I’m a newbie who had been working out for about 3 months and has been slack lately due to work and illness and basically being a sorry bastard.
Anyway, I work out at a Gold’s that is pretty well packed in the afternoons and nights. I would like to start working out in the mornings before work say 6-7 when the gym is dead (i’ve gone in a few times). I do a mixed routine 2-3 days a week with about 7 exercises per workout. I am working on mass so one or two sets of 8 reps with max weight. Plus I would like to add some cardio, say 20-30 on a treadmill.
Any pointers? On nutrition, my routine, or just getting my lazy ass out of bed?
I read that the number one thing people that workout in the morning neglect is putting some protein/carbs in their bodies 1 hour to 90 minutes before working out, with your body using up protein at night you could be hurting yourself more.
I don’t want to have to get up at 5 to eat, sit around for an hour then workout. Any advice would be appreciated.
[quote]gschmelt wrote:
I’m a newbie who had been working out for about 3 months and has been slack lately due to work and illness and basically being a sorry bastard.
Anyway, I work out at a Gold’s that is pretty well packed in the afternoons and nights. I would like to start working out in the mornings before work say 6-7 when the gym is dead (i’ve gone in a few times). I do a mixed routine 2-3 days a week with about 7 exercises per workout. I am working on mass so one or two sets of 8 reps with max weight. Plus I would like to add some cardio, say 20-30 on a treadmill.
Any pointers? On nutrition, my routine, or just getting my lazy ass out of bed?
I read that the number one thing people that workout in the morning neglect is putting some protein/carbs in their bodies 1 hour to 90 minutes before working out, with your body using up protein at night you could be hurting yourself more.
I don’t want to have to get up at 5 to eat, sit around for an hour then workout. Any advice would be appreciated.
I have Whey and MRPs to take, any pointers when?
Thanks,
Greg[/quote]
If you have to get up at 6, set alarm for 5, wake up chug down a liquid meal then go back to sleep (remember to reset alarm), then when you wake again, eat something small like a titchy protein shake and banana just to top reserves up. When you take your morning supplements also take them at 5, and not when you wake properly at 6 because they would not be in the system by workout time properly.
The disadvantage of waking up early and training shortly after is maximal strength is less than if you wait 2-3 hours. For many people maximal strength occurs in the afternoon, but its nto going to be a large factor in your workouts, the actual training is more important.
[quote]gschmelt wrote:
Any pointers? On nutrition, my routine, or just getting my lazy ass out of bed?
I don’t want to have to get up at 5 to eat, sit around for an hour then workout.[/quote]
Agreed. I work out in the morning as well. I’m up at 5:30, pop a supplement, and head to the gymn. About five minutes out I drink a serving of Biotest Surge mixed with a scoop of either powdered Gatorade or Powerade.
I workout in the mornings, and have been doing so for quite a while. I like it for the same reason you do. The lack of clowns, and posers.
For breakfast lately I have been mixing up in the blender the following: It tastes pretty good, but the texture needs some getting used to.
2 ripe bananas
2 scoops Low-Carb Grow!
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/2 liter of water
1 cup rolled oats
Run this stuff through the blender and then drink it. It will give you 2 glasses of protein and carbs, with very little fat.
One suggestion, go to the store and buy the bananas that they cull and sell off cheap. These are usually riper, or have some bruises, and the sugar content is higher. They seem to give off more flavor.
[quote]gschmelt wrote:
I do a mixed routine 2-3 days a week with about 7 exercises per workout. I am working on mass so one or two sets of 8 reps with max weight. Plus I would like to add some cardio, say 20-30 on a treadmill.[/quote]
[quote]I don’t want to have to get up at 5 to eat, sit around for an hour then workout. Any advice would be appreciated.
I have Whey and MRPs to take, any pointers when?[/quote]
In that case, I’d knock back a shake as soon as you can in the morning, whether that’s an hour before your workout, or just 20 minutes. Some people can’t eat much soon after waking, or too soon before working out. But I think your workout intensity would benefit from having some food in your stomach, rather than training on an empty tank.
I appreciate the feedback fellows. I am going to try and pound an MRP, I have MET-RX, with a serving of Whey at about 5:30, hit the gym at about 6 and see what happens. I will then adjust accordingly.
[quote]gschmelt wrote:
Any pointers? On nutrition, my routine, or just getting my lazy ass out of bed?[/quote]
I read that the number one thing people that workout in the morning neglect is putting some protein/carbs in their bodies 1 hour to 90 minutes before working out, with your body using up protein at night you could be hurting yourself more.
I don’t want to have to get up at 5 to eat, sit around for an hour then workout. Any advice would be appreciated.
your situation sounds like mine. i’ve been waking up at 6am to be at the gym by 7am for almost a year now, and it’s still not entirely easy. but i do have some tips to make part of your normal life.
try to get 7 - 8 hrs. of sleep prior to your wake up time. for myself i like to be in bed ideally at 10pm, but by 11pm is the absolute latest. this makes a HUGE difference in answering that alarm clock and having energy for a workout.
follow a wourkout you’ll enjoy. some of the best workouts i’ve done i’ve was looking forward to them the prior night. i believe the gym should be fun, not drugery. there are plenty of great ones on this site. my favorites are the waterbury method and defranco’s westside for skinny bastards.
if your over 18 (and it sounds like you are) you might want to try Spike. i use to take caffiene pills, but they left me buzzed and still unmotivated. spike gives me the clairity and drive for the am gym.
whatever music you like to listen to if your gym doesn’t play it blarringly loud i would suggest to get a walkman with a tape player (if the still make them) and use that. for me there’s nothing like loud, fast, angry music screaming in my ears at 7 am while i’m having a good workout buzzing on Spike. now that’s fun!
finally, get your workout stuff ready the before you go to bed. it saves time and need of thought in the am. lay out you clothes, get your gym bag ready, get the coffe machine ready to brew, and if you keep a workout journal (which everyone should) get that ready with your workout already written out in it.
those are my tips for getting yourself moving in the am. for nutrition you definately need to eat something otherwise those am workouts do more harm than good. so even though it sucks you really need to wake up to have that eating time. i try to keep it real simple. the idea is quick digesting stuff. i wake up at 6am and pop 2 Spike pills. then i walk my dog and when i get back @6:30 i drink one serving of straight whey protein in water, and chase that with 2 servings of apple juice and a B-50 complex pill. its nothing fancy, but let me tell you it hits the spot. by 8:30 at the latest i’m done in the gym and the sugar has burned out in me just in time for more protein and sugar. and don’t worry the sugar won’t make you fat, but it will keep you from burning fat though. to burn fat you could hit the weights every other day, and then on your off days from the weights you can do your cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
that all works pretty well for me and i hope you can use some of this info. but if not, you’ll find plenty of other info by lurking on this site.
oh, and it tkes about 21 days for something new to become a habit, so good luk and stay with it.
i.g.
I understand your gym is crowded, but why not try to work out when you feel up to it? I have never lifted a weight before 1 in the afternoon in my life- it simply is not in me. When I wake up, I can’t do five pushups, forget a workout. For me, the optimal time is anywhere between 2 - 11 at night. Before 2, however, I’m as weak as a high school chess club girl.