. Carbohydrates will also spare muscle glycogen, which may improve performance. Again, the question becomes how much is optimal?

Research from the University of Texas Medical School suggests that far less carbohydrate may be required to maximize the protein-synthetic response when combined with
amino acids/protein than previously thought. These researchers gave amino acids with either 30 or 90 grams of glucose and measured rates of muscle-protein synthesis. They found that both treatments maximized the anabolic response in the muscle.

Based on these data, it seems that in adults, glucose and insulin only need to be present in modest amounts to maximize muscle-protein synthesis. That said, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, the average weight of the subjects in these studies was 165 pounds, so for people who weigh more, it may take proportionally more carbohydrate to elicit the same response. Additionally, while 30 grams may maximize muscle-protein synthesis when taken with protein/amino acids, a greater amount may be required to fulfill an individual’s overall caloric requirement, carbohydrate target, and to maximize muscle glycogen. Before and after your workout are the times at which carbohydrate can best be tolerated by the body, so a proportionally larger amount of carbohydrates (anywhere from 20 to 35 percent of total daily carb intake) should probably be reserved for pre- or post-workout meals.

What’s more, carbohydrate has actually been shown to increase the thermogenic response to exercise—meaning you’ll burn more total overall calories—when consumed pre-workout, another reason to keep carbs relatively higher at your pre-workout meal compared to other times of the day. What this research does mean is that for people who don’t tolerate carbohydrates well or those who are calorically restricted while dieting, they aren’t missing out on major anabolic effects by not drinking 100 grams of dextrose solutions pre- and post-workout. In fact, since insulin really only needs to be modestly increased, it’s quite likely that moderate-level GI carb sources such as oatmeal, fruits, or rice will be sufficient to maximize the protein synthetic response when combined with protein while possibly preventing excess fat gain that may be associated with consumption of large amounts of high-GI carbohydrates such as dextrose.

What About Dietary Fat?

Fat is probably the least important macronutrient where pre-workout nutrition is concerned. Out of the three macros, it’s probably most wise to limit fat compared to protein and carbohydrate intake, for a few reasons.

First, because you’ll likely be consuming a greater proportion of carbohydrate intake with your pre-workout meal compared to other meals during the day, you don’t want to combine that with a high fat intake, as greater levels of insulin will drive more dietary fat into fat cells, exactly where you don’t want it.

Second, fat intake above 10 grams before a workout has actually been shown to decrease the growth-hormone response to training. While it’s debatable how important the growth-hormone response to training is to the anabolic response to weight training, it cannot be a good thing to reduce it, and we always want to take advantage of every hormone we can to maximize anabolism.

Third, high-fat meals have actually been shown to also reduce testosterone release, and that’s obviously another hormone we would like to optimize during exercise.

Fourth, fat slows gastric emptying and will reduce the rate at which nutrients reach circulation, which may be advantageous at certain times of the day, but not before a workout, as we want the nutrients from our pre-workout meal to flood the bloodstream and reach the muscles without impairment to optimize the anabolic response. Slowed digestion may also cause gastric distress and stomachaches during training because more food is present in the gut, which is also something we want to avoid for optimal performance.

Optimizing Your Pre-Workout Prescription

While less glorified than the post-workout meal, pre-workout nutrition obviously is very important for maximizing the anabolic effect of a training session. I suggest eating a pre-workout meal with adequate protein and carbs to maximize anabolism and limiting fat to fewer than 10 grams anywhere from one to 2.5 hours before a workout, depending upon how your digestive system tolerates food before a workout and how fast the foods you choose digest. Whey and liquid carbohydrates can be consumed much closer to a workout than something like a chicken breast and oatmeal. Both can work well; they just need to be timed accordingly. Now hit your pre-workout meal and prime yourself for growth!