What should I eat to support my Form Fitness training session?
If you train regularly at Form Fitness, you’re probably keen to maximise your muscle gains — and that’s about more than just the weights you’re lifting!
Nutrition plays a key role in optimising strength training by providing the essential nutrients your body needs to fuel workouts, repair muscles, and support recovery. Proper nutrition ensures your muscles have the energy they need to perform at their best during training, and the necessary building blocks — like protein — to repair and grow afterwards.
A balanced diet that includes adequate carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, and micronutrients supports muscle function, reduces the risk of injury, and enhances overall performance. Without the right nutrition, progress can be limited, as the body lacks the resources required to recover and adapt to the intensity of your workouts.
The tips below are tailored for a 45–60 minute weightlifting session; longer workouts, double sessions, or those involving continuous aerobic activity (lasting more than 75 minutes) require a different balance of nutrients and fluids.
Total Daily Calories and Macronutrients
The most important aspect of nutrition for muscle gain is to make sure you’re meeting your total calorie and macronutrient needs each day.
Energy Intake
Muscle Gain: To optimise muscle growth, a small calorie surplus is key. Aim for an additional 200–300 calories above your maintenance needs to support the anabolic processes required for muscle development. By keeping this surplus controlled, you provide just enough energy to fuel muscle growth while minimising the risk of excess fat gain.
Fat Loss: When aiming for fat loss, it’s important to create a calorie deficit that’s sufficient to burn fat effectively, but not so drastic that it compromises your training performance. A moderate deficit ensures you can lose fat while maintaining the energy needed for your workouts, helping to preserve muscle mass throughout the process.
Protein for Strength Training
Maximising Muscle Growth with Protein Intake
Research recommends a daily protein intake of 1.6–2.2 grams per kilogram of ideal body weight to maximise muscle growth. For example, an 80 kg male should aim for 128–176 grams of protein per day, while a 65 kg female needs 104–143 grams.
Note: this target refers to the protein content, not the weight of the food itself. For instance, 100 grams of chicken breast contains about 30 grams of protein.
Protein Quality Matters
Not all protein is created equal. Protein quality depends on bioavailability and the content of essential amino acids (EAAs). Most animal-based proteins are considered complete, providing all essential amino acids. Many plant-based proteins, on the other hand, are incomplete in terms of EAA content.
Those following a plant-based diet can optimise their EAA intake by combining complementary plant proteins throughout the day — such as brown rice and beans.
One EAA, leucine, is particularly important for muscle protein synthesis. Aim for 2.5–3 grams of leucine per meal to maximise muscle-building potential.
Distribute Protein for Maximum Benefit
Spreading your protein intake throughout the day not only helps with satiety and blood glucose control, but also supports recovery and maintains muscle protein synthesis. Aim to distribute your protein into four doses of 0.4–0.55 grams per kilogram of ideal body weight per meal.
Carbohydrates for Strength Training
While glycogen is less critical for weightlifting than for endurance sports, maintaining sufficient glycogen stores is still important for optimal performance. Aim for 3–6 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight to fuel your strength sessions effectively.
If you’re doing extra sessions — such as a second strength workout or aerobic exercise — your carbohydrate needs will be higher. Outside of training, prioritise complex carbohydrates like whole grains, brown rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin for steady energy throughout the day.
Fat Intake for Strength Training
There’s no specific guideline for fat intake in relation to strength training, so your fat consumption should be determined by your energy balance after accounting for protein and carbohydrate needs. Aim to keep fat intake at a minimum of 20% of your total energy intake.
Focus on unsaturated fats by incorporating sources like oily fish, nuts, seeds, avocado, and extra virgin olive oil. Also, choose lean cuts of meat to help manage saturated fat intake while supporting overall health and performance.
Timing Around Training
Once you’ve nailed your daily nutrition goals, it’s time to consider meal timing. Research shows that when you eat can affect your training performance, recovery, and tissue repair. Properly timed meals can also support muscle synthesis and even improve your mood, helping you feel your best in and out of the gym.
Protein Timing
Consuming around 0.5 grams of protein per kilogram of your ideal body weight within 2 hours before or after training has been shown to maximise the anabolic response and muscle-building outcomes.
For example, an 80 kg male would aim for around 40 grams of protein, while a 65 kg female would need about 33 grams during this window.
In the past, it was thought that there was a critical 30-minute post-exercise “window” for consuming high-quality protein (like whey protein isolate). However, newer research suggests that the “anabolic window” is much broader than previously believed. Muscle protein synthesis remains elevated for hours after training — so if you can’t eat straight after your session, don’t stress. Just make sure you’re hitting your overall daily protein targets.
Carbohydrate Timing
Resistance training typically depletes 24–40% of muscle glycogen per session, depending on duration, intensity, and volume. Higher-rep training with moderate loads tends to use the most glycogen.
For most people, meeting daily carbohydrate requirements is enough to restore glycogen, so pre-training carb loading isn’t essential.
Research also shows that adding carbs to post-workout protein doesn’t significantly increase the anabolic response — as long as you’re consuming enough protein (at least 25 grams).
This means you can adjust your pre-workout carb intake based on personal preference. Eating too close to a session may cause discomfort, while waiting too long could leave you low on energy. Many people find it helpful to eat some easily digestible, low-fibre carbohydrates before training — like a banana, Medjool dates, dried mango, or a glass of fruit juice — for quick energy.
Hydration for Optimal Performance
Staying hydrated before your session is key. Aim for pale yellow urine as a good indicator of proper hydration. While electrolyte drinks aren’t usually necessary for strength training, it’s still a good idea to keep a water bottle handy during your workout.
The Bigger Picture
Micronutrients, quality sleep, and effective stress management all play crucial roles in the success of your training sessions. Some supplements can also be beneficial — we’ll explore these topics in future blog posts.
This blog post was provided by our preffered nutritionist Rosie Ware.
For personalised nutrional guidance, reach out to Rosie Ware Clinical Nutrition
References
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Aragon, A. A., & Schoenfeld, B. J. (2013). Nutrient timing revisited: Is there a post-exercise anabolic window? Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 10(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-10-5
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Aragon, A. A., Schoenfeld, B. J., et al. (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: Diets and body composition. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14, 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-017-0174-y
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Iraki, J., Fitschen, P., et al. (2019). Nutrition recommendations for bodybuilders in the off-season: A narrative review. Sports (Basel), 7(7), 154. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports7070154
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Schoenfeld, B. J., & Aragon, A. A. (2018). How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 15, 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-018-0215-1
