Sweet spot carb intake pre workout?

ayson9
ayson9 Posts: 18 Member
edited November 26 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Been playing around with numbers of amount of carbs taken in before a heavy weight lifting training session.

What would be a good sweet spot of carb amount to take in to Benefit the heavy lifts but not necessarily spilling over?

I eat normally hour to hour and half before working out. Does it vary based on each individual? Would there be a pre workout carb calculator or rule of thumb to follow?

Any advice or personal experience is appreciated.

Not a power lifter, but would ideally want to build my strength and muscle mass to create better definition when I shred down for Physique Comp.


Current weight: 165
5’4
Bench 225 @ 6 reps
Squat 275 @ 6 reps
Deadlift 315 @ 6 reps
Competitions: 2 (Amateur) - Physique

Replies

  • taco_inspector
    taco_inspector Posts: 7,223 Member
    I'm certainly no expert, but I'm sure that this will vary widely by individual...

    I took notes (RPE, adequacy of rest between sets, etc) and watched progression. Turns out that just a half PBJ sammich worked to keep me from boinking without anything else on a fasted morning (<1hr sessions).
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    Usually fast digesting carbs like glucose or dextrose (people like smarties, gummy bears, swedish fish, glucose tabs, etc) can be taken just prior to starting your routine. Not sure what you mean by "spilling over" but glucose and glycogen fuel intense routines. Depending on how long they are, you may need more or less, or none at all if it's really short.

    If you have sessions that last up to 2-3 hours, some might benefit from intraworkout carbs, so ymmv.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    edited April 2018
    I'm a diabetic, which means I have done a lot of testing my blood glucose during and after to see what works for me. My experience is that if your muscle glycogen stores are full (in other words, if you ate the usual amount of carbs the day before and didn't do anything to deplete muscle stores like a long run) you probably don't need to fuel before a strength workout. Generally having a small carb and protein snack after is fine - I usually go for Greek yogurt and berries.

    If you feel stressed and like you need fuel during your workout, about 15 - 20 g net carbs will probably cover an hour. An orange is about perfect - digests quickly, healthy, light on your stomach. Blood glucose in a healthy person generally peaks about 45 minutes to an hour after eating and drops back to normal by two hours. If you are healthy, your liver should be able to release glucose on demand, and your muscles also have a store.
  • ayson9
    ayson9 Posts: 18 Member
    @rheddmobile thanks man, appreciate it. Yeah, I notice I perform well when I have a good 20-25g of carbs in before my lifts. Because I feel like the carbs I consumed the night before doesn’t carry over in the morning as much.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Right now I am in a surplus and I have a small meal about 1.5h or so before my workout, I would say about 30-60g carbs, then immediately before and during 20-30g carbs (candy or dried fruit). That works very well for me. It will definitely vary according to the individual though.
  • Davidsdottir
    Davidsdottir Posts: 1,285 Member
    I usually eat a banana (30g carbs) before scarfing down preworkout at 4:30 in the morning and then have gummies (30g carbs) intra workout.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    carbs - I try for about 50g and then 15-20g protein about 1.5hrs prior - depending on time - if its within the hour, I do fast carbs (gummy bears etc); if its more than 1.5hrs, then I look to white/sweet potato or something with slower digestion
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    edited April 2018
    A half cup of steel cut oats soaking overnight in whey protien sprinkled with instant coffee will do the trick before strength training.

    It's light enough for digestion and doesn't drain energy from training plus you get a lil pep.
  • Davidsdottir
    Davidsdottir Posts: 1,285 Member
    Chieflrg wrote: »
    A half cup of steel cut oats soaking overnight in whey protien sprinkled with instant coffee will do the trick before strength training.

    It's light enough for digestion and doesn't drain energy from training plus you get a lil pep.

    I'm going to steal this from you!
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    Davidsdottir wrote: »
    Chieflrg wrote: »
    A half cup of steel cut oats soaking overnight in whey protien sprinkled with instant coffee will do the trick before strength training.

    It's light enough for digestion and doesn't drain energy from training plus you get a lil pep.

    I'm going to steal this from you!

    Me too!
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