Food pre-workout
julesEMS2016
Posts: 44 Member
I'm curious to see what others eat before their workout. I'm an early riser. I get up at 4:50 and am working out by 5:30. I've experimented with cheese, yogurt, bananas, or trail mix as pre-workout fuel. After my workout, I follow up with a protein drink.
What do you use and why? Should I be doing something different?
What do you use and why? Should I be doing something different?
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It comes down to personal preference. If I am doing a lower body or full body lifting session in the morning, I'll eat a full breakfast (eggs + oats + cheese + fruit + milk + coffee.) If I'm taking a walk or 30 minute run or upper body lifting only, I'll eat afterward.0
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Back when I woke up and immediately went to the gym, I only drank a cup of coffee beforehand. Nowadays, I only lift in the mornings on the weekend. And when I do, I typically have a cup of coffee and a protein bar about an hour before I go.0
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I usually have some protein powder mixed in with instant coffee and amino energy. Lately, when training early (5 AM or earlier), I've been going with just coffee.1
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When I workout at 5am. I only have a pre workout powder. No food. I eat later on in the day.2
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If it is a shorter workout (under 90 minutes), I generally do best without eating anything beforehand. If I am very hungry, I will have a bit of bread or some dried fruit, but the majority of the time I just wake up, drink some water, and work out.1
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I like having a small snack (200-400 cals) about 2 hours before my workout or else I may get stomach cramps. 1.5-2 hours is the sweet spot for me.
I avoid dairy for my pre-workout because it makes me phlegmy. A mix of protein and carbs tends to work best for me. A ham sandwich, bagel, peanut butter with apple slices, etc.
It's different for everyone - just keep experimenting until you find your sweet spot.1 -
julesEMS2016 wrote: »I'm curious to see what others eat before their workout. I'm an early riser. I get up at 4:50 and am working out by 5:30. I've experimented with cheese, yogurt, bananas, or trail mix as pre-workout fuel. After my workout, I follow up with a protein drink.
What do you use and why? Should I be doing something different?
I workout that early as well, but I just take BCAAs and then have a post-workout protein smoothie.0 -
I work out after work, so I usually just grab a banana or a piece of string cheese for a quick boost before heading to the gym. I don't have a strenuous workout going on yet though. Just 30-45 mins on the exercise bike x 5 days per week. Moderate pace.0
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Sometimes if I feel hungry, I will eat a piece of peanut butter toast with some slices of banana on it. Sometimes I don't have to eat anything. But I work out after work in the evenings.0
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You can always workout in a fasted state.. just drink some water or coffee with bcaa's, maybe some creatine.
For me, if it's an intense cardio session I'll eat a banana or half an apple with a dip of almond butter about an hour before...0 -
I usually do a fasted workout because I get cramps if I eat, but if my workout is later in the morning I can have yogurt and it doesn't bother me.0
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I almost always do it fasted. I don't like to work out with anything on my stomach. It makes me nauseous.0
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I'm actually surprised at how many of you workout on an empty stomach in the morning. When I first started working out in the mornings I did that but found pretty quickly that I'd be sick shortly after the workout and would have a headache; which was usually fixed by food. I never thought to put protein in coffee, might be worth a try.
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I like sugar. Rice Krispie treat, maybe an apple. I really like a protein bar but it seems like I should have it after a workout. Still, I really just do what I want. I've been seen eating sour patch kids and candy DURING my workout.0
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lolz. A woman was like "are you...eating...candy? right now?" I'm like "yeah and I look good doing it".5 -
I prefer to fast and eat when my workout is done.. I find that when I eat prior I feel sluggish and don't push as hard.. So black coffee and water in the morning before workout..0
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1/2 a protein bar but I have switched to nothing. There is an aspect of training your body to regulate on a low amount of calories. I am training for my first marathon so it is important. I can say, I haven't missed the early food that much. See the article on fasted cardio.0
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I don't eat anything prior to a workout because my stomach gets upset while I'm working out. If I'm going to run after work I make sure that I haven't eaten anything for at least an hour or two before my run.0
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If I don't eat first thing in the morning I feel super nauseous, especially if I'm working out early. I have to eat. I have a banana and maybe a piece of toast with a tbsp of peanut butter.0
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4 oz lean beef and 140 grams jasmine rice. Boring but effective.0
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How can u weight train with no fuel? I never train on an empty stomach I mean weight train, it is hard to eat that early in the morning but surely fueling ur workout is vital?0
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holatrish32 wrote: »How can u weight train with no fuel? I never train on an empty stomach I mean weight train, it is hard to eat that early in the morning but surely fueling ur workout is vital?
Because I am full from the night before. *shrug*5 -
Well I'm an after work workout guy. If it's a weights day I usually opt for some sort of protein before my workout so like a chicken tender or beef jerky. On cardio days I do something like cheese and crackers. Just enough to give me a boost and taking my preworkout on an empty stomach makes me a little queasy.0
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holatrish32 wrote: »How can u weight train with no fuel? I never train on an empty stomach I mean weight train, it is hard to eat that early in the morning but surely fueling ur workout is vital?
Presumably your muscles have enough glycogen stores from the night before. I lifted for 45 minutes this morning and then another 50 minutes of cardio on an empty stomach and was fine.1 -
I usually do my exercise in the evening after dinner, so my dinner was my pre-workout food.0
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I like sugar. Rice Krispie treat, maybe an apple. I really like a protein bar but it seems like I should have it after a workout. Still, I really just do what I want. I've been seen eating sour patch kids and candy DURING my workout.
LOL! I've never thought to have candy... I don't know that I would feel very well afterwords. You just made my day though.0 -
Walking my dog in the AM I just take my thermos of coffee. If I ride in the AM, I ride fasted. I lift after work on Wednesday and I usually have a snack around 4 and it takes me an hour or so to get to the gym. I lift on Friday during my lunch hour so I've had breakfast and then eat lunch when I get back to the office.0
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Chef_Barbell wrote: »When I workout at 5am. I only have a pre workout powder. No food. I eat later on in the day.
Same here. Pre-Workout or coffee only if I am out of it. If I eat breakfast before working out, I get lethargic and my workout suffers. I eat dinner between 6pm-7pm and usually have a pre-bed snack of some sort so I burn that energy in the early mornings for workouts. I eat after the workout.1 -
I get up at 7:30 and am at the gym at 9:00. In between, I have a glass of whole milk and a container of Yoplait light yogurt (various flavors). After the workout, I have a 20 oz bottle of water with Hawaiian Punch powder mixed in and some Triscuits to hold me over until lunch.0
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