Workout First Thing in the Morning?

zoe894

I'm starting the 21 Day Fix soon, and would like to try to move my workouts to the morning. Problem is I have to take a pill first thing in the morning and shouldn't eat for an hour after taking it. Ideally I could take my pill, workout and shower, and then eat. Do any of you workout on an empty stomach at a fairly high intensity, or is it best to give my body fuel first?

jaimiej77

I workout on an empty stomach first thing in the am . I go to Crossfit at 6 am so I kind of roll out of bed and go. I have issues with feeling sick when I work out if I have eaten recently so i just drink my post workout supplement and eat a protein bar as soon as I'm finished and it works well for me.

raven56706

zoe894 wrote: »

I'm starting the 21 Day Fix soon, and would like to try to move my workouts to the morning. Problem is I have to take a pill first thing in the morning and shouldn't eat for an hour after taking it. Ideally I could take my pill, workout and shower, and then eat. Do any of you workout on an empty stomach at a fairly high intensity, or is it best to give my body fuel first?

my wife is doing that now. She is in the same thing. She gets up. Works out. And then breakfast and her pill

lporter229

All of my AM workouts, including long runs, are done without eating first.

juleszephyr

Absolutely. I get up at 5.45am every morning and workout, then shower and have my breakfast at 7.30am I do both cardio and strength training and find I actually work out better fasted than after a meal when I can sometimes feel a bit uncomfortable.

mgajmama

I don't always eat before a workout. I just get it in whenever I can. It's usually after my kids have fallen asleep for a nap in the afternoon.

LouLouStBijou

There is a recent study which shows that exercising in a fasted state is actually very effective. I ride to work each morning so I am doing 30 minutes of cardio before I eat and I generally find that (at my pace anyway) I am fine without food fuel.

Azexas

I lift heavy (ish) at 5am on an empty stomach 3x a week. I usually hop in he shower and then make breakfast so it can be done.

joanthemom8

I almost never eat before I go to the gym in the morning (around 4:30 a.m.) Once in a while I do feel "peakish" and I'll eat a granola bar before going. I do, however, drink a small cup of coffee before I go to the gym. I come home, shower and then eat breakfast.

icck

I do this too, most of my workouts are fasted. Not a problem if it works for you.
Often I don't eat until lunch time and it doesn't seem to matter when I work out in the morning, whether 6am or 11am.

MaizeyMaizey

The biggest concerns about the AM workout, pre-nutrition, is dehydration and the stress on the cardiovascular system due to increased adrenaline, stickier blood (so to speak), and the increased damage to narrowed/constricted blood vessels which then makes them more prone to buildup leading to stroke or heart attack. The fitness experts with medical insight advise hydrating, at the very least, before exertion in the AM.

ckspores1018

I workout in the morning almost exclusively on an empty stomach. Usually, any amount of food gives me stomach trouble so I just wait and eat when I'm done. Never had any issues. If I start running longer distances I'm going to have to work something out but for right now it works fine.

Equus5374

I wish I could get into a better routine of working out first thing in the AM. I'm so good at talking myself out of it -- professional procrastinator over here. When I do workout in the AM, I usually just have a nice tall glass of water. I find it harder to work out on a full stomach.

VintageFit

I prefer going for a run without food in my stomach in the morning - when I run in the evenings after a day of eating I tend to get somewhat sea-sick (at least that's how it feels) or feel the need to burp all the time!

I do drink 1-2 glasses of water in the morning before exercising, though...

lmlilly

I'm at the gym by 4:45 am, my workout is fasted, too.

HealthyHappy619

I do cardio for 30-60min 5-6 days a week (ave HR 150ish) before I eat breakfast. No issues so far...

blueriotgirl

I fast to before a workout but i do have at least an 80z glass of water than bring a waterbottle with me to stay hydrated then eat my breakfast after

RebeccaD22

I wake up at 5am and do an hr long walk, which is about 4 miles. I don't eat before. I get in the shower and eat at about 6:30am.

Good Luck!

tomatoey

I don't know how this 21 day fix works, but anyway. I just switched to doing bodyweight and physio exercises in the morning, after my coffee and before breakfast. I love it, because it seems to switch on my muscles and brain, and I can feel that my muscles are more engaged during the whole day. This is not intense cardio or heavy lifting by any means, though. It's more like a gentle wake-me-up. I put on some upbeat music at a tempo that keeps me at the right pace, that helps get me going.

I do more intense stuff with bands or cardio in the evening.

tomatoey

MaizeyMaizey wrote: »

The biggest concerns about the AM workout, pre-nutrition, is dehydration and the stress on the cardiovascular system due to increased adrenaline, stickier blood (so to speak), and the increased damage to narrowed/constricted blood vessels which then makes them more prone to buildup leading to stroke or heart attack. The fitness experts with medical insight advise hydrating, at the very least, before exertion in the AM.

Also risk of injury, because people are often clumsy at that hour.

Llamapants86

I just have a large glass of water and a scoop of preworkout before I hit my home gym for lifting. Then I eat on my way to work.