What Should I Eat? Training Days VS Rest Days
I’m often asked about how nutrition should differ on training days compared to rest days. There’s a lot of confusion around this area, so an article on the subject should help clear things up a little.
I’ll cover the basic concepts and principles to follow on each of these days, so you can understand how to tweak you nutrition to improve your training performance, and enhance your recovery.
Before I begin, I want to stress the importance of individualised nutrition. There really is no one-size-fits-all plan when it comes to nutrition, especially exercise nutrition.
Someone who sits at a desk all day and trains for a couple of hours each evening will have vastly different requirements from a pro athlete training twice per day.
In this article I’ve attempted to find the middle ground, and outline some overarching principles that will apply to the majority of my audience.
Training Days
First, let’s identify what your main nutritional goals likely are on these days:
Ensure adequate fuel availability before commencing training
Ensure hydration is maintained before, during, and after training
Ensure fuel is adequately restored post-training
Enhance recovery and adaptation from training
Next, we can look at meal timing around training. Here are my recommendations:
Consume a meal 2-4 hours prior to training, or a snack 1-2 hours before training.
Consume a meal 1-2 hours after finishing training, or a protein shake if preferred.
Now, let’s consider the nutrient content of the meals.
Protein: consume a source containing roughly 30g of protein, every 3-4 hours, or in each meal throughout the day.
Carbohydrates: these have greater importance on training days.
Consume carbohydrates based on the intensity of your training session.
For low intensity or short sessions, consuming carbohydrates in your regular diet 24 hours beforehand will cover your needs.
For high intensity or long sessions, additional carbohydrates in your pre-workout meal will allow you to meet the demands of the session.
Consuming carbohydrates after training will top up your glycogen stores (how carbs are stored in the body), meaning you have replenished some fuel ahead of your next session.
Fats: these have less importance on training days. You should still include them in your meals throughout the day as they are essential for health. But, in your pre-workout meal, carbs and protein will take priority due to their beneficial effects on performance and recovery.
Don’t forget hydration! Here’s the lowdown:
Consume 300-700ml in the 2-4 hours prior to training
Drink to thirst during exercise
Consume weight lost (kg) during training, in litres post-training
i.e. if you lose 1kg during training, drink 1L back
Below are some example meals to support your nutritional goals on training days.
Chicken with rice and mixed vegetables
Tuna pasta
Protein porridge
Cod with potatoes and greens
Chicken sandwich
Fruit with Greek yoghurt and honey
Rest Days
The lack of intense exercise on rest days means that goals differ versus training days. Rather than fuelling training, nutritional goals on rest days tend to be more geared towards improving health, maximising satiety, and improving body composition.
Nutrition can be much more flexible on these days as there is no need to perform. Therefore, personal preference has a much greater role.
Meal timing is largely irrelevant and can simply be at times throughout the day that suit you.
The nutrient content of meals will differ on rest days.
Protein remains the same: consume a source containing roughly 30g of protein, every 3-4 hours, or in each meal throughout the day.
Carbohydrates: these have less importance on rest days.
Rest days can be low to moderate carb, as there is no intense training that needs to be fuelled.
Let me stress the importance of this next point - low does not mean zero! You should still consume some carbohydrates, especially wholegrain versions, as fibre is key for your health. Plus, carbs taste good and improve satiety.
These lower carb days can be used as an opportunity to consume higher fats, to make up for a lower consumption on training days.
Fats: these have greater importance on rest days. Fats are essential for your health, they are a fuel source, and have important roles is nutrient absorption and hormone production. Fatty fish, eggs, avocado, nuts, seeds, and olive oil are all great sources.
For hydration, simply aim to consume 2-3 litres of water per day.
Below are some example meals to support your nutritional goals on rest days.
Omelette with cheese and veggies
Tuna salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Beef stir fry with vegetables and fist-sized portion of carbs
Steak with roasted veggies
Remember, these are just examples. Any high-protein, moderate fat, low-to-moderate carbohydrate meal will work.
And, I hope it goes without saying, on both days you should aim to consume a wide variety of vegetables and fruits, at least 5 portions per day.
Take Home Points
Nutritional goals differ on rest days vs training days
On training days, carbohydrates are more important than fats
On rest days, fats are more important than carbohydrates
Protein should remain high on both days
Hydration is an additional concern to factor in on training days
Consume plenty of fruit and vegetables every day
Like I mentioned at the start, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. I’ve attempted to give some guidelines that will help you guys understand this area.
If you want to really dial in your nutrition and get a personalised approach tailored to you, then get in touch via the form below and we can take this to the next level.