Carb up in the evening for fasted weight lifting in the morning?

carriefeidt
carriefeidt Posts: 12 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, I was wondering if I were to eat carbs or a bigger meal before bed and then wake up and have water and coffee with a weight lifting session, if this would help with muscle growth? I want to train early for the sake of a schedule, but if it just promotes fat or loss of muscle i won't do it. I would also eat after the workout. Thanks! :)

Replies

  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    edited May 2015
    Assuming you're in your calorie budget, it won't promote fat gain or muscle loss. Preworkout carbs have been shown to boost performance of high intensity exercise. So definitely get your carbs in.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10365988
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11038410

    To be clear, carbohydrates will help with performance, however they will not directly help with muscle growth.
  • carriefeidt
    carriefeidt Posts: 12 Member
    Thank you! Would you think that the carbs from the night before would benefit the next mornings work out?
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
    Have a look at Leangains, it covers a lot of this area. There are potential benefits to fasted training, but you may want to do your own homework and see if its for you. Have a read up on glycogen too, as it will give you a good idea what's happening to the carbs you're taking in, and how you can manipulate things with regard to playing around with carbs and training. Overall calorie level still matters, but reading up on the above should give you a better knowledge of your body fuelling :smile:
  • RosieRose7673
    RosieRose7673 Posts: 438 Member
    carriefeidt wrote: »
    Hi, I was wondering if I were to eat carbs or a bigger meal before bed and then wake up and have water and coffee with a weight lifting session, if this would help with muscle growth? I want to train early for the sake of a schedule, but if it just promotes fat or loss of muscle i won't do it. I would also eat after the workout. Thanks! :)

    I don't think it would effect muscle growth. But I do find that some of my best lifting sessions are when I've had a fairly large meal the night before. I've always worked out in a fasted state. I'm just not hungry in the am. I just wake up, have a cup of coffee and go to the gym. I always felt that the big evening meal helped with my energy.

    I don't have any studies or what not to prove it. But it's just my experience! Try it and see how your workouts go!
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    edited May 2015
    galgenstrick wrote: »
    Assuming you're in your calorie budget, it won't promote fat gain or muscle loss. Preworkout carbs have been shown to boost performance of high intensity exercise. So definitely get your carbs in.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10365988
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11038410

    To be clear, carbohydrates will help with performance, however they will not directly help with muscle growth.

    If your goal is performance then pre-workout carbs is going to improve your training performance. Your overall nutrition will dictate your body composition results, be it fat-loss or hypertrophy.
  • carriefeidt
    carriefeidt Posts: 12 Member
    You guys are great, thank you for the advice!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Assuming we're talking about the same overall cals and similar macros regardless of how you time your meals, then carbs at night won't have an impact on muscle growth/loss, fat loss/gain, etc.

    It *may* mean better energy levels for your workout in the morning, which could be greater intensity during the workout, which could impact body composition depending on overall cals/macros... but that's a function of energy levels, not specifically carbs at night. Maybe people get the same effect from caffeine pre-workout. Either way, it's all about personal preference here.

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