Are you eating too early or too late before training?

DEEP DIVE

Are You Eating Too Early or Too Late Before Training?

Most sprinters know they need carbs before a hard session. What trips them up is when to eat them.

I've watched athletes show up to training either dragging because they ate four hours ago, or cramping up because they downed a meal an hour before hitting the track. Both mistakes kill your session before it starts.

Your body needs roughly three to four hours to process a real meal. Not two hours. Not five. Three to four gives your system enough time to digest without leaving you running on empty.

This is when you eat your main pre-training fuel. Complex carbs like oats, rice, or sweet potatoes. Some lean protein. Moderate everything else. Nothing experimental, nothing heavy in fat or fiber that'll sit in your gut.

Most athletes think that meal alone will carry them through training. It probably won't. Not if your session is intense and you're trying to hit real speed work.

You need a second fueling window one to two hours before you train.

This is your top-up. Simple carbs that digest fast. A banana. Toast with jam. Maybe a smoothie if that's what your stomach tolerates. The goal isn't a full meal, it's making sure you're not depleted when warm-ups start.

Skip this window and you'll feel it around the third or fourth rep when your legs suddenly feel heavy. That's not fitness, that's fuel timing.

The closer you get to training, the simpler your choices need to be. Under an hour out, you're looking at straight-up quick energy if you need anything at all. Fruit, energy chews, maybe some applesauce. Your digestive system doesn't have time for complexity.

What about eating right before training?

Generally a bad idea unless you know your body handles it. Most sprinters perform better on an empty stomach than dealing with food sloshing around during acceleration work.

Everyone's digestion moves at slightly different speeds. Some athletes can eat two hours out and feel great. Others need closer to four hours or they're uncomfortable.

This is why you can't just copy what another athlete does and expect the same results.

You need to experiment during regular training sessions. Not on race day or before your most important workout of the week. Use easier sessions to test different timing windows and see what leaves you feeling sharp without any gut issues.

Pay attention to how you feel during warm-ups, during the actual work, and in recovery. That feedback tells you more than any nutrition guide can.

One pattern that shows up: athletes who struggle with sprint development often aren't eating enough overall, which means they're never properly fueled regardless of timing. You can't time your way around inadequate total intake.

But assuming you're eating enough across the day, getting the timing right makes training feel completely different. You hit reps harder. Recovery between sets feels faster. The work that used to grind you down becomes manageable.

It's not magic. It's just having fuel available when your muscles actually need it.

The three-to-four-hour main meal, the one-to-two-hour top-up, and keeping things simple as training approaches. That framework works for most sprinters once they stick to it consistently.

Stop guessing. Test the windows. Find what works for your digestion. Then make it routine.

Read the full guide on pre-training/competition nutrition timing for competition day strategies, morning session solutions, and how to build your personal fueling protocol.