Strength athletes are traditionally taught to consume a lot of carbohydrates just before training, in order to optimize training performance. But how necessary are those pre-workout carbs?

NEW RESEARCH

A brand new study answers that question. A group of trained strength athletes were given three different pre-workout meals:

• High in carbohydrates (1.2 g/kg), low in fat;
• Low-carb (0.3 g/kg), high-fat with the same total calories and protein content as the high-carb meal;
• A virtually calorie-free placebo that was carefully matched in taste and texture to the other meals.

How did these affect exercise performance? The content of the pre-workout meal had no significant effect on how many repetitions participants could perform in an exercise or the total workout.

META-ANALYSIS

This is in line with the result of a systematic literature study by coach Menno Henselmans and co. According to Henselmans, there are several reasons why you generally do not need pre-workout carbohydrates for strength training:

• Strength training does not burn that many carbohydrates, generally no more than 40% of stored glycogen;
• Your muscles rely primarily on their stored glycogen, not the glucose in your blood from your last meal.

To be on the safe side, the review advises consuming at least 15g of carbohydrates before training, especially for higher volume workouts . That’s the equivalent of half a banana. So don’t let supplement manufacturers sell you expensive pre-workout carbs.

Furthermore, it is mainly about the total amount of carbohydrates that you consume in a day. Read in this article how many carbohydrates you need in a day, depending on bulk or cut.

AND CARBS AFTER TRAINING?

And what about carbohydrates after training?

Eating carbohydrates directly after training, with or without proteins, is also not necessary for muscle growth. As long as you eat enough carbohydrates throughout the day.

Of course, it is no problem to consume a lot of carbohydrates after training, especially if you are very hungry after training.

CONCLUSION

Timing of eating is not so important in terms of muscle growth. The most important thing is that you get enough of a certain macronutrient (protein, carbohydrates and fats) throughout the day.

Eating carbohydrates just before training is not a must, certainly not with average training volumes. If you have a long and heavy training ahead of you, eat a small carbohydrate-rich (healthy) snack, such as a banana.