Do all you early morning people wait for an hour upon waking before hitting the gym? Does anyone get up, have a protein shake with coffee and a banana and then head out the door?
I train in the mornings and I’ve experimented with meal timing quite a bit and found out that I perform better when I don’t have a large breakfast. I carb up at night (usually 1/2 cup of steel cut oats) Right now my routine is as follows:
5am - 2 scoops of whey and a tablespoon of almond butter
7am - 1 Clif bar and 16 oz of gatorade
8am - hit the gym for about an hour or two
10am - post workout shake (2 and 1/2 scoops of whey, orange juice, a heaping tablespoon of sugar and a few ice cubes all blended together)
On the days when I have to get up and be at the gym at 6am, I get up at 5, have 4 scoops of whey and 2 scoops of dextrose within 5 minutes of being up. Pack my cooler of food for the day, brush teeth, get dressed, take a stimulant and some BCAAs/creatine, and am usually driving to the gym by 6:40.
Some days are better than others in the morning, I’m lucky I only have to do that twice per week.
Edit: Driving to the gym by 5:40, not 6:40.
When I train early in the morning I absoluteley have to warm up on the treadmill for 10 minutes, nothing too strenuous but a light jog is the key to waking my body up before training. Note that I only do this type of warm up when I train in the morning.
[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
Do all you early morning people wait for an hour upon waking before hitting the gym? Does anyone get up, have a protein shake with coffee and a banana and then head out the door?[/quote]
I don’t. My alarm goes off around 530-545 dependent upon the day. I slap the snooze for a good 9-18min and then get up, drink a protein/oatmeal shake and I’m out the door. Probably about 30-45min from wake up to in the gym.
That said- I still need to work on getting ready to perform optimally at the gym. I might try adding more calories ala the BONEZ shake. That might be a good fix.
^ I don’t get up an hour before either. I am there 30 minutes after getting up, 10 or 15 minutes after drinking my pre-work out shake. I am really lucky in that the gym is only a mile from my house.
This won’t help anyone but when I started working out (senior year in college) I worked full time and went to school full time so mornings were the only time I could work out. Being a complete noob my breakfast consisted of 4 hard boiled egg whites, then off to the gym. I did this for 5 months or so.
Don’t do that.
I don’t think I could go back to lifting in the morning.
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
This won’t help anyone but when I started working out (senior year in college) I worked full time and went to school full time so mornings were the only time I could work out. Being a complete noob my breakfast consisted of 4 hard boiled egg whites, then off to the gym. I did this for 5 months or so.
Don’t do that.
I don’t think I could go back to lifting in the morning.[/quote]
It’s weird. I can’t and never have been very good at after mid-day training. I always seem to be drained mentally before I go in. I am sure this could be adapted to, but I just prefer morning training now…
[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
Do all you early morning people wait for an hour upon waking before hitting the gym? Does anyone get up, have a protein shake with coffee and a banana and then head out the door?[/quote]
Yes, I do. I do not like a lot of food in my stomach when I train. I also take 1/2 my supps in the morning with my protein.
There has been some research on early morning training. Below is a quote I from an T-Nation article. The link is the article.
And by the way, morning weight training isn’t ideal either. Basically, the nervous system doesn’t fully “wake up” until three to four hours after you do. But the good news is that the body will get used to anything, so you will eventually adapt to early morning training.
I wake up at 5am and am in the gym at 6am - I train at home which is great for morning trainers. The coffee starts brewing 12 minutes before my alarm clock goes off. 3 or 4 cups and I train. You do get used to it. I NEVER thought I could lift before work and it was a challenge at first but I got used to it. Now I know the toughest part of my day is done before I get to the office.
[quote]yonkeyschnitzel wrote:
2:15am get up
2:25 eat 2 cups raw oats and whey protein. coffee
3am maltodextrin, bcaa’s, whey
3:30am train
I am hungry when I get up. Eventually you will adjust.
[/quote]
Do you work some sort of shift work? I’m assuming so with a wake up time of 2:15AM.
It’s just that sometimes when early-morning training comes up,not on this site usually but others I’ve frequented, when wake-up times come up it slowly turns into a bragging contest…with people out-bidding each other till some guy gets up at 10:00 PM to train.
[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
This won’t help anyone but when I started working out (senior year in college) I worked full time and went to school full time so mornings were the only time I could work out. Being a complete noob my breakfast consisted of 4 hard boiled egg whites, then off to the gym. I did this for 5 months or so.
Don’t do that.
I don’t think I could go back to lifting in the morning.[/quote]
It’s weird. I can’t and never have been very good at after mid-day training. I always seem to be drained mentally before I go in. I am sure this could be adapted to, but I just prefer morning training now…[/quote]
I sometimes notice this… I usually train in the evening, but once in awhile when I get the opportunity to train in the morning, I notice energy is better. There’s less distraction in your mind, the day has not had a chance to wear on you. Also sometimes with night sessions, I’ll be psyched up during the day, but can’t lift yet, and its a struggle to maintain it
[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
Do all you early morning people wait for an hour upon waking before hitting the gym? Does anyone get up, have a protein shake with coffee and a banana and then head out the door?[/quote]
I don’t. My alarm goes off around 530-545 dependent upon the day. I slap the snooze for a good 9-18min and then get up, drink a protein/oatmeal shake and I’m out the door. Probably about 30-45min from wake up to in the gym.
That said- I still need to work on getting ready to perform optimally at the gym. I might try adding more calories ala the BONEZ shake. That might be a good fix.[/quote]
Well thank goodness someone else commits a sin of not waiting 90 minutes from waking before setting foot in a gym. I think my head would explode if I got up that early to get to the gym and then waited… and waited.
I wish I had a more flexible schedule, but seeing as how I don’t I have been doing only cardio in the morning and my weights at night. I just started back up after some injuries, but so far so good.
I think I will give BONEZ shake suggestion a try. I might need to add more carbs if I don’t have a banana.
I have to rearrange my schedule due to my job, so I’ll probably be switching over to morning workouts. I’m used to taking about an hour in the evening, but I won’t have that much time in the morning. I’ve been looking through the site for some workouts I could do in 30 minutes - anybody have any suggestions?
[quote]thogue wrote:
[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
This won’t help anyone but when I started working out (senior year in college) I worked full time and went to school full time so mornings were the only time I could work out. Being a complete noob my breakfast consisted of 4 hard boiled egg whites, then off to the gym. I did this for 5 months or so.
Don’t do that.
I don’t think I could go back to lifting in the morning.[/quote]
It’s weird. I can’t and never have been very good at after mid-day training. I always seem to be drained mentally before I go in. I am sure this could be adapted to, but I just prefer morning training now…[/quote]
I sometimes notice this… I usually train in the evening, but once in awhile when I get the opportunity to train in the morning, I notice energy is better. There’s less distraction in your mind, the day has not had a chance to wear on you. Also sometimes with night sessions, I’ll be psyched up during the day, but can’t lift yet, and its a struggle to maintain it
[/quote]
Well, I have to admit it. I missed a morning workout and decided to get it in at night. It may have been the best workout I have ever had. So maybe everything I said was a lie. hahaha. But actually, I was beyond stressed out and it was a “I have to do this now or I might kill the next person I see” kind of workouts.
[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
Do all you early morning people wait for an hour upon waking before hitting the gym? Does anyone get up, have a protein shake with coffee and a banana and then head out the door?[/quote]
I don’t. My alarm goes off around 530-545 dependent upon the day. I slap the snooze for a good 9-18min and then get up, drink a protein/oatmeal shake and I’m out the door. Probably about 30-45min from wake up to in the gym.
That said- I still need to work on getting ready to perform optimally at the gym. I might try adding more calories ala the BONEZ shake. That might be a good fix.[/quote]
Well thank goodness someone else commits a sin of not waiting 90 minutes from waking before setting foot in a gym. I think my head would explode if I got up that early to get to the gym and then waited… and waited.
I wish I had a more flexible schedule, but seeing as how I don’t I have been doing only cardio in the morning and my weights at night. I just started back up after some injuries, but so far so good.
I think I will give BONEZ shake suggestion a try. I might need to add more carbs if I don’t have a banana.
[/quote]
That’s how I feel. Once I get up, I am moving around prepping to get into the gym. Not a chance I could pull myself out of bed only to sit and wait- I would find myself passed out again in no time.
I agree with Charles Poliquin - he stated that body starts to adapt to whatever training schedule you assume.
I’ve been training in the morning for about 7 years. Before that, it was always at night.
Now, even on the weekends, I’d rather train in the morning. I’m accustomed to doing so, from both a physical and psychological aspect. I like training early and getting it done. I believe it revs up my metabolism and second, if the workout is on the weekend afternoon, I then think about it all day. I like getting in my AM workout and going on with the rest of my day
[quote]Nards wrote:
[quote]yonkeyschnitzel wrote:
2:15am get up
2:25 eat 2 cups raw oats and whey protein. coffee
3am maltodextrin, bcaa’s, whey
3:30am train
I am hungry when I get up. Eventually you will adjust.
[/quote]
Do you work some sort of shift work? I’m assuming so with a wake up time of 2:15AM.
It’s just that sometimes when early-morning training comes up,not on this site usually but others I’ve frequented, when wake-up times come up it slowly turns into a bragging contest…with people out-bidding each other till some guy gets up at 10:00 PM to train.[/quote]
No shift work, I am actually a CPA, whose office hrs during the summer are 6am - 3pm… I used to train around 5am, then slowly over the last several yrs, it has progressed to where it is now. The only two real downsides that come to mind are trying to wake up the CNS and 7pm bed time. Yeah, I have no social life.
4;30 wake, 2 Alpha Males, FINiBAR, coffee.
5a Surge Workout Fuel, creatine.
5;30 training.
I’ve noticed an increase w/my numbers since starting this protocol 3-4mos ago. As much as I hate getting up an hr earlier I’ve noticed I’m more focused & my CNS seems to be much more active. You’re also so much more clear minded first thing in the morning. Total concentration on the wts. & nothing else.
I too enjoy getting the day started off this way. I find I’m more alert at work & get so much more accomplished.
I don’t worry mid-aft. about getting out of work to train. It’s behind me & I can focus on my goals at work.
I go at 0430-0500 3x per week during the week. I always give myself 30 minutes prior to drink a whey protein drink mixed with a N.O. type stimulant product. I have some good workouts but never attempt max poundages.
On weekends I “sleep in” until 0600 and get into the gym by 0730-0800 after having a full breakfast followed by a stimulant product. I am much stronger on the weekends and typically save my heaviest lifting (85% of 1rm and above) for these weekend workouts.