are carbs important before workout?

[Wesley]

i usually have a whey shake before and after workout. should i toss in a little bit of carbs with the shakes? like two peices of bread or something so its not just protein?

 

[MOjs13]

it is more important to take in some carbs post workout with ur shake. i use ABB carbo force

 

[Knivez]

i agree with MOjs13. Carbs take too long to assimilate in the body and are best used in post work out

 

[thorsky]

I disagree. About 1 hour before workout you should get some good carbs in. I would not drink a shake or take in anything that requires a lot of digestive "energy" within the hour before the workout as your body will be busy digesting instead of pushing iron.

 

[BiggerthanLavar]

I sort of agree with both sides here. I've heard pre-workout meals(up to 1 hour before) are pretty important carb wise although not as important as post workout(30 min after-max) meals. I usually take in a nice protien shake and maybe a PBJ after my workouts depending on the intensity of them. I look at it as sort of a reward for myself. Bottom line, have more carbs after your workout. Just my .02

 

[darthtexan]

It depends on your goals. If your goal is purely athletic performance and you dont care about losing fat, then taking in carbs before your workout is best. But if fat loss is your goal then you dont want to take in carbs before a workout. It would be best to take in A LOT of carbs immediately after a workout, because carbs ingested post exercise do not get converted to fat. They are sucked up by your muscles like a sponge.

 

[Teetoe24]

Carbs are a must.. its good for energy

 

[aikurushii]

and to replenish glycogen levels.

 

[aikurushii]

oops

and to drive nutrients in to your body.

 

[Frosty]

Here's something I posted on another board:

Quote:
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I heard that whey proteins and complex carbs like yams are good 45 min preworkout...I hear guys have more energy because of this.
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Yeah, if you take in some whey 30 minutes or so before a workout, amino acid levels will peak just about when you're finishing up with your workout. That's definitely a good thing.

As to the carbs...it's all highly individual AND dependant on time and glycemic index.

What that means is a yam (which has low GI of around 30ish) before a workout isn't likely to make you "crash" (hypoglycemia) because there is no large fast secretion of insulin after eating it. Some people that are more "carb types" (meaning they thrive on higher amounts of carbs) could get energy from this, while the protein types (people that don't handle many carbs) could very easily get sleepy from it. See how you handle it.

And people say sugar is bad preworkout, but it can actually be quite good!!

Taking in high GI surgar will give you a spike in blood sugar levels and a resultant large insulin response. HOWEVER, within a certain time period (I forget what the study said exactly, but it was like 30 minutes), brain function is significantly INCREASED. This equates to greater strength! Always a plus in the gym. The key is to eat the sugar in 15-20 minutes or so before the workout. If it's too long before, you WILL get that crash and that's bad before a workout (brain function is significantly decreased). However, properly timed sugar preworkout can increase strength AND provide for a more anti-catabolic state during a workout.