pre-workout supplements/foods?

i'm on the hunt for something i can take before a workout to give energy and hopefully some sort of added nutritional benefit to my routine. my only time to hit the gym is after i've been working and i'm normally pretty tired and drag-assy unless i jolt my system with a shitload of caffeine, which i'm tired of doing and i know isn't good for me. eating food just makes me farty and tired, too.

Have a banana and some whey.

For pre-workout energy I love Maca. My gf loves it too b/c it gives me boners of steel.

Use less caffeine.

I take a B50 vit, ~60mg of caffeine (just break the pills up), and drink my greens drink before workout and I get a nice stable, non jittery, boost.

Caffeine is one of the only proven useful preworkout supplements out there.

If you want to be more hardcore and fat-loss is a big factor, you can try an ECA stack with some green tea extract.

http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=ht...Q20qQ51Q20Q3CF

Food > supps.

Lots of complex carbs + protein pre-workout, something I might eat pre WO would be 3 large potatoes, 200g of bacon with the fat ripped off, stay away from sugar..

A big coffee does it for me every time.

Candy.

Lyle McDonald, a well respected fitness-nutrition expert, recommends taking glucose pills pre-workout as a low-calorie alternative.

Originally Posted by Roger999

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Food > supps.

Lots of complex carbs + protein pre-workout, something I might eat pre WO would be 3 large potatoes, 200g of bacon with the fat ripped off, stay away from sugar..

sweet jesus. i'd **** myself and pass out 15 mins into it. what about all this NO stuff like black powder and such?

I drink ephedra tea that I get from the bodyfactory before a workout.

Apple with almond butter and 3 oz of chicken 1.5-2 hours ahead of time.

potatoe and bacon? uhh...

Originally Posted by grundletaint

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sweet jesus. i'd **** myself and pass out 15 mins into it. what about all this NO stuff like black powder and such?

Please read my earlier post.

NO supplements don't work and any effect you'll get is from caffeine and placebo.

Food you don't have to worry about unless you're in starvation or something. If you really want some nice energy, have a bowl of oats with some whey a couple hours before workout. You don't want to be digesting anything, especially something heavy, during your workout.

Once again, please refer to my earlier post. It'll give you the boost you're looking for and at 1/50th the price of NO stuff and bs supplement snake oil

What's with all the calls for fruit? Fruit is over-rated anyways. I'm pretty confident a diverse mix of vegetables > diverse mix of fruits since fructose is a useless carbohyrdate... ok maybe it tastes good?

Ground oats + whey, time tested and true. Pre-assemble it in shaker cup, add water and consume prior to your work out.

Depends when I work out. But coffee is a sure thing.

I some times like waiting until after a work out to eat, because then I have a huge appetite and can eat lots of chicken or beef.

urhghghgh there is a lot of misinformation in this thread. Fruit in itself isn't necessarily bad; fruits that aren't high in fibre are bad in excess. Pineapple, berries, bananas, apples are great.

Pre-workout, don't buy any kind of nitro-tech super XXX massive workout boost powder; its a load of ****. The supplement industry is a scam and the only things you should be taking are multivitamins, fish oil, whey and creatine if you want.

Eat a solid meal 1 hour before you workout, with protein carbs and fat. There is no substitute for a full stomach before you go in to lift - I wouldn't be able to do anything worthwhile working out on an empty stomach. Have a coffee or something if you want but really, just eat a solid meal and get into a good state of mind - lifting is just as much mental as it is physical.

I usually end up having this pre-workout, as its portable and tasty:

2 cups mixed berries
2 cups plain fat-free yogurt
2 scoops whey
1 tbsp olive oil
blenderize and enjoy

=

~80 carbs
~48 protein
~15 fat

Depends on what your macronutrient ratios are but this is a solid meal pre-workout.

Originally Posted by jarude

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urhghghgh there is a lot of misinformation in this thread. Fruit in itself isn't necessarily bad; fruits that aren't high in fibre are bad in excess. Pineapple, berries, bananas, apples are great.

Pre-workout, don't buy any kind of nitro-tech super XXX massive workout boost powder; its a load of ****. The supplement industry is a scam and the only things you should be taking are multivitamins, fish oil, whey and creatine if you want.

Eat a solid meal 1 hour before you workout, with protein carbs and fat. There is no substitute for a full stomach before you go in to lift - I wouldn't be able to do anything worthwhile working out on an empty stomach. Have a coffee or something if you want but really, just eat a solid meal and get into a good state of mind - lifting is just as much mental as it is physical.

I usually end up having this pre-workout, as its portable and tasty:

2 cups mixed berries
2 cups plain fat-free yogurt
2 scoops whey
1 tbsp olive oil
blenderize and enjoy

=

~80 carbs
~48 protein
~15 fat

Depends on what your macronutrient ratios are but this is a solid meal pre-workout.

Like you said, it's all mental, and I have not had the mental fortitude to lift on a stomach that full. I find that I lift best when my stomach's empty but my body's not completely drained.

+1 on the supplements. I got off glutamine a few weeks ago after having been on it for months and, well, I'm glad I didn't spend more on it. Stuff just does not work for me.