Hello,
I ran a search on this but didn’t turn up anything recent.
For the last few weeks I have been waking up at 5:30, drinking a few glasses of water, walking straight out to the garage and working out. I’m a beginner so nothing to heavy. This morning I did three sets of 12 reps- barbell shoulder press, push-ups, chin-up/pull-up, bent over dumbbell rows, tri pull downs, curls and finished up with 10 minutes of hard cranking on my new to me concept 2 row machine.
Immediately after I eat a 1 scoop whey shake with some berries, banana,yogurt and milk for breakfast. Two handfuls of blanch almonds at 10a.m…
I’m up from three times per week to five, so I guess that parts good. I do feel strong and seem to have relatively good sessions. Seems to help me with energy for the remainder of the day.
I’ve read all kinds of different opinions on both early work-outs and working out on an empty stomach.
I’m pretty sure at my level it doesn’t matter much but I’m still curious about your thoughts and opinions on both early and empty training.
I always train before 10am (just how my schedule is) unless I decide to go in a second time during a day.
But I always have a protein bar or something on my way. But yeah. I never have a problem with energy or recovery. Especially if I eat just before bed.
I wake up anywhere from 5:30 to 7 am every weekday (changes every semester, I’m in college) and have been doing that for 2 years now. I prefer it because the gym is WAY less crowded, and it gets my training done before “life” can take over my time for the day.
I take a protein/carb drink within 10 minutes of waking and am lifting within 50 minutes of rolling out of bed. It works fine, don’t worry about it. My issue is I always get tired after working out. That’s the only negative I have from early morning lifting.
I did 5:15 a.m. for a few years out of necessity with my work schedule. My .02 cents is make sure you don’t skimp on the warmups for deadlifts and make sure you get some blood pumping before you pull heavy. Otherwise, it is a great way to get your day going.
It’s funny to me because I’m warming up three minutes after waking.
I saw some stuff that said it’s great for losing weight because you burn mostly fat since the tanks empty. Also read some that said you actually burn muscle in that scenario.
Some benefits for me are more energy through the day and I’m ready to drop the browns off at the super bowl three or four hours earlier. Seems to really kick the digestive track into overdrive.
Only problem is the wife decided to join me. There goes the zen time.
[quote]sweet-t wrote:
I saw some stuff that said it’s great for losing weight because you burn mostly fat since the tanks empty. Also read some that said you actually burn muscle in that scenario.[/quote]
Fasted training is a highly debated topic - whether or not it’s necessary and whether or not it really is extra-beneficial - and it’s most often in the context of cardio workouts, not lifting.
But really, I’d be more concerned with getting a thorough warm-up like Jack said. Not just to improve performance and clear the cobwebs, but from an injury prevention point of view. Lubing the vertebrae would be my top priority if I had to roll out of bed and literally start training a few minutes later.
But for the nutrition side of things, do what you can. It’d be a great idea to get a peri-workout shake though, even if it’s that same shake you usually have after training, consider mixing it up early and having it during.
[quote]Only problem is the wife decided to join me. There goes the zen time.
[/quote]
I think you may be overlooking the after-training shower. Just saying.
Have you considered starting the workout with some light work on the C2 instead of finishing with it? Seems like that might be useful for the “thorough warmup” that’s probably a good idea.
Thanks jjackkrash.
Leave it to Colucci. Take ambiguous information and smash it into something useful. That’s one hell of a skill and I always appreciate it. I’m on board. Shake during, proper warm up and in the shower with the old lady for the finishing move. Perfecto!
ActivitiesGuy, I was considering that. My concern was that I would fatigue my arms and half ass the weights. I could ease up though just to warm up. I normally set that thing on 10 and pull like the ugliest truck stop whore.