Snacks can play a key role in fueling and make a huge difference in athletic performance. We’ll discuss the importance of timing your snacks between meals and around workouts to provide energy, stamina, strength, and proper recovery from your physical activity. Working out uses your body’s stored glycogen which comes from carbs and your amino acids from protein. If you do not fuel properly, you will start to break down muscle as opposed to maintaining or building it, and as a result, you will be at higher risk of injury, sluggish and fatigued, and constantly deal with inflammation and soreness. Having the proper snacks will help to maximize performance and endurance, preserve and build muscle mass, recover faster, and stabilize blood sugar levels.

A general rule for fueling with snacks is to have something 30 to 90 minutes prior to workouts and lifts that is high in carbs with a small amount of protein and little to no fat or fiber. You want to avoid these due to how slow it digests in your system and focus on fast digesting energy and fuel for the body. Your post workout snack should be eaten within 30-60 minutes of you finishing, and it should prioritize protein in combination with carbs to replenish the glycogen and amino acids lost during activity.

Some of the best pre-workout snacks are bananas with peanut butter, low fat Greek yogurt with berries, oatmeal with honey and cinnamon, rice cakes with almond butter, energy bites, peanut butter jelly sandwiches, fruit snacks, and protein smoothies. Some of these foods are much better to eat closer to lifts such as the banana or peanut butter jelly sandwiches due to them containing mostly simple sugar that is easily broken down. Foods like oatmeal or protein smoothies are snacks you would want to eat closer to 90 minutes prior to the lift so there’s time for your body to digest and use that as energy.

Protein shakes or protein powder fruit smoothies are perfect snacks immediately following your workouts as well as protein bars, boiled eggs, and tuna and crackers, Greek yogurt, etc. to help re-fuel your muscles. Other snacks that are really good for post workout are pickles or pickle juice, which helps a lot with inflammation and cramping due to the sodium and micronutrients they provide, leading into our next topic, hydration.

Hydration is a critical component to post workout and even intra workout (during workout) snacks. Using electrolyte drinks as hydration in addition to water can also help as a recovery snack post workout, and not only does your body need those electrolytes, it also needs the fast digesting carbs to always make sure you have glycogen to burn through while preserving your muscle. Things like Gatorade, coconut water, turmeric and beetroot shots, cherry juice, and multivitamins can aid in muscle soreness and help remove a lot of inflammation from the body, improving oxygen flow as well. This is especially important for those doing intense cardio for long bouts. The body will burn through its glycogen after 90 minutes, so fueling with these drinks during any long runs that may last longer than that can be very beneficial.

Snack timing and hydration needs around workouts largely depends on the type of activity and what it demands. Eating high amounts of protein with carbs is great for muscle gain that comes from strength training, and this should be done within 30 minutes or so of that lift. Endurance training, however, often lasts a lot longer, and if training lasts 2 hours for example, fueling during your workout with the aforementioned drinks will be beneficial as well as high protein consumption paired with carbs post training.

In the end, factors such as planning your days and snacks ahead of time around your workouts are just as important as eating the snacks that actually fuel your workouts. You should always listen to your body as well, as some people can eat bananas with peanut butter pre workout with no issues, while others may have digestive issues as a result and need something else like rice krispy treats. Try your best to choose whole food snacks when you can as opposed to eating so many processed options, and remember that snacks are just supplements to your overall diet while still eating balanced meals. With the right combination of carbs, protein, and hydration, you can take your workouts to the next level, recover faster, and get the most out of your athletic performance. It doesn’t matter if you’re a casual exerciser, an avid weightlifter, or an endurance athlete, putting a little thought into your snacks will help you feel stronger, recover faster, and make the most out of every session.