What to eat before training depending on the time of your class

The most repeated question in any box after "how many rounds do you have?" is "and what like before?" The answer depends above all on one thing: what time you train. Each schedule has its problems and its solutions.

The general rule

Before training, carbohydrates are your main fuel for intense efforts. As a general guideline:

• Between 1 and 4 hours before: a normal meal with carbohydrates, some protein and little fat and fiber if you have a sensitive stomach.
• Between 30 and 60 minutes before: if you are hungry, something small and easy to digest. A banana is the classic for a reason. The most important thing is not the exact science, but what your stomach tolerates. Try it in normal training, never on competition day.

The 7:00 class: the brave

You wake up at 6:15, the coffee is half-made and your stomach is still asleep. What are you doing?

• If you tolerate eating: something light and quick. A banana, toast with jam or honey, yogurt. Just enough to avoid training with an empty tank.
• If you can't tolerate anything: There are people who train well on an empty stomach in short or moderate sessions. If this is your case, nothing happens. Of course, for a long or very intense workout, you'll probably perform better with something on your stomach.
• After: real breakfast. Carbohydrates, protein, fruit. You've earned it, and you need it.

The midday class: the strategist

You train at 2:00 p.m. and eat afterwards. Or you eat and train at 3:00 p.m. with a stomach full of lentils. Both options have risks.

• Option A: decent breakfast and a mid-morning snack (fruit, a small sandwich, yogurt with oatmeal). Then you train and eat afterwards.
• Option B: if you eat before, make it at least a couple of hours before and without a plate of fabada. Legumes have many virtues, but burpees after a plate of fabada are not one of them.

The 20:00 class: the survivor

You have worked all day, you have eaten at 2:00 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. you are as hungry as a bear that has just woken up. Classic.

• Strategic snack: around 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m., something with carbohydrates and some protein. A sandwich, fruit with yogurt or toast with fresh cheese.
• If you arrive very quickly, a banana or some dates 30 minutes before can save you.
• After: normal dinner. Don't go to bed without dinner for fear of "eating late." Your muscles need raw material to recover.

What you should not eat right before

• Very fatty or copious meals. Slow digestion and burpees go badly together.
• A lot of fiber at once if you are not used to it. You know why.

• New products on the day of the competition. That new tropical fruit gel they gave you at the runner's fair can have unexpected effects.

Signs that you are doing it wrong

• You get dizzy in the middle of the WOD: you probably eat too little or too far from training
• You notice the food "rising" on the toes to bar: you have eaten too much or too close
• You are ravenously hungry when you get home and you destroy the refrigerator: you have run out of food during the day.

The final advice

There is no perfect menu for everyone. There are general principles and then there is your stomach, which is in charge. Try, note how you feel, and repeat what works. And if one day you train without having eaten the ideal thing, nothing happens either. A WOD is not ruined by one less banana. Informative content. If you have diabetes, digestive problems or other health conditions, consult a dietitian-nutritionist or your doctor.