There’s a common fear in weights rooms around the world that if you don’t neck your protein shake within 30 seconds of your final biceps curl, all your hard work will be wasted. This example may be silly but it stems from a legitimate concern – the idea that when you take on nutrients has an influence on their effect on your body.
I like to break the subject of nutrient timing into three parts: timing for the week, timing for the day and timing around your workout. The first of these concerns the distribution of your macronutrients throughout the week. If you do carb cycling or have a re-feed day, for example, that might involve different levels of nutrient intake. Timing for the day means how many meals you eat per day and how frequently you eat. Timing for the workout is concerned with the nutrients you take in either side of my session. So, ultimately, do any of these have an impact on your results?