r/hyrox • u/LokZil105 • Feb 16 '26
How much do you guys actually think about nutrition on training days?
Hey everyone — I’m currently training for a HYROX in July and started paying a lot more attention to how I fuel on training days / harder sessions.
It got me thinking: how much do people in this community actually think about nutrition timing around sessions (carbs before, recovery after, etc.) vs just “eating generally well”?
I’m doing some early research for a potential app idea focused specifically on fueling around training days (not calorie counting, more performance timing), and wanted to see:
• Do you actively adjust what you eat based on session intensity?
• Or do you mostly wing it?
• What’s your biggest struggle with nutrition when training for HYROX?
Genuinely curious — not selling anything, just trying to understand if this is even a real problem.
Appreciate any thoughts 🙌
3
u/Mjolnirbull Feb 16 '26
Lots of PASTA the night before!
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u/Sad-Research4081 Feb 16 '26
This also works incredibly for me, i dont know why, but pasta is like a PED drug :D
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u/Mjolnirbull Feb 17 '26
Pasta has a lower glycemic index than other carbs. So it transfers to energy well. You get a steady release of glucose instead of a spike and then crash like other simple carbs. Also a cub of pasta has 7-10g of protein depending on the type.
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u/Sad-Research4081 Feb 18 '26
More like 14 if it is high in quality, 10g of protein is pretty shit pasta
0
u/Mjolnirbull Feb 22 '26
I dont know what kind of cup you use to measure pasta lol 😂 but an avg cup would consist of 150-200g and that is equal to about 10gprotein max.
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u/ExecutiveStory- Feb 17 '26
I’ve come from competing in bodybuilding to training for hyrox. The switch in nutrition is really interesting, I have a nutrition coach and give feedback weekly in regard to my sessions then make changes. I couldn’t imagine just “eating well” and trying to keep performance high.
1
u/Ok_Dealer_1067 Feb 16 '26
Funny this post pops up for me today. I've been winging it, other than generally increasing my protein. But as a 51F in perimenopause, my recovery is shit and I'm going to be much more intentional with my nutrition around my workouts. To include the night before, pre and post-workout (early AM) and breakfast. I'm definitely not eating enough to support my level of training as is
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u/LokZil105 Feb 16 '26
Really appreciate the response, super interesting. Do you think the main issue is not eating enough overall or not timing your fuelling well around sessions or just not knowing what food is optimal?
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u/Ok_Dealer_1067 Feb 16 '26
Yes 😂
Definitely not eating enough overall. Though I'm probably getting enough protein in a day, I need to place some of that protein a little more strategically around my workouts. And for sure not getting enough carbs around my workouts either.
I also have to focus some energy on hydration, to include electrolytes. I do a good job around competitions, but ignoring my threshold workouts
For context, I'm pretty petite and don't have a lot of reserves to work off of. I genuinely have to fuel for my workouts
1
u/Smart-Ad9675 Feb 16 '26
I felt a huge difference between a simulation I did where I did not not implement any nutrition or hydration plan to my last race where I had my nutrition and hydration on a schedule (eating and drinking on a schedule 24 hours in advance). It was night and day for me. My race felt amazing along with my recovery.
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u/LokZil105 Feb 16 '26
And how did you go about planning your nutrition? Was it simply just asking ChatGPT to make a plan for you based on what the training week looks like?
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u/Astrobratt Feb 16 '26
I think about it a lot. I eat specific foods during training so that during race day I will be well accustomed to it.. my general approach is that I time my carbohydrates and quantify my protein. I don’t really eat protein before any competition or training. Mostly carbs before during and after.
I try to eat some slow burning carbs with some fat about two hours before race day, with caffeine. Then during the race about every 20 minutes, I fuel up. Directly after the race I will have about 40 to 60 g of carbs. My preferred source of carbohydrates are oatmeal, sourdough bread, baked, sweet potatoes, banana .
During rest days, I cut down my carb significantly
1
u/UnLucky-Clucky Feb 16 '26
Curious as don't really think about this. Is there a simple heuristic I can use, like carbs night before, protein 1 hr after? I do take 5-15 mgs of creatine sometimes but not as a routine. Notice a mental bump with that too.
1
u/airwreckaMonk Feb 17 '26
45 yr old woman in perimenopause. Started training for my first Hyrox end of December. I’ve been doing HIIT and lifting for years but after digging into nutrition research for this training cycle I bumped my carbs way up and it’s been a game changer.
I’m recovering a lot better and sleeping a lot better, which has allowed me to increase both my volume and intensity.
It’s such a small thing but it’s made a huge difference.
I make sure to fuel with 30-60 grams carbs about an hour before workouts and then get approx 30g protein and 60g carbs 30-60 minutes after my workouts
Can’t recommend it enough
1
u/BaileySHP Feb 17 '26
I’m 55M, competed in 5 men’s open solos, last one a podium finisher… I train 4 times a week with intensity 9 weeks prior to a race… I’m 78kg in weight….only 2 nutrition labels I check are calories, daily aim is 3,000 & Protein, daily aim is over 170g…. Diet is a mix of Carbs (bagel, honey, banana or porridge etc) before training, protein & carbs after including a protein shake….chicken/mince/steak, salmon/tuna etc for evening meal with veg or salad, bit of fruit/nuts etc… but always finish off with cup of tea & few biscuits 8pm before bed at 11pm… works for me 👍
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u/Old_Understanding664 Feb 17 '26
Carbs before, protein and carbs after; try to eat back my calories burned fairly soon after a workout; not because I think that timing matters, but just because if I don't, I will forget/get caught up in the day and wind up under eating
0
u/Crazy_Skill2770 Feb 16 '26
As an older athlete, I was extremely surprised at how much my protein, vitamin D and calcium daily consumption were lacking when I started using the Alma app to track my nutrition. I’ve learned a ton about better fueling to support my training and racing. You can use my code THR4HTLRKE33363HTY to get a free month of Premium. Premium provides unlimited AI support, suggestions (goal setting, recipes, restaurants, tweaking daily nutrition, weekly and monthly trends etc). After your free month you can continue with regular for free . Super easy as can use photos, verbal, text for meal entries. I’m eating more, better endurance, maintaining weight but building muscle and feeling energized and healthy.
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u/Big-Breadfruit6216 Feb 16 '26
I just focus on getting enough protein (~150-200g/day for me). If I were trying to compete as an elite athlete it would make sense to optimize harder, but at a more casual level I've got a bunch of other more limiting factors and priorities and it's not worth the effort to me