Nutrient timing is a concept that was created in an effort to improve performance, recovery, and adaptation.
The idea is that timing your meals before, after, and even during your workouts to fuel and replenish your body will aid in body composition, muscle gains, and recovery between workouts.
I’m sure you’ve met someone who forced themselves to eat protein within 20 minutes of their workout and wondered, “Does that really make that big of a difference?”
Well, let’s find out together, shall we?
The Research Behind Nutrient Timing
I’ll be honest, the research has found conflicting results. However, there are some consistent findings that we’ll chat about here.
The main foundation of nutrient timing is the idea of the anabolic window – the 30 minutes post-workout when our body is thought to be primed to absorb nutrients quickly.
However, further research has shown that this window may be a bit larger than we thought – especially if you are not working out again that day.
Now, this doesn’t mean you should throw nutrient timing out the window. (Pun intended!)
Studies have consistently shown that refueling both carbs and protein post-workout promotes protein and glycogen synthesis.
In fact, a 1966 study showed that athletes who refueled post-workout with a combination of carbohydrates and protein saw greater glycogen stores than athletes who ate only protein or only carbs.
While nutrient timing holdouts will tell you eating protein within the anabolic window helps with muscle protein synthesis, studies have shown that hitting your daily protein goal has a greater influence on muscle growth than timing.
In other words, if you’re not hitting your daily nutritional goals – timing your meals won’t make a large enough impact to be worth it.
Okay, So Refueling = Good…But WHEN?
This review shows that some studies found eating carbohydrates within that 30-minute post-workout anabolic window did yield an increase in glycogen synthesis than waiting a couple of hours to replenish carbs. However, other studies showed that, after 24 hours, both groups had similar numbers of glycogen stores – implying that it didn’t matter when athletes replenished unless they had another workout ahead of them that day.
Hmm…what kind of athlete might have more than one workout or performance in a day? Maybe, say, a dancer who works out in the morning, then has to head to a show in the evening? Or, maybe someone who has a midday audition followed by an afternoon dance class.
That’s why at Dancers Who Lift we recommend that dancers eat a combination of carbs and protein within an hour of working out if you are going to be dancing, lifting, or performing again within the same day. This ensures you will have plenty of energy, power, and brain cognition to perform at your best despite it being your second workout of the day!
However, if you’re not working out again after your workout, nutrient timing is less important as long as you do refuel your nutrition within a few hours.
What About Before My Workout?
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A good rule of thumb? We don’t want you to workout hungry, but we also don’t want you working out feeling heavy and full.
We recommend eating a larger meal 2-3 hours before your workout OR eating a small meal or snack 1-2 hours before your workout.
And no, we don’t recommend you work out in a fasted state.
Recap?
You should be eating before your workout to fuel up. If it’s a big meal, give yourself 2-3 hours between eating and working out. If it’s a small meal or snack, give yourself 1-2 hours. Make sure this meal contains both protein and carbohydrates.
Post-workout, nutrient timing can be beneficial if you have multiple physical activities happening in a day. This ensures that glycogen stores are replenished as efficiently as possible; keeping you energized throughout your workouts.
However, if you’re not working out again later in the day, nutrient timing is less vital to your recovery. Instead, it’s most beneficial to focus on hitting your nutritional goals consistently.
Still wanting a bit more guidance? Check out this video from coach Amber with the breakdown of how much of each you should be eating to keep your body fueled before and after your workouts!
If you’re looking for more nutrition tips, workouts, and more, give these blogs a quick read: Workout Wednesday: The Mat Workout, Dance Injuries And How to Prevent Them (According to Broadway’s PTs!), How to Eat 25 Grams of Fiber and Still Hit your Macros
