Brian (0s):
Hey everyone, it's Brian Gryn here. Welcome to the Get Lean Eat Clean podcast, and I'm gonna share a short video I did on strategic carb timing around your workouts. For those of you who don't watch my videos on YouTube, I thought it would be advantageous to put 'em here on my podcast. So enjoy and have a great rest of the day, and thanks so much for listening. What if I told you that when you eat, your carbohydrates could be just as important as how much you eat that the difference between crushing your workout and feeling like you're moving through quicksand could come down to your timing of your carb intake. I'm Brian Gryn, and today we're diving deep into the science of strategic carbohydrate timing around your workouts.
Brian (45s):
By the end of this video, you'll know exactly what to eat, when to eat it, and how to turn your body into a high performance machine. First, let's understand why timing matters. Your muscles store carbs as glycogen. Think of it as your body's premium fuel tank. For example, during resistance training, performing six sets of 12 reps of leg extensions exercise has been shown to reduce glycogen stores in your vast laterals by 39%. And for endurance exercise, those stores get depleted even faster as glycogen levels decline. The ability of an athlete to maintain exercise intensity and work output also decreases while rates of tissue break down throughout the exercises.
Brian (1m 28s):
This is backed by research from the International Society of Sports Nutrition, which provides evidence-based guidelines that we'll be following today. But here's what most people get wrong. They only focus on total carbs for the day. While that's important, research shows that strategically timing your carbohydrate intake can be the difference maker for performance recovery and your next day training quality. Let's start with pre-workout nutrition. The goal here is simple, top off glycogen stores and provide readily available fuel for your body. It is commonly recommended to consume snacks or a meal high in carbohydrates, anywhere from one to four grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight per day.
Brian (2m 11s):
For 150 pound person, just divide it by 2.2 and you have 68 kilograms. Take the 68 times it by either one or up to four, and you're gonna get your range of how many carbs you should strategically have around your workouts. So let's get more specific. Go for a complete meal about two to four hours before your workout. If you're training super early in the morning and you don't want to have anything, it's totally doable to go fasted. But if you really want to get the most outta your performance, I would have maybe a banana or something really light and easily digestible carbohydrate perhaps about 30 to 60 minutes before. Here are some great pre-workout carb sources, cook, lentils, oats, honey, raisins, rice, and potatoes.
Brian (2m 58s):
These are all effective
Brian (2m 59s):
Pre-exercise carbohydrate food sources. Sweet potato bananas are a great classic pre-workout snack for a good reason. They're rich and easily digestible. Carbohydrates with about 27 grams of carbs per medium banana dates can also be a great option as well. They provide about 30 to 40 grams of carbohydrates, making them a perfect pre-workout snack. Something that I love to have before a workout is some Greek yogurt with some honey or berries. Now here's something interesting. Galloway and colleagues used a double-blind placebo controlled approach to compare performance outcomes related to the ingestion of a placebo or a 6.4% carbohydrate beverage, either 30 minutes or 120 minutes before a controlled bout of cycling, ingesting carbohydrates to 30 minutes before this exercise led to a greater increase in exercise capacity for the athlete.
Brian (3m 55s):
Now, let's talk about during your workout strategy, and the honest answer is you probably don't need anything during the workout. The only time you want to consider perhaps having something during the workout is for an extended bout of high intensity workouts, greater than 70% of your VO two max and greater than 60 to 90 minutes. For most recreational exercisers, I would just skip the mid workout carbohydrate and focus on a good pre and post-workout nutrition instead for serious athletes or long sessions. I think it can make a difference in having a carbohydrate drink during the workout because if you're looking for that slight edge, it could give it to you.
Brian (4m 37s):
Now, simple test. If you consistently find yourself hitting a wall or feeling like your performance is dropping off significantly, then you could try adding in some carbohydrates and see if this helps. The key is matching your fueling strategy to your actual training demands. If you are gonna have something during your workout, like I mentioned before, perhaps a sports drink that has about six to 8% carb concentration, energy gels, raisins, bananas, and honey could be effective as well. Let's talk on your post workout recovery strategy. This is where the magic happens for recovery and next day performance. The post-exercise period is often considered the most crucial part of the nutrient timing.
Brian (5m 19s):
During the initial six hours following exercise, there's an increased pace of muscle glycogen replenishment and consuming sufficient carbohydrates within 24 hours after the workout can lead to a full restoration of glycogen stores. Now, current studies suggest that having a recovery meal within two to three hours after exercise is more than sufficient and much better as opposed to just not eating at all. Now, glycogen replenishment gets all the attention, but there are several other crucial reasons why you wanna consume carbs in their post-workout window. One muscle protein synthesis enhancement, carbs trigger insulin, which has a powerful anti catabolic effect, which is muscle preserving and also helps shuttle amino acids into the muscle cells for repair and growth.
Brian (6m 7s):
Number two, hormonal optimization management as well. Intense exercise actually spikes cortisol, which is a stress hormone, so you wanna make sure that you have some carbohydrate ingestion and may help create a favorable hormonal environment lowering cortisol levels faster and restoring what's called your anabolic de catabolic hormonal balance. Number three, immune system support. Now, most people don't know this, but high intense exercise, contemporary suppress your immune system for three to 24 hours. Studies in elite athletes undergoing high volumes of training have shown benefits when adequate carbohydrates are consumed post exercise because carbs will help restore immune cell function faster, reduce exercise induced in inflammation, lower the risk of getting sick during heavy training periods, help with what's called next day performance insurance.
Brian (7m 4s):
This is where research gets really interesting. Studies show that the laying post exercise carbohydrate intake can impair your next day exercise capacity. So if you're looking to bounce back after a tough workout and do another one the next day, perhaps a different body part, well think about having some carbohydrates that day because that can really help boost that next day's performance. Lastly is muscle damage reduction. Co ingestion of carbohydrates and protein during post-exercise may be advantageous as it provides reduced muscle damage markers and accelerated post-exercise rehydration. So Bottom Line, less muscle damage means faster recovery, less soreness, and better training consistency.
Brian (7m 50s):
So consuming carbs within two hours after exercising as opposed to not eating proves effective in enhancing recovery. Now, what are some great post-workout options for carbohydrates? White rice, potatoes, chocolate milk combines, carbs and protein, which we'll touch on in a minute, and rice cakes with honey is an option as well. Sweet potatoes, bananas, oatmeal with fruit, these are all options as well. Now if you're really looking to take your game to the next level, I would combine carbohydrates with protein because combining carbs of protein isn't just nice to have. It's a performance multiplier. When you eat carbs alone after training, you refuel.
Brian (8m 33s):
When you add protein, you refuel and rebuild. So here's what matters. Three key benefits to combining protein with carbs after a workout, studies show that carbs plus protein together improve next day performance by 28% compared to carbs alone. That's the difference between feeling fresh or feeling flat. Next, faster muscle recovery. The combo reduces muscle damage markers and accelerates recovery. Number three, enhance glycogen storage. When your glycogen stores are low, adding protein helps you store more carbs efficiently and you get more bang for your buck. So what's the ratio of carbs? The protein, I would aim between three to one or four to one.
Brian (9m 16s):
So example would be like 16 ounces of chocolate milk. That's 48 grams of carbs, plus 16 grams of protein. Greek yogurt plus banana and honey equals 48 grams of carbs, plus 15 grams of protein. It's a good ratio. Let's say you decided to have a bagel plus two tablespoons of peanut butter. That's 60 grams of carbs, plus 16 grams of protein. So the Bottom Line is carbs alone equals a good recovery, but carbs plus protein equals greater recovery and a better tomorrow. It's that simple. The research is pretty clear. If you're only doing one thing post-workout, make it a carb protein combination.
Brian (9m 57s):
So let's make this super practical with a realistic target for a 200 pound person focused on muscle growth. And performance For total daily carbohydrates would aim about 350 to 450 grams. That's about four to five grams per kilogram of body weight. Now, around training, you want to aim for about 150 to 200 grams and the rest of the day you can get in the rest of your carbohydrates, which is about 200 to 250 grams spread throughout other meals. The main focus areas are pre-workout fuel and post-workout recovery. So here's your sample. Day 4:00 PM two hours before the workout, you have a pre-workout meal, one cup of rice, which is about 45 grams of carbs, plus six ounces of of a high quality chicken breast and vegetables.
Brian (10m 45s):
These are solid fuels that won't cause GI issues around 5:30 PM 30 minutes before your workout. I would say this is optional, but you could have a quick fuel like one large banana, which is 30 grams of carbs, fast digesting and won't sit heavy in your stomach from six to 7:00 PM you do your training session, I would say water only, and then at 7:15 PM and then after the workout is your recovery window, which you can have about 16 ounce chocolate milk, which is about 48 grams of carbs and 16 grams of protein. Perfect, three to one ratio, convenient and research proven. Hopefully not too close to your bedtime. You have your post workout dinner, which is one and a half cups of rice, about 67 grams of carbs, plus eight ounces of a lean protein and vegetables.
Brian (11m 29s):
So the total focus carbs is about 190 grams around your training regimen, and the remaining 200 grams or so are spread throughout the day for other meals. Well, there you have it, the science back approach to strategic carb timing that can transform your workouts and recovery. The Bottom Line timing isn't everything, but when you're already eating the right amounts, strategic timing can be that extra edge that takes your performance to the next level. So start implementing one change at a time. Maybe it's adding a banana 30 minutes before your workout or trying chocolate milk post-workout. Small changes backed by science and solid research compounded to major performance gains.
Brian (12m 12s):
If this helps you understand carb timing better, smash the like button or subscribe for more evidence-based nutrition, drop a comment below telling me which strategy you're gonna try and remember, the best nutrition plan is the one that you can actually stick to consistently. Use the science as your foundation, but adjust it to fit your lifestyle and needs. Thanks so much and I'll see you in the next video.
