Login | March 30, 2026
Sugar and your workouts
PETE GLADDEN
Published: March 30, 2026
Do you sometimes got perplexed by all the fitness fuel options you have for your workouts?
And when I say fuel, I’m talking of course about the vast and overwhelming array of carbohydrate products that can be consumed before, during and after workouts.
Indeed, it can be a challenge unto itself merely choosing the best carbohydrate choice for the activity let alone for the activity’s duration and intensity.
Thus, because the topic’s so nebulous in its breadth let’s try to break this sugar “timing” thing down into some simple principles so it’s a little easier to know how to fuel your workouts.
First of all, understand ALL sugars are carbohydrates but not all carbohydrates are sugars.
For instance starches and fibers are carbohydrates - not sugars - yet they can also be used as fuel sources.
Second, when we’re talking about sugars, there’s four varieties we’ll need to explore here: refined, unrefined, natural and artificial (artificial sweeteners don’t serve as fuel sources because they provide no calories or carbohydrates).
Refined sugars are things like granulated white & brown sugar, corn syrup and powered sugar, the kinds of sugars you’d find in candy bars, muffins, cakes and a myriad of sports bars, all of which are high-glycemic foods that the body can absorb very quickly.
Unrefined sugars are substances like coconut sugar and jaggery, which are more natural and nutrient rich and thus have a moderate glycemic index with respect to the body’s absorption rate.
Artificial sugars include substances like saccharin, stevia and aspartame, and these guys have a glycemic index of 0, meaning that they do not raise blood sugar levels at all.
And finally there’s the natural sugars, substances that come from foods like fruits, veggies, berries, real peanut butter, dates, raisons, etc., all of which are low-glycemic foods that are absorbed by the body slowly, meaning that you get a more sustained source of energy instead of that quick blast that typifies the ingestion of refined and unrefined sugars.
So understanding these elementary distinctions gives us the ability to determine how specific sugars differ from one another, and consequently when and where it would be appropriate to use each of them within a fitness scenario.
Now it’s widely accepted that an athletically active person should consume between 6-10 grams of carbs/kilo of body weight/day in order to adequately fuel the body for training.
But the real key to abiding by this tenant is knowing which types of carbs to ingest and when to ingest them.
All of which brings us to a nifty little set of recommendations for fueling based on the intensity and duration of the workout.
1) Sub-one hour activities at low to moderate intensity
Pre-workout: Natural sugars like fruits and honey about a half hour to an hour prior to exercise.
During workout: No particular sugar is needed during exercise due to the short duration.
Post-workout: Refined and unrefined sugars like glucose and fructose in addition to natural sugars like bananas and fruits.
2) One-two-hour activities at moderate intensity
Pre-workout: Same as above but consumption recommended one-two hours prior to activity.
During workout: Unrefined sugars like glucose and maltodextrin (a relative of glucose), both of which are contained in sports drinks and carbo gels.
Post-workout: High glycemic carbs for fast absorption like glucose and dextrose paired with a protein source (great choice here would be chocolate milk).
3) Two-three-hour activities at moderate activity
Pre-workout: Focus on a small amount of fast-digesting starches like oatmeal coupled with natural sugars like honey and dried fruit.
During workout: High glycemic carbs contained in sports bars and gels coupled with low glycemic carbs like raisons and bananas.
It’s here that you’ll need to begin to time your carbo intake by taking in some 20-30 grams of carb/half hour.
Post-workout: Same recommendations as 1-2 hours of moderated activity.
Finally, know that the more intense the exercise session the more these carb parameters (pre, during, post) change.
For instance, the pre-activity carb suggestion for an intense session an hour or less would include refined and unrefined sugars for quick absorption and a small amount of starch like oatmeal ingested an hour before exercise.
Hopefully these generalizations will get you thinking a little bit more critically about your fuel choices before, during and after exercise.