You can always tell when someone’s about to exercise the “wrong way,” even if they look perfectly motivated. The pattern usually isn’t a lack of discipline—it’s a lack of basic, boring nutrition logic.
A doctor and sport-exercise expert, Dr. Amos Ogunkoya, recently pointed to three common “fails” people make before working out: training under-fuelled, leaning on quick sugar fixes, and getting the timing wrong. [But what makes this particularly fascinating is how often these mistakes aren’t about misinformation—they’re about convenience, habit, and the way modern life trains our brains to chase immediate relief.] Personally, I think the real story here is less about food choices and more about how people misunderstand what their bodies actually need to perform.
The under-fuelling myth
The first pitfall is training “under fuelled,” which sounds vague until you realize what it really means in practice: going into exercise with too little energy to do the job you’re asking your body to do. Dr. Ogunkoya frames this as a clinic-and-sport pattern that can impact performance and development. [To me, this raises a deeper question: why do so many people treat energy like it’s optional—like your body should run on vibes alone?]
Personally, I think the under-fuelling trend is partly a psychology problem. People associate “not eating” with control, and they mistake that feeling of control for actual fitness progress. What many people don’t realize is that under-fuelling can force your body into a stressed, reactive mode—where effort feels harder and recovery becomes less reliable.
It’s also interesting that people often don’t call this “dieting” when it happens before exercise; they call it “listening to my body.” Yet if you consistently feel drained, crash afterward, or can’t maintain intensity, your body is giving you feedback—you’re just ignoring it because the short-term routine feels familiar. In my opinion, the most disciplined thing you can do is fuel intentionally, not emotionally.
The sugar shortcut problem
The second pitfall is relying on quick sugar fixes—things like sugary snacks, energy drinks, or sweets that create a fast “boost.” In the reporting, Dr. Ogunkoya ties this to performance swings, suggesting these choices can be followed by a dip in energy rather than sustained support. [This is where my perspective gets a bit skeptical: people want a launch button, but training is a sustained circuit, not a movie trailer.]
Personally, I think quick sugar is appealing because it feels like an instant solution to a very human feeling: “I need energy right now.” But exercise doesn’t just demand energy—it demands the right energy at the right time, plus hydration and digestive comfort.
A detail I find especially interesting is that the same products that make people feel ready can also reinforce a cycle: eat something fast, feel briefly capable, then crash and blame the workout rather than the strategy. What this really suggests is that many people are training their bodies using reward patterns, not performance patterns—like tapping a slot machine before your run.
From my perspective, the real fix isn’t “never eat sugar.” It’s understanding that sugar without context is a risky fuel. If you’re going high intensity, training fasted isn’t automatically “wrong,” but under-prepared bodies pay a price—and the price often shows up as reduced output and slower adaptation.
Timing: the underrated lever
The third pitfall is mistiming nutrition—either eating too close to exercise, skipping meals that would have supported you, or choosing the right foods at the wrong moment. Dr. Ogunkoya’s emphasis on timing is blunt: even if you pick the “right” stuff, doing it at the wrong time can blunt performance. [Personally, I think timing is the least glamorous advice, which is exactly why it works—your results get better without you needing a personality transplant.]
In my opinion, people underestimate how much exercise timing overlaps with digestion, energy availability, and even hydration. If you’re about to sprint, lift heavy, or do interval work, your body isn’t just asking “what did you eat?” It’s asking “when did you eat it, and what’s still available right now?”
What many people don't realize is that “food before gym” is often treated like a checkbox—coffee, biscuits, a snack—rather than a plan. But a plan is what turns food from a gamble into a tool.
There’s also a practical layer: people say they’re too busy, too tired, or don’t feel hungry. That’s real life, not a moral failure. Still, I think the deeper issue is that people reach for the easiest option at the moment they feel vulnerable (before training), instead of preparing earlier.
The uncomfortable part: people don’t know what they’re doing
The poll behind the reporting suggests many exercisers have real uncertainty about whether their pre-workout eating actually helps them. That gap matters because it means most people aren’t making nutrition choices based on feedback—they’re making them based on guesswork.
From my perspective, this is exactly why “three fails” messaging lands. It’s simple enough to remember, dramatic enough to motivate, and structured enough to make people feel like they can fix something quickly. Personally, I think the danger of simplicity is that people might only change their surface habits—switching snacks—without changing the deeper skill: timing and fueling logic.
What I’d do differently (if I were coaching you)
If you take a step back and think about it, the goal isn’t to eat perfectly. It’s to stop sabotaging your training in predictable ways.
Here’s the mindset I’d push:
- Don’t start a session under-fuelled and then act surprised when you feel flat.
- Don’t treat sugar like a performance steroid; use it strategically, not impulsively.
- Make timing boringly consistent so your digestion and energy systems know what to expect.
Personally, I think one of the most powerful questions you can ask before exercise is: “What kind of session is this, and what will my body need to handle it?” That’s more useful than debating whether coffee is “good” or “bad,” or whether someone should train fasted.
A broader trend hiding in plain sight
This story also connects to a bigger cultural pattern: people want certainty and instant payoff. Quick fixes—sugary drinks, last-minute snacks—match that desire. But training rewards patience, consistency, and systems thinking.
What this really suggests is that nutrition for exercise is becoming a battleground where convenience, marketing, and self-image compete with physiology. If you’re trying to improve performance, lose weight, or train for something harder (like longer endurance events), your body is going to demand a more mature relationship with energy.
In my opinion, the biggest misunderstanding is thinking of pre-workout nutrition as an isolated moment. It’s not. It’s a link in a chain that includes hydration, sleep, meal planning, and recovery.
Bottom line
Personally, I think the three “fails” aren’t really about food—they’re about decision-making under pressure: people start workouts hungry, choose quick rewards, and ignore timing signals. If you fix those three areas, you’re not just “eating better,” you’re setting yourself up to train with better output and better adaptation.
And once that clicks, the next step becomes obvious: stop hoping your workout will compensate for weak preparation, and start treating nutrition like part of training—not a side quest.
