This document discusses periworkout nutrition, which refers to the meals consumed before, during, and after exercise sessions. It explains that nutrient choices in the periworkout period can enhance or hinder training effects. It then provides details on pre, during, and post-workout meal recommendations including macronutrient breakdown and timing. Supplements that may be beneficial for workouts like BCAAs, creatine, and beta-alanine are also reviewed along with their proposed mechanisms of action. References are included to support the nutritional strategies and supplement claims.

1. Periworkout Nutrition
Andrew Berry
berryswole@gmail.com
www.bodyberry.com

2. Contents
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Periworkout Nutrition
My Diets Explained
Pre
Post
During
Supplements
Questions
References

3. What is Periworkout Nutrition
• This is the time of and around your training
sessions. In terms of meals, it is the meal you
consume pre, during and post exercise.
• The choices you make can enhance or deter
our desired training effect.
• While periworkout nutrition is extremely
important, it is only a part of your nutrition
plan as a whole.

4. My Diets Explained
• Goal: gain lean muscle mass while maintaining or losing
current body fat. Assumuption: training in evening.
• Harness the anabolic power or insulin by:
– Majority of carbs around training time to amplify the anabolic
effect that training plus nutrients have on your body.
– Carbohydrate-free meals earlier in the day for enhanced fat loss.
• Improved clarity, mood and cognition especially earlier in
the day.
• Better sleep due to the increased serotonin release closer
to bedtime.
• Don’t think of your workout as a time to burn fat. It’s the
time to stimulate muscle growth.

5. Insulin
Insulin Sensitivity?

6. My Diets Explained
• Majority of carbs around training time to amplify the
anabolic effect that training, increased insulin
sensitivity, plus nutrients have on your body.
– GLUT- glucose transporters. Glucose transporters are a
wide group of membrane proteins that facilitate glucose
uptake though the plasma membrane. There are several
classes, stimulated be several things. (Insulin—G-coupled
protein—adenylate cyclase—cAMP activation etc.)
– Increased GLUT4 activity due to increased insulin action.
(1)(2)
– Increased GLUT4 activity due to muscular
contraction.(3,4,5)

7. Insulin Mediated GLUT4 Translocation

8. Contraction Mediated GLUT4
Translocation

9. Insulin Action on HSL
• Carbohydrate-free meals earlier in the day for enhanced fat loss.
– Carbs cause insulin secretion. Insulin deactivates the enzyme hormone
sensitive lipase (HSL) (6)

10. Diets Continued
• Improved clarity, mood and cognition.
– Studies show that a lower glycemic meal such as one without
carbohydrates has positive effects on both mood and cognitive
thinking when it comes to working memory and speed of
processing. (13,14) Especially earlier in the day.
– High glycemic meals call for an increased insulin response. Due
to the increased insulin sensitivity of muscle and fat cells in the
morning, insulin will “over clear” the blood stream of glucose
leading to a state called transient hypoglycemia. This is where
your blood sugar dips below the normal amount and leaves you
feeling tired for a little while until you eat again. By keeping your
blood sugar stable with meals of proteins, healthy fats and
veggies you avoid these ups and downs in energy while burning
more fat!

11. Diets Continued
• Better sleep with increased serotonin release
closer to bedtime due to the intake of carbs later
in the day. (9)
Tryp = tryptophan

12. Cardio.. Don’t interfere with mTOR
• Don’t think of your workout as a time to burn fat. It’s the time to
stimulate muscle growth. Fat loss will accompany due to increased
metabolism and metabolic efficiency.
– mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) is a serine/threonine protein
kinase reaction that regulates cell growth, proliferation, motility,
survival and…PROTEIN SYNTHESIS!
– mTOR is activated via:
• mechanical stress (from heavy training loads)
• growth factors (IGF, growth hormone, insulin, etc)
• amino acids (particularly leucine- BCAA’s)
– Separate your cardio and training sessions as far apart as possible for
maximum gains.
– Metabolic stress from cardio leads to persistent AMPK (adenosine
monophosphate kinase) activation. Think of this as metabolic stress
that will interfere with mTOR and your muscle gains. (10,11)

13. Sum it Up
• Prioritize your carb intake around your
training to maximize the anabolic effects of
insulin.
• Keep carbs out of the meals furthest away
from training to maximize fat loss periods.
• Keep cardio as far away as possible from your
training time so as not to impede your muscle
and strength gains.

14. Pre-Workout
•
A pre workout meal or shake can provide your body with the macronutrients that
you need to have an intense, high energy and productive workout. The preworkout meal should include protein, carbohydrates and a small amount of fat.
– Carbs give your body a ready source of energy for ATP production for repeated bouts of
muscular contraction. They also spare glycogen usage.
– Proteins are broken down into amino acids to join the AA pool to be used to rebuild broken
muscle tissue
– Fat is important for slowing the rate of digestion so that glucose does not enter the blood
stream too quickly leading to hyperglycemia and then shortly after transient hypoglycemia.
•
The source of this meal should be determined by how far out from the training
session the meal is to be consumed. Eating too close to your training session will
cause blood to rush to the gut to aid in nutrient transport and digestion, depriving
blood from entering the muscle tissue. You will experience cramping and bloat.
– 2-3 hours out: steak and potato. There would be adequate time to digest this meal before
training.
– 1 hour or less out: whey protein isolate, cream of rice cereal (or oatmeal) and peanut butter.
This meal is easy to digest and is “light” on the stomach.

15. Post-Workout
• After a hard training session you have broken
down muscle tissue and depleted muscular and
hepatic glycogen stores. It’s important to start the
rebuilding process within the first hour.
• Anabolic Window- does exist. Countless studies
show that proper protein and carbohydrate
intake in the time immediately post-exercise
leads to significant gains in lean body mass, total
body mass, muscle cross sectional area, glycogen
repletion and overall recovery.
• (12, 13,14, 15,16)

16. Post-Workout
• Depending on your protocol (intra-nutrition vs.
not).
– If you consume an intra shake then eating
immediately is not as important. Just wait until
hungry. This meal can be more “solid” like beef and
rice, chicken and potato, egg and oats, or even kids
cereal and whey isolate.
– If you don’t consume an intra shake then it is
important to eat immediately. You want something
that is digested quickly such as
• Protein- whey isolate or hydrolysate, free form aminos
• Carbs- pretty much anything that is low in fat. Rice,
potatoes, cereal, pop-tarts, whatever.

17. During
• For the advanced, who train hard with high volume.
• Reasons: increased nutrient uptake due to more
blood flow to peripheral tissue.
• Increased Muscle protein synthesis due to keeping
insulin high + amino acid availability.
• Muscle Gain = MPS - MPB
• Works best with high volume workouts
• Specific types of protein and carbs. Not just anything
will do.
• Some just BCAA’s

18. Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin &
Casein Hydrolysate
• Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin- high molecular weight carbohydrate
(1x 106 grams/mole) which is much higher than glucose (180 g/mol)
or even waxy maize starch (200,000 g/mol). This increases a
property called osmolarity (grams of solute/L of solution).
Osmolarity is the measurement of the number of particles in a
solution. This is beneficial to us because the osmotic pressure that
HBCD exhibits is lower than that of the blood and other tissues. This
creates a hypotonic environment allowing the material to bypass
the stomach and digestive system at a much faster rate than other
carbohydrates. Since there is no digestion taking place, no blood is
sequestered from the exercising tissue. (17, 18)(25-75 grams
during)
• Casein Hydrolysate- hydrolysates are almost fully digested and have
a high concentration of di and tri-peptides. These are absorbed
faster then even free form amino acids. (19,20) (10-40 grams
during)

19. Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin &
Casein Hydrolysate
Hydrolysates: Di
and tri-peptides
Increased:
Recovery
Muscle Gain
Metabolic efficiency
Performance (

20. Supplements
• I don’t like a lot of supplements but use a few research
supported aids.
• BCAA’s (branched chain amino acids)
• Creatine
• Beta-alanine
• Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin*
• Casein Hydrolysate*
• *Covered in During
• Preworkouts? I don’t love them due to body becoming
addicted easily as well as adrenal burnout from taking
them habitually.

21. BCAA’s
• BCAA’s - Leucine, isoleucine and valine.
– Metabolized in muscle and liver. (5-15 grams before/during)
•
•
Anti-catabolic by providing carbon as direct energy source when oxidized in muscle
tissue. Exercise promotes increased BCAA oxidation. Adding BCAA’s provide a
substrate for glucose homeostasis by providing substrates for the citric-acid cycle
and gluconeogenesis. (22,23,24)
Anabolic via mTOR stimulation via Leucine. (25)

22. Creatine and Beta-Alanine
•
Creatine- many forms (monohydrate, malate,
etc.) Energy recycler. ADP + CrP = ATP. Aids in
muscle gain, energy and cell volumization. The
only population that is deficient would
probably be teenage, female vegetarians. (26)
(5-110 grams)
•
Beta-Alanine- Once ingested BA bonds with
the amino acid histidine via the enzyme
carnosine synthetase to make carnosine.
Carnosine is an intracellular H+ ion buffer.
When we exercise H+ ions build up due to ATP
breakdown leading to a hyperacidic
intracellular environment AKA the burn. BA
buffers this acidic buildup allowing you to
train harder, longer. (27) (3 grams)

23. Questions?
• TrueNutrition.com (use code AWB970- 5% off)
– Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin- add electrolytes.
This is important due to the action of Na+/K+
ATPase complex.
• also found in Gaspari’s Glycofuse
– Pepto Pro (Casein Hydrolysate)
– For other supplements, shop around. I like to look
for bulk powders on ebay and Amazon.

24. References
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