You’re a fit dude. You skip the bad stuff, always get #legday in, and hit the heavy bag hard. But if you want your body to continue performing like a Lamborghini, then you’ve gotta put in the high-octane fuel—and that means eating the right foods before your workouts.
Even though you may be tempted to skip the calories, don’t. Not eating before a workout can result in low blood sugar, which leads to light-headedness and fatigue. “If I don’t have my pre-exercise meal, my workout isn’t the same and it feels like a waste,” says Manuel Villacorta, R.D., author of Eating Free and Peruvian Power Foods. “If you fuel correctly, you’ll work out harder.”
We’ll repeat that: fuel correctly. Pigging out on junk will just be counterproductive, and can leave you feeling queasy. So get the good stuff—it’ll maximize your energy, and your gains.
Here are the best foods you can eat within an hour before your workout:
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