I really need some help figuring out nutrition for evening training sessions. I start a new job next month on 1st shift so I’ll be training upon coming home from work. For last 2 1/2 years I’ve been working 2nd shift and training before work around 11am/12pm. I usually have a protien/carb based meal pre w.o. Some intra carbs during and a post protien carb meal a hour after. Rest of days meals/snacks are protien/fat based.
So my new schedule will have me waking up at 6am and not returning until 5:30pm due to traffic commute. So between picking up the kids and walking dog etc. I estimate the earliest I can workout is by 6-6:30 pm. This will be a whole new game for me. I would like to be in bed by 10-10:30 the latest. I need help figuring out nutrition.
Will I have enough time to eat and digest adequate calories/protein? What would the rest of my day look like? For some reason I used to enjoy eating multiple meal after my workout. I just felt like they were going to repair after a rough session. Now all my meals/snacks will be prior to training with only room for one post w.o. meal. What protocols should I be following?
Another issue is pre w.o caffeine. I’m afraid if I take some pre w.o. stimulants, I will have trouble sleeping. What do you guys who workout at night do about this? Any tips? I dread after a long day at work and battling traffic that without any caffeine, my training will suffer?
I really could use some help. Any advice is deeply appreciated.
[quote]EctoMorphosis wrote:
I really need some help figuring out nutrition for evening training sessions. I start a new job next month on 1st shift so I’ll be training upon coming home from work. For last 2 1/2 years I’ve been working 2nd shift and training before work around 11am/12pm. I usually have a protien/carb based meal pre w.o. Some intra carbs during and a post protien carb meal a hour after. Rest of days meals/snacks are protien/fat based.
So my new schedule will have me waking up at 6am and not returning until 5:30pm due to traffic commute. So between picking up the kids and walking dog etc. I estimate the earliest I can workout is by 6-6:30 pm. This will be a whole new game for me. I would like to be in bed by 10-10:30 the latest. I need help figuring out nutrition.
Will I have enough time to eat and digest adequate calories/protein? What would the rest of my day look like? For some reason I used to enjoy eating multiple meal after my workout. I just felt like they were going to repair after a rough session. Now all my meals/snacks will be prior to training with only room for one post w.o. meal. What protocols should I be following?
Another issue is pre w.o caffeine. I’m afraid if I take some pre w.o. stimulants, I will have trouble sleeping. What do you guys who workout at night do about this? Any tips? I dread after a long day at work and battling traffic that without any caffeine, my training will suffer?
I really could use some help. Any advice is deeply appreciated.[/quote]
Have you considered a moderated carb backloading approach? I don’t know what you usually take pre workout but you could half the preworkout/caffeine and add extra beta alanine, creatine, etc via pills or powders. Regardless of when I train I usually save a hefty portion of my food intake for the evening because I can’t sleep on an empty stomach. If your daily calories stay the same and you’re eating a large meal after training and before bed this is not something I would worry about.
YMMV I suppose.
I don’t see any reason why the rest of your daily nutrition should change too dramatically, but a few things that have worked well for me when training at night with limited time before sleep
- pwo shake containing 1 scoop whey isolate, 1 scoop casein, 40g carbs from Gatorade powder, and a banana ( good for 400+cals)
- eat 1hr later as much as possible for whatever fits your macros, no reason to skimp on carbs if your training hard. Even adding healthy fats from nuts is a great way to pack in maximal calories
- use a caffeine free pre workout, I use beta alanine and arginine and Tyrosine all free form, and a caffeine pill cut in half. Little bit of a boost but you can still crash!
It’ll just take some time to adjust.
For the past month or so I:
Wake up at 5:20
Work 6 to 4
Get to gym by 6
Get home from gym around 8
Sleep by 9-10
You’re worrying way too much about this. I dropped all stimulants before noon and training hasn’t suffered. All my daily carbs are split up between two feedings, one mid work day for productivity and then again post workout for recovery and anabolic yadda yadda yadda.
[quote]EctoMorphosis wrote:
Will I have enough time to eat and digest adequate calories/protein?.[/quote]
Not sure what you’re getting at here. You still have 24 hours a day, unless I’m missing some crucial information.
Getting 7.5/8 hours of sleep is nice and everything, but tbh I don’t really see negative impact on my training as long as I get at least 5-6 hrs of sleep. Obviously that doesn’t hold true for EVERYONE, but just saying that if you REALLY are having a hard time getting enough/proper macros in, cutting a bit into your sleep time might not be a bad thing. Also, why not just stop using a pre workout, or as has been suggested, take a much smaller dose? Don’t worry about whether you’re eating most of your food before vs after training that day, give your body a couple sessions to adjust, and you’ll be fine.
[quote]zephead4747 wrote:
If your daily calories stay the same and you’re eating a large meal after training and before bed this is not something I would worry about.
YMMV I suppose.[/quote]
Good to know. Thanks Zep
[quote]Jbott1988 wrote:
I don’t see any reason why the rest of your daily nutrition should change too dramatically,
- eat 1hr later as much as possible for whatever fits your macros, no reason to skimp on carbs if your training hard. Even adding healthy fats from nuts is a great way to pack in maximal calories
- use a caffeine free pre workout, I use beta alanine and arginine and Tyrosine all free form, and a caffeine pill cut in half. Little bit of a boost but you can still crash![/quote]
I recently picked up so Tyrosine. Gonna try it out. Thanks for response.
[quote]jskrabac wrote:
It’ll just take some time to adjust.
For the past month or so I:
Wake up at 5:20
Work 6 to 4
Get to gym by 6
Get home from gym around 8
Sleep by 9-10
You’re worrying way too much about this.
Not sure what you’re getting at here. You still have 24 hours a day, unless I’m missing some crucial information. [/quote]
I just meant enough before sleep. If one meal was sufficient?
Thanks Jskrabac.
[quote]hungry4more wrote:
Don’t worry about whether you’re eating most of your food before vs after training that day, give your body a couple sessions to adjust, and you’ll be fine. [/quote]
Thanks H4M…that’s what I wanted to know.