We have very helpful tips on snacks you can eat for pre and post-workout for you.
You already know that carbs are necessary for energy and protein is necessary for muscle growth, but certain foods are superior to others for feeding up before and recharging your body after specific workouts.
After all, depending on whether you’re lifting weights, pounding the pavement, or doing plies, you use different muscles and burn different amounts of calories. Set the time for your exercise and eat the recommended pre or post-workout snack to keep your body in peak condition during and after class.
HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training.
Snack before workout: fruit and nut bar.
HIIT workouts are ideal for people who are short on time; you want a pre-gym snack that is portable, invigorating, and healthful. Eat Kind or Larabar bars with nuts and dried fruit at the top of the ingredient list.
They supply carbohydrates to power your muscles and are high in fiber, protein, and healthy fats that will keep your levels of energy high and your stomach satisfied. Choose a 200-calorie bar with at least 4 to 5 grams of protein and fiber.
Snack after working out: 1 cup of cooked quinoa, 2 cups of raw veggies, and 3 ounces of cooked chicken.
This snack will satisfy your appetite after a tough workout and is exactly what your muscles want. The carbs in the quinoa help restore glycogen (your muscles’ main source of energy), protein in the chicken, and the antioxidants in the veggies help repair muscle damage. Vegetables also help to replenish your body.
Strengthening Workout Snacks
Pre-workout Snack: Granola topped with plain low-fat or nonfat Greek yogurt
While many people associate carbohydrates with aerobic activities, you also use carbohydrates during weight training. If the carbohydrate in your muscle is low, you will have a hard time maximizing your workout in the weight room.
The combination of whey and casein in Greek yogurt provides a balance of fast- and slow-digesting proteins, which offer muscle-building amino acids during your workout, so you’re ready for anything. Aim for 20 grams of protein per serving of yogurt.
Post Workout Snack: Tart cherry juice smoothie with whey protein and fresh ginger
According to research, ginger, and tart cherry juice can help reduce inflammation and pain after a hard workout. Per some studies, including 30 grams of whey protein will provide your body with the appropriate combination of amino acids to stimulate muscle protein production and growth.
Yoga for Strength
Pre-workout snack: Smoothie made with one piece of fresh fruit or 1/2 – 1 cup frozen fruit, 6 ozs of plain yogurt, and 4 ounces of milk or unsweetened almond milk.
Fruit is not only light, sweet, and hydrating, but it will also assist in fueling you through sweaty, vinyasa-style yoga by supplying much-needed carbs to your muscles and brain, preventing your body from dipping into your liver glycogen stores to recruit energy.
If you utilize dairy products, yogurt, and milk provide calcium, which aids in muscular contraction, as well as protein. In addition, unlike many other healthy pre-workout foods, cooled smoothies will help cool your body, allowing you to start your workout feeling rejuvenated.
Post Workout Snack: 1 orange and 1 hard boiled egg
Oranges are high in water and potassium, both of which help you rehydrate fast after sweating away a lot of water. The carbs in the fruit will replenish energy, while the protein in the egg will aid with muscle regeneration.
Choose omega-3-enriched eggs (such as Eggland’s Best Eggs) or organic and free-range eggs since studies suggest that these fatty acids may help prevent the inflammatory damage produced by exercise.
Snacks for Cross Fit Workout
Pre Workout Snack: Fresh beet and peach or nectarine salad
Although your fellow CrossFitters will cheer you on as you power through your day’s workout, the sessions are still exhausting.
Eating beets as a pre-workout snack boosts nitric oxide synthesis, which dilates blood vessels to allow more blood flow to your hardworking muscles.
Peaches or nectarines offer more healthy carbs for energy, and their sweetness complements the earthy beets well.
After-workout snack: 2 whole eggs and 3 egg whites, sautéed onions and red bell peppers, with a bowl of chopped fruit (including pineapple).
Eggs are high in leucine which triggers the synthesis of protein in muscle. Eating just a few egg whites keeps the calories under control. You can fold in red bell peppers for vitamin C, a nutrient needed to maintain the strong cartilage needed to cushion your bones after all those box leaps.
Serving your omelet with pineapple provides the enzyme bromelain, which may reduce inflammation in the body caused by exercise–or if you collide with equipment or another Crossfitter–though the evidence is limited.
Sprinting, tempo running, and short-distance running
Pre-Workout Snack: 1 slice of whole-wheat bread with jam
Dieticians recommend eating a light and easy-to-digest carbohydrate snack a few hours before running downhills, sprints, hills, or hurdles so that those carbs are ready for utilization.
Post-workout snack: 8 ounces of nonfat or low-fat chocolate milk
Experts suggest your post-workout snack is determined by how much you train. If you only walk a few kilometers per week, a glass of chocolate milk will do the job.
Some studies show chocolate milk serves three functions: It rehydrates, contains protein to aid in the repair of exercise-induced muscle fiber damage, and contains sugar, a quick carb that aids in glycogen replenishment post-workout. Vegans can get a comparable benefit from flavored soy milk, which is strong in protein.
Running Long Distances
High-protein energy bar as a pre-workout snack
For runners, energy bars are the perfect pre-workout food. We recommend a bar with roughly 200 calories and at least 5 grams of protein, depending on how many miles you’re putting in. Avoid those that contain anti-nutritional components such as glycerol, sugar, or inulin, which can cause bloating, cramping, and gastrointestinal pain.
Post Workout Snack: 8 ounces of nonfat or low-fat chocolate milk with whole-grain salted pretzels
More than chocolate milk is required for running longer distances. Pretzels help to restore salt lost through sweat and glycogen.
Heat Yoga
Pre-workout Snack: 1/2 cup of cooked freekeh with 1/2 cup of fruit
Freekeh is an ancient grain with a low glycemic index that provides lasting energy rather than a spike and then drops mid-class.
Top with fruit for extra energetic carbs and water to stay hydrated. If you haven’t eaten in more than four hours, add 1 tablespoon of flaxseeds or chia seeds for extra protein and fiber, which will keep you full.
Post-workout snack: 1/2 whole-wheat pita packed with 1/4 cup of hummus and 1/2 cup of spinach
Because the tea is hydrating and relaxing, it prolongs your chilled-out state while aiding in fluid loss.
The hummus sandwich also aids recovery because the pita replenishes depleted glycogen stores, and the hummus delivers healthful fat to boost absorption of spinach’s fat-soluble vitamins A and K.
This dish also helps reduce inflammation caused by an intense yoga practice.
Pilates
Pre-workout snack: 2/3 cup berries and 6 ounces plain nonfat Greek yogurt
Don’t overthink it; Greek yogurt with berries is a great pre-workout snack. The berries help you fuel yourself with carbohydrates throughout your workout.
But if you don’t want to go hungry in the middle of completing hundreds, we recommend protein-packed Greek yogurt. It will keep you satiated longer because it takes four to six hours to digest, whereas berries take one to two hours.
Post Workout Snack: 30 roasted pistachios, 1 red grapefruit, and 1 glass of water with lemon
Even though you’ve just worked hard in a reformer class, it’s typical to feel serene after a Pilates session. Maintain that feeling with this combination of clean, complete foods.
Because of the potassium in grapefruit and pistachios, as well as a big glass of agua, you’ll restore your body’s regular fluid balance, and the nuts may also prevent post-workout inflammation.
Snacks for Barre Workout
Pre Workout Snack: 1/2 cup cooked dried oats with almond butter mixed
You need carbs for energy to keep pumping out those but burning reps all class long, hence the oatmeal. We recommend adding almond butter to keep you full throughout the day.
It’s also high in magnesium, which is required for muscular contraction and relaxation but is deficient in many women, according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Post Workout Snack: Tofu scramble made with 6 ounces of organic firm tofu, matchstick carrots, and yellow bell peppers sautéed in sesame oil
Soy protein is decently high in amino acids and leucine, which has been shown to increase the processes underlying muscle growth and repair.
Because barre incorporates resistance training, six ounces of tofu will provide enough total protein post-workout. Spano suggests you include yellow bell peppers because many of us don’t consume enough veggies of this color.
To Conclude
Eat a good pre-workout snack 1 – 2 hours before your workout to keep your stomach from growling and to provide your body with a pep without weighing you down.
Then, within 30 to 45 minutes of your cool-down, refuel with the nutrients you need to restore your hard working muscles and rehydrate your body.