Over the years, women have not only created a designated place for themselves in the world of strength sports, but a place worthy of flourishment. As this space continues to cultivate, it’s important to support women in strength sports by providing up-to-date knowledge and evidence-based literature, especially on topics like nutrition.

As a female Registered Dietitian who strength-trains, the links between nutrition and strength training may still feel a bit untapped. This is not surprising though, because the truth is, the majority of the subjects that are included in nutrition-interventions and studies are usually white, male, subjects.

A handful of studies solely test primarily on women subjects, and although we’re seeing more research surfacing, we understand studies may take years to come into full fruition and into the hands of the public. However, we have certainly learned a lot in recent years, and we definitely don’t take these pieces of literature for granted.

Although most of the literature discussed today will be general guidelines that many can follow, regardless of biological gender, it will be important to take a step back to understand that the female strength athlete, like many other female athletes, face several challenges in relation to body image, societal beauty standards, and hormones.

These challenges do not go unnoticed.

Before we dive in, I’d also like to note that it’s really easy to get caught up in the minutia of the little details when it comes to nutrition. There is a lot of information out there, and knowing where to begin can feel overwhelming. For this reason, I like to reference the Diet Priority Pyramid by Eric Helms from 3DMJ, in understanding what nutrition priorities for strength and performance should be. These include, in their respective order:

Your total caloric intake
Ratio of macronutrients
Micronutrients
Nutrient timing
Supplements

Today, we’ll be looking specifically at nutrient timing, which is just another fancy term to describe the ingestion and timing of certain nutrients. According to Helms and colleagues, nutrient timing itself plays just a small role in overall diet quality -- 10% to be exact. However, since the name of the game is to optimize, optimize, optimize, this 10% difference can be significant.

There are many components to nutrient timing, more specifically, six, which includes:

Meal Number: The number of meals consumed in one given day.
Meal Spacing: The timing of meals in relation to one another.
Meal Size: The amount of food or calories consumed per meal.
Meal Macros: The macronutrient(s) present in each meal.
Meal Composition: The type of foods consumed at each meal.
Timing Around Activity: The timing of meals in relation to physical activity.

For today’s post, I’ll be honing in on nutrient timing in relation to timing around activity.

After all, the more we can talk about lifting weights, the better.

Pre-training

Time frame: Four hours to 30 minutes before training

Pre-training refers to the window of time before a training session begins, more specifically 30 minutes to four hours before you touch the barbell. You may have heard a thing or two about paying attention to carbs during this time, which is a good place to start because emphasizing carb intake before our training is certainly important.

Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, which is then converted into ATP. ATP is our body’s preferred source of energy. Adequate levels of ATP ensure we are sparing protein and fat from being utilized for energy. If our glycogen stores are adequate, our bodies become more capable of supporting high-intensity muscular activity.

Complex vs Simple Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates will then break down further into two categories: simple and complex.

Simple carbohydrates are fast-digesting and are broken down more easily into the bloodstream, causing a rapid spike in insulin levels, which improves blood flow and the effects of nitric oxide; which contribute to overall peak performance. These include sugary, low-fiber cereals, gummies, white breads, and white rice.

Complex carbohydrates are slow-digesting and are broken down less easily into the bloodstream. These include higher-fiber foods, such as fruits, starchy vegetables, brown rice, and whole grains.

The further you are out from training, the more you’ll want to pay attention to complex carbohydrates. The closer you are to training, the more you’ll want to emphasize simple carbohydrates.

For the majority of you reading this, I think it is safe to assume that your training sessions may fall anywhere between 1.5 to 2 hours, at minimum. Since most resistance-sports are lower impact with longer breaks, it’s important to understand complex carbohydrates certainly have a place in our pre-training window to ensure we are able to achieve a steady flow of energy throughout our workout.

I am a huge proponent of emphasizing a well-balanced meal, if possible, four hours before training. An ideal well-balanced meal would include an adequate protein source, a complex carbohydrate, a vegetable source; with minimal fat.

Prioritizing a meal four hours before training increases our satiety levels, and most importantly-- increases our intake of micronutrients that can be easily missed. Most female strength athletes can benefit from paying a little more attention to their micronutrient intake, as research indicates female athletes are more likely to be in a state of caloric deficit, which increases the risk of developing nutrient deficiencies.

However, as we get closer to the training, we’ll want to switch gears and pay attention to simple carbohydrates that are more easily digested.

Intra-Workout

Time frame: During training

A whoooooole bag of gummies, skittles, trolli eggs; stuffed at the very bottom of each strength athlete’s gym bag seems to be the norm. Tossing gummy worms across the gym floor, and finding candy wrappers on the platform, amidst all the chalk and baby powder is nothing out of the ordinary.

From the outside looking in, stuffing our faces with candy during training sessions may seem bizarre, but we all know that to be untrue if we know anything about the importance of intra-workout.

Intra-workout, or just a fancy way to describe the intake of foods or nutrients during a training session, is used to mitigate any type of fatiguing effects during a training session.

An intra-workout supplement or food item often includes:

Simple carbohydrates in the form of candies, cereals, bread
Electrolyte-enhanced sports drinks such as Gatorade or Coconut Water

As much as I enjoy using my long breaks in between sets to stuff my face with Swedish fish, it’s important to realize that supplementing with an intra-workout may not be all that necessary in our strength world.

Here are the following scenarios in which they can be beneficial:

If you have not had much to eat prior to training.
If your training session is > 90 minutes.
If you work out in a hot or humid environment.
If you are on a caloric deficit.
If there is some type of conditioning involved in your training session.

When choosing a proper intra-workout food/supplement, focus primarily on simple carbohydrate-rich foods. Opting for an electrolyte-enhanced sports drink is fine as well, and if you are somebody that has a fairly active lifestyle outside of strength training, supplementing with electrolytes may be helpful in achieving proper hydration.

There is some research that says a minimal amount of fast-digesting protein can be consumed during this time as well. I generally don’t recommend supplementing with protein during a training session, but as always, we need to pay attention to factors that can improve our overall diet quality.

With that being said, current research tells us protein intake is generally inadequate among female athletes, which means if you have trouble reaching your protein goals, having some during your workout may make a difference. In this case, opt for a fast-digesting protein, like whey, and aim for an intra-workout snack that has about 5 - 10% of your total protein intake.

Post-workout

Time frame: Immediately after training to 48 hours afterward

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to listen to your fellow gym bro that’s been pushing you to keep your tub of protein powder in the back of your car. When he opened his mouth to and uttered the word, ‘anabolic window’, you already knew it would be easy to dismiss him.

However, he’s not all that wrong. We still know it’s important to prioritize our intake after our training sessions, but this window of opportunity is actually a lot longer than expected-- 24 to even 48 hours to be exact, and it’s not just protein we’re paying attention to.

You may be familiar with the three R’s of Recovery, which I have broken down below:

The three R’s emphasize the three priorities every athlete should consider post-workout, which include:

1. Rehydrating fluids lost from your training session through adequate amounts of water and foods that promote electrolyte balance.

Fluid loss seems to be more of a topic for endurance athletes, but they still have a place in our world too. Fluids lost during your training session should be replaced through the ingestion of water. A general guideline would be to consume around 8 oz of fluid every 15 minutes post-training. Replacing electrolytes with an enhanced sports drink post-training could be beneficial in these scenarios:

If you regularly participate in sweat-inducing conditioning.
If you work out for prolonged periods of time.
If you work out in a hot and humid environment.

Foods rich in potassium, magnesium, and calcium will also be important to include in your post-workout meal, which includes foods such as white potatoes, spinach, legumes, and vegetables.

2. Replenishing your glycogen stores through the ingestion of adequate carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are just as equally as important as they are prior to training, as they are in post-training. Recently trained muscles are more sensitive to carbohydrate intake, which basically means our muscles become more well prepared to increase our uptake of carbohydrates. If possible, try and aim for carbohydrate intake within two hours of training, as doing so within this time frame will only enhance muscle glycogen resynthesis.

Exact carbohydrate amounts will vary from person to person, but a good rule of thumb is to consume around 1 g/kg of body weight post exercise for strength-based athletes. Again, it’ll be important to evaluate the overall total carbohydrate for the day to ensure optimal diet quality.

3. Repairing muscle tissue and decreasing muscle protein breakdown by consuming adequate amounts of high-quality protein.

To ensure we are repairing our muscle tissue, and preventing further breakdown, we want to consume an adequate amount of protein post-exercise. However, it is also important to note that studies that look at hypertrophy and protein timing can be a bit conflicting, due to variance in study designs and methodology. If you want specifics, you can try to aim for an intake of 0.4 - 0.5 g/kg of lean body mass during post-exercise. Similar to carbohydrates, it is more important to evaluate what our overall protein intake looks like on a day-to-day basis.

Key Take-Aways:

Nutrient timing has a 10% effect on overall diet quality and it will be important to prioritize other factors in order to optimize overall performance.

Female athletes are more likely to be on a caloric deficit, so emphasizing the intake of whole meals will be important to ensure adequate nutrition in relation to macro and micronutrients.

Protein is often under-consumed in female athletes, so paying extra attention to protein intake as a female strength athlete can be beneficial. If the underconsumption of protein is frequent, it may be helpful to include 5 - 10 % of total protein intake during intra-workout.

Meals that are consumed in relation to activity should emphasize moderate to high carbohydrates and protein, with minimal fat.

The three R’s post-training include rehydrating fluid losses, replenishing glycogen stores, and repairing muscle tissue.

To wrap up, we understand that nutrient timing is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to achieving an optimal diet to support your strength-based goals. It is important to consider the other priorities of nutrition before nutrient timing, which include:

Your total caloric intake
Ratio of macronutrients
Micronutrients

Although there are a fair amount of practical applications you can take away from this post, it’s important to understand in order to maximize your performance with nutrition, an eating regimen should be complementary to what your current lifestyle is like.

Nutrient Timing and the Importance of Eating Enough for the Female Strength Athlete

BY TIFFANY MA | RDN

Pre-training

Complex vs Simple Carbohydrates

Intra-Workout

Post-workout

The three R’s emphasize the three priorities every athlete should consider post-workout, which include:

1. Rehydrating fluids lost from your training session through adequate amounts of water and foods that promote electrolyte balance.

2. Replenishing your glycogen stores through the ingestion of adequate carbohydrates.

3. Repairing muscle tissue and decreasing muscle protein breakdown by consuming adequate amounts of high-quality protein.

Key Take-Aways:

Nutrient Timing and the Importance of Eating Enough for the Female Strength Athlete

BY TIFFANY MA | RDN

Pre-training

Complex vs Simple Carbohydrates

Intra-Workout

Post-workout

The three R’s emphasize the three priorities every athlete should consider post-workout, which include:

1. Rehydrating fluids lost from your training session through adequate amounts of water and foods that promote electrolyte balance.

2. Replenishing your glycogen stores through the ingestion of adequate carbohydrates.

3. Repairing muscle tissue and decreasing muscle protein breakdown by consuming adequate amounts of high-quality protein.

Key Take-Aways:

Artist Highlight Transcript: Heather Sutherland

Now is Not The Time to Stop Working Out