Whether you’re a man or women – fitness enthusiast, athlete or bodybuilder looking to improve strength and increase muscle size. It’s imperative you eat correctly in order to fuel your body and allow it recover while consistently growing bigger & stronger.

Proper nutrition and supplementation is not just about what you consume, it’s also about when you consume it!

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“Nutrient timing is essential”  – “Research tells us that taking things at the right time is critical” David Sandler

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“What we now know through the research on nutrient timing is the two most critical times to eat are pre and post workout. It’s usually a 2-3hr window on each side of pre and post workout eating to be specific.” (Paraphrased) Jim Stoppani

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If you doubt the importance of nutrient timing, check out this study, titled: Effects of supplement timing and resistance exercise on skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Published in Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Nov;38(11):1918-25: .

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The old saying “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” may not be accurate. Although breakfast is very important, the science is showing us that our pre and post workout meal may be the most important meals of our day.

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In this post, I’m going to focus on the Pre Workout nutrition and supplementation we recommend here at Performance U, to both men and women looking to build muscle and gain strength.

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Below, I’ve given you everything you need to know and nothing you don’t about what to eat, how much of it to eat and when to eat it before you workout, in order to maximize gains in strength and muscle size. In another post (soon to come), I’ll cover our Performance U post workout nutrition and supplemtation strategies for gaining muscle strength and size.

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I have to thank Dr.Jim Stoppani, David Sandler and Dr. Jose Antonio for teaching me about pre and post workout nutrition. Much of the information I’ve provided you below has come from these three brilliant guys!

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The Prefect Pre Workout Meal (for men & women) for Gaining Muscle, Strength & Bodybuilding!

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Here’s what (we recommend) to eat 2-3hrs pre workout:

– A slow digesting carbohydrate like wheat bread or fruit. Consume 30-40grams of this slow digesting carb.

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– A lean protein like chicken breast or fish. Basically, a protein that’s low in saturated fats.

“Foods high in saturated fats have been shown to decrease blood flow to the muscles. On the other hand, foods high in EFA’s (Essential Fatty Acids) have been shown to increase blood flow to the muscles.” Jim Stoppani

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– A fibrous carbohydrate source like a salad. Eating a salad keeps your blood vessels dilated (open) to increase blood flow and oxygen to the muscles.

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Pre workout supplements we recommend:

– Caffine (100-400mg) 1hr before your workout. Can be from coffee or supplement.

“Up to 400mg of caffine to increase muscle strength, endurance, blunt pain (workout related like muscle “burn”) and burn fat!” David Sandler

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Here’s what we recommend to eat (meal & supplements) within 30 minutes pre workout:

– Approx. 20 grams of a fast digesting protein like a whey isolate supplement. Take this meal as a  shake (Protein shake) and not an actual whole food meal because a whole food meal won’t get digested and utilized fast enough. This protein shake can be Whey isolate, soy isolate or a combination of the two isolates.

“Soy protein isolate is close to whey and is also fast digesting. Plus, Soy protein isolate has been shown to raise growth hormone in women.” Jim Stoppani

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– 20-40 grams of a slow digesting carbohydrate like an Apple.

“Apples are a great pre workout fruit” Jim Stoppani

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– BCAA’s (Branched Chained Amino Acids) “

BCAA’s get a direct root to your muscles” Jim Stoppani.

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Note: My absolute favorite BCAA supplement is not in pill form like most BCAA supps. It’s actually a great tasting grape drink mix from At- Large Nutrition.

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– 2- 5 grams of Glutamine.  The BCAA Grape drink powder from At-Large Nutrition also contains Glutamine. So, I get the two in one (BCAAs + Glutamine) for my pre workout nutrition.

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– 5 grams of  pure Creatine Monohydrate. I use creatine from Biotest (powder form) and At-Large Nutrition (pill form). Depending on the day, I sometimes use the Biotest Creatine powder to mix into my protein shake. Other times, I just pop the pills from At-Large and be done with it.

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– 1 gram of Beta Alanine.

“Taking 1 gram of BA before you workout has been shown to boost the intensity of exercise.” – “Beta Alanine A naturally occuring amino acid  which delays fatigue by buffering lactic acid production at the cellular level” David Sandler

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So there you have it…

As promised, you now know everything we recommend here at Performance U, in regards to a pre workout meal and supplements for our men and/or women, in order to help them maximize their muscle size & strength gains.

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Coming Soon…

In a another post, soon to come I’ll be covering our post workout nutrition recommendations for gaining size and strength.

I will also be doing another future post on Pre and post workout nutrition for fat loss.

Keep checking back for those posts and don’t forget to post your comments below!

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