Nutrition for powerlifting/weightlifting workouts longer than 60 minutes

alysonleah

I'm curious about what others eat around, during, and after those long workouts that run over 1.5 hours.

Currently, I usually have 1/2 a protein shake and a poptart before, a snack halfway through my workout, and 1/2 a protein shake after... (I eat a meal like 30-40 minutes later).

Should I skip the post workout shake all together since I'm eating a meal that soon after?

Would just drinking some BCAA drink like Xtend during be enough?

Also for those that add like 20 minutes of cardio after weight training, if you were to have a protein shake, do you have it before or after the cardio part of your training?

TR0berts

I typically like a protein bar (or carrot cake, if I have any) about 30-60 minutes beforehand. I eat a meal after. Nothing during. My training sessions have been taking ~2 hrs the past couple of months.

eta: I usually have some coffee before my training session, too.

Katiebear_81

My workouts range from 1 hour, to 1.5 hours. I don't do cardio after.

Right now, I'm trying to see if fasting helps/hinders me, so I don't eat before or after (for several hours). I don't find that it's impacted my lifting either way, during the workout. I have a shot of espresso pre-workout, then have my electrolyte drink during, and BCAA's after.

When I'm not fasting, I will have a small shot of carbs (banana or something else similar) and a shot of espresso. During my workout, I have my electrolyte drink, and after will have my protein shake (has bcaa's in it). Then I eat my next meal, whenever it's due to be eaten (or when I'm hungry).

I doubt that helps, but that's what I'm currently doing. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. The idea of eating mid-workout seems strange to me.

sammyjo0218

I like to have a protein shake and either oatmeal or eggs before workouts sometimes if time is short it's usually just protein shake then after a workout I'll have Bcaa's and something to eat

alysonleah

Katiebear_81 wrote: »

My workouts range from 1 hour, to 1.5 hours. I don't do cardio after.

Right now, I'm trying to see if fasting helps/hinders me, so I don't eat before or after (for several hours). I don't find that it's impacted my lifting either way, during the workout. I have a shot of espresso pre-workout, then have my electrolyte drink during, and BCAA's after.

When I'm not fasting, I will have a small shot of carbs (banana or something else similar) and a shot of espresso. During my workout, I have my electrolyte drink, and after will have my protein shake (has bcaa's in it). Then I eat my next meal, whenever it's due to be eaten (or when I'm hungry).

I doubt that helps, but that's what I'm currently doing. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. The idea of eating mid-workout seems strange to me.

Anytime I've tried lifting fasted I've noticed a big difference in strength. I'm also cranky and hungry the whole time. But I hear it works good for a lot of people.

I usually only snack if my workout runs over 2 hours.

not_a_runner

Per my coach, this is what I do-
Beef and rice preworkout.
BCAAs and glutamine during.
Shake after, followed by a meal about 1 hr later.

My workouts usually take 1.5-2 hours, I've never felt the need to have intra workout food.

If I'm doing a short cardio session after I sometimes drink my shake during the cardio. (It's not like the shake is going to digest *immediately* any way, so I don't see much reason to worry over 20 minutes of cardio.)

That being said, do whatever feels best for you. Nutrient timing is an extremely small piece of the equation, and there's no need to stress over it. I've built a good deal of muscle/strength having no food/supp regimen at all.

quiksylver296

I eat when I eat. I usually workout from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m, give or take. I eat an afternoon protein bar around 3:00 and dinner around 8:00. I rarely eat during my workout, unless I get the shakes or something. I keep a Clif bar in my gym bag, just in case.

ndj1979

I eat lunch about noon, hit the gym about 4:30 and then have dinner after...

meal timing is only important for about 1% of the training and athlete population ...

KickboxFanatic

I will eat a cup of baked oatmeal on a leg or deadlift day (2.5-3 hour training session) because it's the only thing that keeps my energy levels up enough to get through them. If I start petering out during the session I'll eat a couple Blox chews or gummy bears for a bit of a bump.

There's also been some interesting research coming out that BCAA's aren't effective, I'll go dig it up. But, regardless, when I'm on a serious strength cycle ramping up for competition it goes a long way in helping me recover for the next session.

jseams1234

I've tried eating closer to my workouts but it has a very negative impact for me. Some of my worst days lifting have been because I ate too close to my workout. I usually stop eating about 3 hours before and then a protein shake as soon as I get home (30 minutes) and then dinner an hour later.

KickboxFanatic

re: BCAAs - http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/5/2/36

I will say that they found no harm in them, but also no benefit in them during intra-workout consumption.

Also this one: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18974721 -- aids in post workout recovery, but not performance -- similar to protein consumption post workout

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/136/2/529S.full -- muscle recovery in untrained individuals and reduced soreness

https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-9-20 -- large dose BCAA on small population with little background on what "trained" individual means and a lack of dietary controls

And of course, https://examine.com/supplements/branched-chain-amino-acids/ -- which shows potential for increased time to fatigue in endurance exercise and mental exhaustion

The thing I notice about most of these studies showing positive effect is the large dose of BCAA 10g up to 20g, where a standard dose of something like Amino Energy is 5g per serving.or Scivation Xtend is 7g per serving.

wackyfunster

Pop tarts and coconut water. Some source of protein before and afterwards.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

KickboxFanatic wrote: »

re: BCAAs - http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/5/2/36

I will say that they found no harm in them, but also no benefit in them during intra-workout consumption.

Also this one: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18974721 -- aids in post workout recovery, but not performance -- similar to protein consumption post workout

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/136/2/529S.full -- muscle recovery in untrained individuals and reduced soreness

https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-9-20 -- large dose BCAA on small population with little background on what "trained" individual means and a lack of dietary controls

And of course, https://examine.com/supplements/branched-chain-amino-acids/ -- which shows potential for increased time to fatigue in endurance exercise and mental exhaustion

The thing I notice about most of these studies showing positive effect is the large dose of BCAA 10g up to 20g, where a standard dose of something like Amino Energy is 5g per serving.or Scivation Xtend is 7g per serving.

I take ON nutrition train and recover BCAA and I have to say using it (it mixes with water) during my workouts I dont get as sore as I used to.I have been working out for almost 5 years. performance wise it helps me a little though. They are mostly used by people who do fasted training.

PPumpItUp

Ive seen interviews with professional powerlifters on youtube. They eat a massive amount of carbohydrates, far more than their protein consumption which surprised me. Granted, most of them are fat, but very strong.

Gallowmere1984

A protein shake and 350g of blueberries an hour before, then another shake and 420g of cherries after. I can't be bothered to carry a shaker bottle around the gym, so I just hit the water fountain between lifts. If roughly 760 kcals around my session isn't enough, I'm probably screwing off too much.

Chieflrg

Generally any combination of peanut butter pancakes, two-three servings of ice cream, a couple pieces of angel food cake an hour hour or so before.

I never have protien shakes pre/post and hardly ever any other time. 8-10 oz of chicken breast smothered in peanut sauce post with maybe a protien bar.

During...no. I'm not hungry for food.

Also coffee before.

Gallowmere1984

Chieflrg wrote: »

Generally any combination of peanut butter pancakes, two-three servings of ice cream, a couple pieces of angel food cake an hour hour or so before.

I never have protien shakes pre/post and hardly ever any other time. 8-10 oz of chicken breast smothered in peanut sauce post with maybe a protien bar.

During...no. I'm not hungry for food.

Also coffee before.

This chicken and peanut butter thing...it sounds partially awful, but also incredibly interesting. I may have to try this at some point.

nextstopswoleville

My gym sessions usually run between 1:20 - 2 hrs and includes Lifting, an ab session and I finish with 30 min of HIIT. I dry scoop my preworkout about 20 minutes prior, on an empty stomach and hit the gym. I sip on BCAAs throughout my workout and then follow up with a fast digesting whey shake. Then, eat a meal about 30 minutes later. l

I think you're routine is solid except for the snack in the middle. If you're body is digesting food it using energy, energy that could be going to your muscles. Also, keep drinking your shake, post w.o. followed by meal 30 min later.

I've been told by a few trainers to drink a protein shake after strength training and prior to cardio, but it's inconvenient for me to carry my BCAAs and another shaker with protein, so I just take when I get home.

Hope this helps. Best of luck.

jdscrubs32

Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

Chieflrg wrote: »

Generally any combination of peanut butter pancakes, two-three servings of ice cream, a couple pieces of angel food cake an hour hour or so before.

I never have protien shakes pre/post and hardly ever any other time. 8-10 oz of chicken breast smothered in peanut sauce post with maybe a protien bar.

During...no. I'm not hungry for food.

Also coffee before.

This chicken and peanut butter thing...it sounds partially awful, but also incredibly interesting. I may have to try this at some point.

A burger joint I go to, which I actually havent gone to in ages has an option for hot peanut butter sauce which is out of this world delicious.

To get back to the original post, I tend to have proper food an hour before a workout, nothing during a workout and proper food that might be a shake but doesnt have any protein powder in it about an hour or two after.

deputy_randolph

I eat b'fast about an hour and half before workout. Next PL competition is in August.

B'fast: 2 chicken sausages or 3 scrabbled eggs, toast with avocado, half an ounce of dark chocolate...and COFFEE

During workout (if workout is going to take over 1.5 hrs): bagel thin with cream cheese and ham

Post: protein shake

I usually then eat lunch about and hour after leaving gym. Trainer told me to "eat like a fat kid." That I can do.

trigden1991

Jar of peanut butter and a tablespoon between sets.