Pre- and post-workout nutrition is the most over-complicated topic in fitness. The supplement industry needs it to be complicated. It isn’t. Here’s the whole thing in five minutes.

Before training: don’t be empty, don’t be full

Train 1–2 hours after a normal meal and you need nothing special. Training first thing in the morning? Something small if you want it – a banana, a slice of toast – or nothing at all if you train fine fasted. The best pre-workout meal is the one that doesn’t sit in your stomach during squats.

After training: protein, then a normal meal

The famous 30-minute “anabolic window” is more like a garage door – hours wide. Get protein within a couple of hours of training and you’ve captured the benefit. A real meal with protein and carbs beats any shake; the shake is just convenient, not magic.

What actually moves the needle

Daily totals beat timing, every time. Enough protein across the day, mostly-whole foods, water – that’s 95% of results. Timing details are the last 5%, and chasing them before the basics is how people end up with a cabinet of powders and no progress. Start with rules you’ll actually follow.

The only supplement worth discussing

Creatine monohydrate – cheap, boring, and actually supported by evidence. Everything else on the shelf is optional at best. If your nutrition plan requires a shopping list of powders, it’s a marketing plan.

Ready to stop guessing?

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