Here’s some food for thought for you, a very interesting take on your pre-training/event meal from nutrition expert Steve Born, which seems to defy what many of us have been doing for years. Read on and be surprised, but the least you can do is try it out and see if it works for you.

Are you making the common mistake of eating a pre-workout meal right before you train or compete?
If you are, I promise that the insulin you’re spiking is decreasing your energy, clouding your focus, and slowing your performance.

I use to make this dreaded pre-training/event mistake too! They used to teach me this in school while getting my exercise physiology and nutrition degree. Now, after 20 years of mistakes and guessing games, I finally know better and I’ve never trained/raced stronger!

For many of you, the removal of the typical ‘pre-workout meal’ will not be easy at first as many of you may be use to woofing down snacks and meals to fuel your workouts and ‘top-off’ your glycogen stores.

Most of us learned this flawed information from friends or magazines that have been passing it on for decades as common dogma.

I’m here to tell you that this antiquated nutrition technique of eating a meal within 30-60 minutes before you train or compete will hinder your performance, sap your energy and reduce your focus to perform at your best!

Yes, even if you’ve been doing this for years or even decades!

You must begin to understand what happens when you make this common pre-workout nutrition mistake. Learn it. Use it and watch your results soar!

Here’s what will happen if you eat a meal right before you train…

1) You will spike your insulin level and cause a decrease in blood glucose and create an environment for hypoglycemia, the exact opposite of what you want for a strong workout! You will lose energy. You will lose focus and you will lose performance!

2) You will route blood flow and energy to your digestive tract instead of your working muscles. Once exercise steps up, this blood will then be re-routed away from your digestive tract, leaving the undigested, useless food you just ate to sit in your stomach like a rock.

3) You will shut down any chance of positive hormones such as glucagon, IGF-1, and Growth Hormone from doing their job correctly to optimize fat-burning and other necessary energy deriving actions that need to happen to drive performance. This is because you spiked your insulin!

By eliminating the pre-workout meal or moving it at least 3 hours before you train or compete, you will:
1) Keep insulin in check and allow your body to optimize energy from both stored glycogen and body-fat.
2) Maintain your energy and focus for optimal performance.
3) Decrease indigestion that may hinder performance.
4) Optimize the hormones useful for body-fat utilization and muscle retention.

Bottom Line: All on its own, this one change in nutrition can make a huge difference in your athletic performance. We’ve all made this mistake, including me. Now it’s time to lay this mistake to rest!

PUT IT TO THE TEST 2-3 TIMES: I want you to try removing all food at least 3 hours before your next workout and see how you feel. I promise, you’ll be kicking yourself for not having tried this technique years ago! Try it a few times to get used to it and then you’ll see your athletic performance change forever!

Remember that you must be following a healthy, wholesome food plan along with this technique for it to work. If you’re not following a balanced nutrition plan or you’re simply not eating nutrient dense foods, then you will have a lot more to work to do.
Train Hard. Race Harder. Keep Your Insulin in Check. Rethink the Pre-Ride Meal.