Nutrition timing might not be relevant for the average person, but when it comes to an athlete. Timing your next meal around practices, games, or workouts should be your top priority.
The minimum amount of macronutrients one would need to create enough energy, and build good muscle mass would be;
- 1 gram of carbs/ lbs
- 1 gram of protein/ lbs
- fill the rest of the calories with fats
When teenagers start to play competitively and train every day, protein will always remain the same, but carbohydrates should be increased to support recovery, reduce soreness and supply your body with the amount of energy needed.
This number will be between 1 gram/ lb to up towards 3 grams/ lb
For athletes or someone with a physically demanding job that lifts weights, practices, and has conditioning every day. Carbohydrate timing should be number one on your priority list.
Carbohydrate Timing
In high-intensity activities that last an hour and a half to two hours or more, the consumption of carbs during the sessions, like carbohydrate shakes, can help promote recovery within the session itself.
This will help you perform a higher intensity output towards the end of the session, compared to never consuming carbs until afterward.
Consuming carbs during a session or game will promote a higher level of performance by not using up all the muscle glycogen and refueling blood glucose that has already burned off as energy. (for example; filling your car up with gas when you still have half a tank)
To the average gym goer, this wouldn’t be necessary and wouldn’t have enough of an effect on their energy. But for an athlete having multiple training sessions per day can be very beneficial.
When training for long durations, it would be more beneficial to divide training sessions into two or three sessions a day instead of cramming everything into one long session.
This way, you can train at a higher intensity giving your muscles time to refill glycogen levels.
Eating post-session carbs immediately after your workouts can promote multi-day workout sessions by restoring glycogen levels allowing you to perform just as equally on your next daily session.
When training multiple times a day, focusing on carbohydrate timing will help your body adapt to the principles of progressive overload. Instead of falling into non-functional overreaching by not eating enough carbs for recovery and seeing a drop in performance.
Looking at carbs as a daily total is more important than worrying about trying to time the perfect meal.
In the first 4 to 5 hours after training, your muscles are like a sponge and will be more sensitive to glucose from the blood than any other time of the day.
As the post-training time continues, this sensitivity slowly declines with the return to baseline several hours later.
To maximize glycogen absorption, you want to get your carbs in that window to support faster and better recovery.
Post-training carb timing is only necessary when;
- Training at your Max Recovery Volume
- Multiple daily workout sessions
- Training consistency at higher intensities
Carbs with higher glycemic will be absorbed more rapidly by replenishing more muscle glycogen, helping speed up recovery.
for example;
- Rice
- Bread
- Potatoes
Even though our body is hungry for carbs immediately after our workouts, try avoiding an excessive amount of carbs in one single meal.
The muscles can only take on so much muscle glycogen at once. Eating your daily carb intake in one meal can be overwhelming for the body, forcing it to take what it needs for recovery and store the rest as fat.
Spreading your daily carb intake out during the day is your best option.
Protein Timing
Protein needs to be consumed regularly for the best results.
Like carbs, when consuming too high amounts of protein at one meal, the body will only take what it needs to recover and then burns the rest as energy.
Studies have shown that excessive calories coming from protein will not change body composition. Our bodies will take what it needs for muscle tissue repair, and anything left over will burn as energy.
Unreal right?
However, this isn’t good for people who want to recover from their workouts and who intermittently fast! Eating daily protein requirements at one meal will leave your muscles underfed as the day continues.
For best results, spread your protein intake evenly throughout the day, keeping meals roughly 4-5 hours apart or around 4-6 meals/ day.
Fat Timing
Fat slows down the digestion of carbs and should try to be avoided around your training windows. (4-5 hours after workout sessions)
Including fats in your post-training can limit the number of carbs absorbed into the muscle.
When training only once a day, chances are this won’t be a concern since recovery probably isn’t an issue. But when training multiple times a day, recovery should be a top priority since you would be training close to your Max Recovery Volume.
Conclusion
Carbohydrates should be increased to support recovery, reduce soreness and supply your body with the amount of energy needed.
This number will be between 1 gram/ lb to up towards 3 grams/ lb
Consuming carbs during a session or game will promote a higher level of performance by not using up all the muscle glycogen and refueling blood glucose that has already burned off as energy
In the first 4 to 5 hours after training, your muscles are like a sponge and will be more sensitive to glucose from the blood than any other time of the day.
Post-training carb timing is only necessary when;
- Training at your Max Recovery Volume
- Multiple daily workout sessions
- Training consistency at higher intensities
When consuming too high amounts of protein at one meal, the body will only take what it needs to recover and then burns the rest as energy.
Studies have shown that excessive calories coming from protein will not change body composition.