Most days I get up circa 445am so I can hit the gym as soon as it opens at 6am
Most days ill have a protein bar with a 50/50 split of carbs and protien (20g/20g) and a strong coffee. Which provides me with ample energy to nail my workout
Question though. How important is protein first thing and before training. After approx 8 hours of sleep. Could I just focus on carbs for my session which will have some protein, but perhaps not as much as say a protein bar
Just trying to gauge what i should be consuming pre training and so early
I suck up mornings - I need some coffee and calories before I work out, so I normally shoot for 10 am, but used to do sand sprints with a weighted backpack at zero-dark-thirty.
Heres what I found helpful for crack-of-dawn training, since 90% is what you did the night before;
1.) Eat a big meal the night before, Lots of protein and search carb backloading for some ideas.
2.) Chug water and take creatine before bed. I swear, this is an underappreicated sleep aid.
3.) Some fast protein, or a Surge drink before. I’m not sure how long your drive is, but make use of the AM time. Unless you planning to do fasted workouts, have a protein source at minimum before you lift. Carbs are optional depending on your goals. This always helped with recovery.
4.) Coffee = good.
5.) Bars are not ideal, something in liquid form seems better. You could even slam something 30 minutes put the snooze on then go back to sleep.
So to bring this full circle, when I did this I would load up the night before, have a quick carn/protein mix,
Nice one buddy
I’ve been having a bar with protein / carb mix and either a pre workout or a strong coffee for years when training first thing in the morning and hasn’t hindered my sessions in the gym or overall progress. But wanted to mix things up, until I find the time to make my own bars, as buying them is getting a little hard to justify the cost, as they’re getting more and more expensive
Like your idea of something liquid form. So will try making a smoothie the night before and stick it in the fridge and chug that down and see how I go
Cheers for the detailed reply buddy, really appreciate you taking the time to reply
Can you go into some more detail here? My sleep is really bad and getting worse. I’m willing to try even witchcraft at this point. It seems like I’ll just have to get up to pee if I drink all the water?
It doesn’t help falling asleep, but I feel that hydrating while you sleep is a pretty easy way to wake up feeling ready to go. I mean, most people are taller in the morning due to spinal pads hydrating, so why not (I hate this term) biohack it? I wake up less to use the bathroom, but my morning pee is much clearer. Not smelling like a tomcat.
So be a sponge during the night for nutrients. It’s like code running in the background.
I’ve resolved the “fasted training/protein before training” situation by having a protein shake in the middle of the night. I inevitably will wake up to pee in the middle of the night, at which point I drink a Metabolic Drive shake I pre-made before bed and keep in the bathroom. I use an ice shaker bottle, so it stays cold. This way, I get in some quality protein in the middle of the night while I’m recovering, and when I wake up to train I’ve still got something in my gut to hit the gym.
Got up at 0425 this morning to train with this very protocol and smashed it.
When I was in college my nightstand was a mini fridge and I still think it’s a good trick.
You can get an outlet extender, plug in the fridge, a reading lamp, white noise machine, cell phone charger, but have some protein shakes, iced coffee, cold water, ice packs within arms reach.
And shower beers.
And having a tall enough night stand where the mini-fridge underneath clears your clutter, so books and dream journals have space.
