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 Dos & Don'ts of hitting the gym early AM?

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TSSeager
post Feb 8 2017, 08:07 PM, updated 8y ago

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Hi guys,

Quick background:
- Haven't hit the gym in over a YEAR! - lost a significant amount of muscle mass & size
- Hectic work schedule, usually FILO (First in, last out)
- There's no way I am able to find time after work to head to the gym

There's an Anytime fitness branch near my office and I thought of getting in workout before starting work.
The idea is to wake up circa 5.15 AM, and I should be at the gym by 6.30AM-ish
I am planning to dirty bulk, strength/ size training - so I will likely have a good serving of mass gainer afterwards.

My questions are:
1. What should/ can I eat before heading to the gym?
2. Are they any general dos and don'ts or any risks that I should be aware of since I'd be hitting the gym on a potentially empty stomach - with little or no sufficient time to digest food before working out?

Thanks!
bafukie
post Feb 8 2017, 11:47 PM

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Drink black coffee. shake peri workout and a big breakfast afterwards. Tats what i will do
TSSeager
post Feb 9 2017, 08:55 AM

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QUOTE(bafukie @ Feb 8 2017, 11:47 PM)
Drink black coffee. shake peri workout and a big breakfast afterwards. Tats what i will do
*
Hey bud, thanks for the feedback! Unfortunately coffee and pre-workouts don't work well for me. Caffeine makes me all bloated sad.gif
Npad
post Feb 9 2017, 09:17 AM

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I think it's really individual. I know some people who cannot train fasted, while I train mostly fasted. My last meal before a session would be about 6 hours prior. My suggestion would be to get used to caffeine because it really does help. If that's not an option, well, testicular fortitude it is. Haha

One thing I've noticed in myself is that when I train in the morning, I won't be as strong. Something about the body not fully 100% primed and ready to perform. I don't know. Just performance issues and what not. At a meet if I know my flight is lifting in the morning, I would try to get to bed as early as possible and wake up as early as possible so that I'll be awake for longer when it's my turn to step onto the platform.
Npad
post Feb 9 2017, 09:19 AM

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Oh ya, don't dirty bulk man. +500kcal to +700kcal surplus is more than enough to make you grow. Gaining fat will not help you much unless your goal is absolute strength. But then that's just my opinion.
Studio15
post Feb 9 2017, 10:26 AM

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QUOTE(Seager @ Feb 8 2017, 08:07 PM)
Hi guys,

Quick background:
- Haven't hit the gym in over a YEAR! - lost a significant amount of muscle mass & size
- Hectic work schedule, usually FILO (First in, last out)
- There's no way I am able to find time after work to head to the gym

There's an Anytime fitness branch near my office and I thought of getting in workout before starting work.
The idea is to wake up circa 5.15 AM, and I should be at the gym by 6.30AM-ish
I am planning to dirty bulk, strength/ size training - so I will likely have a good serving of mass gainer afterwards.

My questions are:
1. What should/ can I eat before heading to the gym?
2. Are they any general dos and don'ts or any risks that I should be aware of since I'd be hitting the gym on a potentially empty stomach - with little or no sufficient time to digest food before working out?

Thanks!
*
My advice if you're training so early. The night before you sleep, eat a carb meal. Simple one will do and ofcoz keep it clean like boiled/roasted sweet potatoes or oatmeal. Then morning, drink BCAA's before you train to prevent muscle loss and have a some plain oatmeal or bread with peanut butter something like that. After working out, have your second breakfast along with a protein shake if you're consuming it. You don't need protein shakes imo if you can eat whole foods to cover your daily protein needs but it's a nice convenient option.

I used to feel weak and not focussed if I train in the mornings after I wake up but I find that this method helps me out and I'm able to perform my regular strength training programs even things like heavy squats and deadlifts in the a.m.
green_algae
post Feb 9 2017, 06:31 PM

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Find out whether you are better suited for training while fasted or otherwise.I usually eat lite at least 1 1/2 hour before lifting in the morning.
I would advice against a dirty bulk because you will feel demotivated when you have a gut(speaking from experience)
+500 Calories over your TDEE should suffice.
Armesh
post Feb 9 2017, 06:34 PM

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Dirty bulk only should be done if you're taking steroids.
axtray
post Feb 9 2017, 06:39 PM

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QUOTE(Armesh @ Feb 9 2017, 06:34 PM)
Dirty bulk only should be done if you're taking steroids.
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haven't seen you around for a while.

and still as retarded as ever.
ichigo_6091
post Feb 12 2017, 03:18 PM

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QUOTE(Armesh @ Feb 9 2017, 06:34 PM)
Dirty bulk only should be done if you're taking steroids.
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How come ah?
Armesh
post Feb 12 2017, 04:15 PM

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QUOTE(ichigo_6091 @ Feb 12 2017, 03:18 PM)
How come ah?
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Steroids shuttle more exra cals and protein into muscle instead of fat. Especially trenbolone which has nutrient partition effect which no other steroids have.
degraw1993
post Feb 12 2017, 04:25 PM

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QUOTE(axtray @ Feb 9 2017, 06:39 PM)
haven't seen you around for a while.

and still as retarded as ever.
*

and yet still looks the same every year. poor guy
murv90
post Feb 15 2017, 10:19 AM

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QUOTE(Seager @ Feb 8 2017, 08:07 PM)
Hi guys,

Quick background:
- Haven't hit the gym in over a YEAR! - lost a significant amount of muscle mass & size
- Hectic work schedule, usually FILO (First in, last out)
- There's no way I am able to find time after work to head to the gym

There's an Anytime fitness branch near my office and I thought of getting in workout before starting work.
The idea is to wake up circa 5.15 AM, and I should be at the gym by 6.30AM-ish
I am planning to dirty bulk, strength/ size training - so I will likely have a good serving of mass gainer afterwards.

My questions are:
1. What should/ can I eat before heading to the gym?
2. Are they any general dos and don'ts or any risks that I should be aware of since I'd be hitting the gym on a potentially empty stomach - with little or no sufficient time to digest food before working out?

Thanks!
*
Do yourself a favor and save some money by buying whey protein and add as much sugar as you want to reach the same calories for one serving of the mass gainer.
diaBoliQu3
post Feb 15 2017, 09:12 PM

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QUOTE(Seager @ Feb 8 2017, 08:07 PM)
Hi guys,

Quick background:
- Haven't hit the gym in over a YEAR! - lost a significant amount of muscle mass & size
- Hectic work schedule, usually FILO (First in, last out)
- There's no way I am able to find time after work to head to the gym

There's an Anytime fitness branch near my office and I thought of getting in workout before starting work.
The idea is to wake up circa 5.15 AM, and I should be at the gym by 6.30AM-ish
I am planning to dirty bulk, strength/ size training - so I will likely have a good serving of mass gainer afterwards.

My questions are:
1. What should/ can I eat before heading to the gym?
2. Are they any general dos and don'ts or any risks that I should be aware of since I'd be hitting the gym on a potentially empty stomach - with little or no sufficient time to digest food before working out?

Thanks!
*
Some thoughts;
1) Buy barbells, squat rack, and bench and workout at home then go to work because I think this can save a lot of time. I first started only with a pair of dumbbell and barbell because gym isn't an option for me, until today.

2) If coffee isn't an option, maybe you can try green tea or green tea capsules. I read some lifter gain energy from green tea capsules, plus they have fat burning effect. Here are some of my morning pre-workout meal which I prepared in the past. Be creative and improve the recipe, use milk, whey, chocolate powder, greek yogurt;
- Overnight oat. I add whey, chocolate powder, dates, fruits and even chia seeds.
- Same as above, blend them all except chia seeds.
- Bread with a thick layer of peanut butter and honey, and a serving of whey.
- Cook some oat with dates nuts etc and drink whey.
- 2-3 fried/ boiled whole eggs with whey.
- 1-2 tablespoon of peanut butter and whey.

Good thing about overnight recipe is they're simple, easy and healthier than mass gainer IMO. Just prepare them before bed, wake up the next morning, eat or drink, go to shower, dress up and head to the gym. Digesting time will be vary, depending on the food and one digestive capability.

3) I think you'll find more don'ts than dos regarding fasting (empty stomach) workout but also there are some who live with. Just in case you interested to read about fasting workout, you can read about LeanGain fasting protocol which I think the most flexible and the easiest among all. He fully explain his protocol and thoughts in his website including fasting workout in the morning, afternoon or evening. I been training in fasting state for more than a year and I am way stronger than before, with some muscle gain. It took me a lot of try and error before I found what suitable for me.

4) About the risk, some will said fasting will lead to muscle loss and wreck your metabolism etc, and I won't touch that topic. But be aware that workout in fasting state can be very hard. First and second day can be damn body and mental challenging. The reason I share about fasting training is because you mentioned about "hitting the gym with empty stomach."

Different people got different goal and different method. Keep trying and exploring.
chickunburrito
post Feb 15 2017, 09:29 PM

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hmm usually I eat oats before hitting the gym. 6 tbsp of oats then wait 25-30 mins. sometimes i eat a lot of rice with meat and around 2 eggs. depends on the situation. you can try eat 1 banana + coffee if you're in hurry. general dos huh, for me i will always warm up before lifting weights. easy jog for a mile to get your heart rate up.

that's just me. if any experts think i'm doing it wrong please correct me. hehe


tartaudi
post Feb 16 2017, 08:05 PM

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I'd eat 6 Slices of White Bread along with IIFYM Ikea's Strawberry Jam or Peanut Butter.

High carbs food for energy and you're set.

It depends on you. I don't think you need 6 slices of bread every morning though.
cHaRsIeWpAu^^
post Mar 21 2017, 11:09 AM

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in my case, i eat one or two slices of bread before doing my workout in the morning.

after workout, you can choose to eat eat proper meal.

 

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