Before doing pushups, you might have several questions in your mind like – can I eat before pushups or how long should I wait to do pushups after eating? Can I do pushups on an empty stomach? Etc.
The amount of time you should wait to do pushups after eating depends on how much food you are eating and what types of food you are eating.
In this post, you will read about the best practices to follow for doing pushups on an empty stomach and doing pushups after eating a meal.
Let’s begin.
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How long do I wait to do pushups after eating
The amount of time you should wait to do pushups after eating depends on how much you are eating and what type of food or snacks you are eating. If you eat small snacks before doing pushups then you should wait 20-30 minutes before doing pushups. If you eat moderate amounts of food to a full meal, then you should wait 1-2 hours before you can do pushups.
It’s important that you wait for some time after eating a meal before you do pushups. Because after consuming a meal, your body needs some time before it settles down the food in your stomach.
When you eat a meal, the food you eat – enters your stomach and slowly gets processed and in small amounts, the processed food is released into your small intestine.
Generally, after eating a meal, it takes 2-4 hours before the food completely moves from your stomach to your small intestine.
But to do pushups you don’t have to wait until all of the food is transferred to your small intestine.
After eating some light snacks like – cookies, tea, coffee, dry fruits, one or two slices of bread and frozen fruits you can do pushups after 15-30 minutes.
After eating a full meal or after your lunch and dinner you can do pushups after 2-3 hours.
Related: How many pushups should I do in a day to build muscle.
Can I eat before pushups?
Yes, you can eat before pushups. To do pushups your body doesn’t need much energy. So, to do pushups – it’s not necessary to eat a pre or post-workout meal. But if you want to eat something then you can eat before pushups. And whether you should eat some food before pushups or not is your personal preference.
Although doing 1-2 sets of pushups does not require much energy if you are doing more than 3 sets of pushups, eating some light food before you do pushups can provide you with some extra energy that will help you to improve your performance while doing pushups.
What should I eat before doing pushups?
What can I eat before doing pushups? You can eat many types of food before doing pushups. But it’s best to eat light food items before doing pushups. So that you can do pushups 15-20 minutes after you have eaten your food.
These are the food items you can eat 10-20 minutes before doing pushups to get some instant energy:
- 1-2 bananas.
- Oranges.
- Greek yoghurt.
- Sweet potatoes.
- Oats.
- Apples.
- Almonds.
- Coconut water.
- Green tea, coffee, black tea.
Foods you can eat 30-40 minutes before doing pushups:
- Eggs.
- 1-3 bread with peanut butter or jam.
- Oatmeal.
- Spinach.
- Soybean chunks.
- Milk.
- Fruits smoothies with milk.
- Whole grains.
Is it best to do pushups before or after eating
As pushup is a bodyweight exercise and can be done within a few minutes eating before pushups or eating after pushups do not impact much on your performance.
If you are someone who does not like to wait for some time after eating to do pushups then you should do pushups first and then eat your meal.
And if you are someone who likes to do multiple sets of pushups and would like to increase your performance then you can eat something light before you do pushups to get some fast energy. To get some additional energy you should eat something like bananas or apples 30 minutes before your workout. In the above section, you have already read about what foods you can eat before doing pushups.
Pushups after breakfast
When you want to do pushups after breakfast, you have to remember a few things. The best practice for doing pushups after breakfast is to eat your breakfast and then wait for 40-60 minutes then do the pushups.
After you eat your breakfast you need to wait 40 – 60 minutes because before you do pushups it’s important that you give your body enough time to settle the food in your stomach.
If you do pushups immediately after eating your breakfast then you might experience these health problems:
- Bloating.
- Vomiting.
- Sluggishness.
- Performance issues.
- Cramping.
So, to avoid any health issues you should wait at least 30 minutes before you do pushups after eating your breakfast.
If you don’t want to wait for that much time and want to do pushups within 20 minutes after you have eaten your breakfast then instead of a full breakfast you can eat a light breakfast.
You can have your morning tea/coffee – then eat one or two food items like – 2 bananas, 6 dates, 1-2 cups of oatmeal, 5-9 almonds, raisins, 1-2 slices of bread with peanut butter or jam etc.
Related: Morning pushup routine.
Pushups after dinner
If you want to do pushups after dinner then it’s best to wait for at least 2 hours before you do pushups. Because when you eat a full meal like – dinner, your body needs more time to settle the food in your stomach.
Not giving your body enough time to settle the food in your stomach can arise several health issues. You have read about the health problems that can arise if you do pushups right after eating a heavy meal in the above section.
So, to do pushups without any health problems you should wait for 2 hours if you want to do pushups after dinner.
Can I do pushups after eating a banana?
Yes, you can do pushups after eating a banana. You can eat up to 2 bananas at a time and do pushups. But if you are eating 3-4 bananas at once, you should wait 10 minutes before doing pushups.
Eating one banana before pushups is safe and most likely you will not face any health issues.
However, if you are eating a banana to get more energy or to improve your performance while doing pushups then you need to eat the banana 30-60 minutes before you do pushups.
Getting the energy from eating a banana normally takes 30-60 minutes.
Related: Is it bad to do pushups every day?
Can I do pushups empty stomach?
Doing pushups does not require much energy and a pushup workout can be completed within 5-7 minutes. So, if you want to do pushups on an empty stomach then go ahead. Yes, you can do pushups empty stomach.
If you want to do pushups in the morning you can do pushups on an empty stomach. But there isn’t much difference in terms of doing pushups after eating and doing pushups on an empty stomach.
Eating a banana or any fruit 30 minutes before you do pushups can provide your body with some additional energy which is helpful if you are doing multiple sets of pushups.
If you decide to do pushups on an empty stomach then you can do 2-3 sets of pushups without any issue. Also, when you do pushups without eating anything – you can do pushups immediately.
Related: What’s the best time to do pushups?
What to eat after doing pushups
There are many food items that you can eat after doing pushups that will help you to get recover from your pushup workout.
After doing pushups to recover your energy, you can eat – dates, bananas, whole fruits, raisins, almonds, oatmeal etc.
If you completed multiple sets of pushups and you are feeling hungry then these post-workout meals are perfect for eating after doing pushups:
- Yoghurt with dry fruit toppings.
- Peanut butter sandwich.
- Fruit smoothie.
- Whole grain bread with scrambled eggs.
- Grilled chicken with roasted vegetables.
- Milk with dry fruits.
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