Fasted workout? Eat first?
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beanfacekilla
Posts: 69 Member
My day is like this:
Wake up. Drink coffee, look at my food diary if need be. Approx 30 calories.
Go downstairs. Work out. Either I only do cardio/treadmill or I do a full body workout every other day. 1 rest day per
week.
On weight lifting days:
8 mins treadmill to warm up
Full body workout routine
Approx 1/2 hour treadmill, get heart rate up.
End workout.
Eat, making sure to get protein and water. I try and balance my macros high protein, low-ish fat, the remainder- carbs.
Question: Should I eat pre workout?
The reason I don't currently eat pre workout is I am trying to lose some weight (excess fat).
However, I am wondering if I am hurting my weight-lifting potential by not eating carbs and stuff beforehand.
Feedback and constructive criticism welcomed. Thanks in advance.
Info below.....
Current weight about 186
If I were to magically be at 15% body fat I'd probably weigh 155 with my current build (estimate)
5'11"
45 years old male
Not a lot of lean muscle mass, I've never been a body builder. Exercise of choice is hiking/walking.
Wake up. Drink coffee, look at my food diary if need be. Approx 30 calories.
Go downstairs. Work out. Either I only do cardio/treadmill or I do a full body workout every other day. 1 rest day per
week.
On weight lifting days:
8 mins treadmill to warm up
Full body workout routine
Approx 1/2 hour treadmill, get heart rate up.
End workout.
Eat, making sure to get protein and water. I try and balance my macros high protein, low-ish fat, the remainder- carbs.
Question: Should I eat pre workout?
The reason I don't currently eat pre workout is I am trying to lose some weight (excess fat).
However, I am wondering if I am hurting my weight-lifting potential by not eating carbs and stuff beforehand.
Feedback and constructive criticism welcomed. Thanks in advance.
Info below.....
Current weight about 186
If I were to magically be at 15% body fat I'd probably weigh 155 with my current build (estimate)
5'11"
45 years old male
Not a lot of lean muscle mass, I've never been a body builder. Exercise of choice is hiking/walking.
0
Replies
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If you feel good during your workouts, and aren't seeing declining or inadequate response to your overall regimen, I wouldn't worry about it, honestly.
Practicality, tolerability/enjoyability, and noticeable performance factors are a decent guide to things like that for us regular people, IMO. (It might be different for elite athletes trying to squeeze out the last 0.005% theoretical performance advantage, maybe.)
Some people like fasted workouts, say they feel more energetic, or have less digestive distress, or whatever. They should do fasted workouts. I abhor fasted workouts, because they feel like a complete struggle - really horrid/unpleasant - and I tend to underperform (based on objective workout metrics). People like me shouldn't do fasted workouts.
Nutritionally, getting good nutrition through the day is a much larger thing than timing, with the caveat that recent recommendations are that people my age (67) should spread protein through the day because we tend to metabolize it a little less efficiently at age 60+.
IMU you won't lose weight any faster or slower by moving some of your calorie budget before your workout, assuming your intensity is consistent either way. Fasted cardio has no weight loss magic. Your self-assessment of intensity is probably good enough, but you should be able to use metrics to figure it out, too (pace/HR for the treadmill kind of thing, lift performance for strength). Experiment with it, see what you prefer.
The theoretical pluses and minuses are much less important than the individual ones, IMU, IME and IMO.
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If you feel like you can get a good workout in fasted, then carry on doing that. If being fasted is compromising your workout effort, then take a banana or oatmeal or whatever. At the end of the day, it's all CICO anyway for the weight loss.
Maybe it's not your priority, but for myself I'd put the full effort into the weights on that day and skip the post-weights half hour of cardio. I do wonder if you can do a full body weights workout and a half hour of cardio while fasted without energy being a limiting factor. I mean, could you lift more weight if you had more energy? Do more reps? Do you feel like that might be the case? That's what will help grow muscle, along with at least 130g protein. Also fwiw, full body doesn't necessarily mean same exercises every workout, e.g. you might just do legs twice per week to give them more recovery time.
Since you mention hiking/walking, have you tried rucking? I've heard great things. You can carry whatever, or get custom vests and flat weight plates designed to fit the vest.2 -
It's very individual. Personally I can't even think straight in the morning until I have some calories in me. I have juice as soon as I wake up and definitely have to eat before I attempt anything requiring more coordination than sitting by my light box and doom scrolling. My sister gets up, works out and has breakfast a while after that. Some people get queasy if they eat before they workout and some people get queasy if they don't. It just depends.
If you feel shaky or weak or are struggling to finish your sets, you might need to eat first. If your routine is working for you, then it might not be worth worrying about. Meal timing is just about inconsequential to fat loss, total calories are what matter. Your weight lifting potential is more about a good program than it is about breakfast. If you're curious, try eating before you work out and see how your workouts go and decide from there.1 -
If you feel good during your workouts, and aren't seeing declining or inadequate response to your overall regimen, I wouldn't worry about it, honestly.
Practicality, tolerability/enjoyability, and noticeable performance factors are a decent guide to things like that for us regular people, IMO. (It might be different for elite athletes trying to squeeze out the last 0.005% theoretical performance advantage, maybe.)
Some people like fasted workouts, say they feel more energetic, or have less digestive distress, or whatever. They should do fasted workouts. I abhor fasted workouts, because they feel like a complete struggle - really horrid/unpleasant - and I tend to underperform (based on objective workout metrics). People like me shouldn't do fasted workouts.
Nutritionally, getting good nutrition through the day is a much larger thing than timing, with the caveat that recent recommendations are that people my age (67) should spread protein through the day because we tend to metabolize it a little less efficiently at age 60+.
IMU you won't lose weight any faster or slower by moving some of your calorie budget before your workout, assuming your intensity is consistent either way. Fasted cardio has no weight loss magic. Your self-assessment of intensity is probably good enough, but you should be able to use metrics to figure it out, too (pace/HR for the treadmill kind of thing, lift performance for strength). Experiment with it, see what you prefer.
The theoretical pluses and minuses are much less important than the individual ones, IMU, IME and IMO.
Thank you so much for your thoughts. They're very helpful to me!
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Retroguy2000 wrote: »If you feel like you can get a good workout in fasted, then carry on doing that. If being fasted is compromising your workout effort, then take a banana or oatmeal or whatever. At the end of the day, it's all CICO anyway for the weight loss.
Maybe it's not your priority, but for myself I'd put the full effort into the weights on that day and skip the post-weights half hour of cardio. I do wonder if you can do a full body weights workout and a half hour of cardio while fasted without energy being a limiting factor. I mean, could you lift more weight if you had more energy? Do more reps? Do you feel like that might be the case? That's what will help grow muscle, along with at least 130g protein. Also fwiw, full body doesn't necessarily mean same exercises every workout, e.g. you might just do legs twice per week to give them more recovery time.
Since you mention hiking/walking, have you tried rucking? I've heard great things. You can carry whatever, or get custom vests and flat weight plates designed to fit the vest.
Thanks for your thoughts here, very helpful.
I think I have plenty of energy to workout fasted, but TBH I've never tried fueling then working out. Maybe I should experiment a little and mix it up. Perhaps I'll try that Saturday.
I do vary my exercises from workout to workout, I don't know if that's what you meant. I'll give you a few examples:
I change the grip width on lat pull downs. I vary curls with EZ bar, sometimes dumb bells. I vary overhead presses with dumb bells or EZ bar. I sometimes switch bench press to decline or incline.
I'm going to also start dead lifts again in addition/substitute for squats but I need some bumper plates to aid in easing into it.
Rucking? I'm going to have to Google that one and see.... I'll def consider it.0 -
It's very individual. Personally I can't even think straight in the morning until I have some calories in me. I have juice as soon as I wake up and definitely have to eat before I attempt anything requiring more coordination than sitting by my light box and doom scrolling. My sister gets up, works out and has breakfast a while after that. Some people get queasy if they eat before they workout and some people get queasy if they don't. It just depends.
If you feel shaky or weak or are struggling to finish your sets, you might need to eat first. If your routine is working for you, then it might not be worth worrying about. Meal timing is just about inconsequential to fat loss, total calories are what matter. Your weight lifting potential is more about a good program than it is about breakfast. If you're curious, try eating before you work out and see how your workouts go and decide from there.
Thanks for your thoughts here! Much appreciated0 -
I was referring to different body parts recovering at different rates, so full body doesn't have to literally mean full body every single time, e.g. arms recover much faster than legs, especially since you're also doing cardio on the in-between days. So go ahead and do arms every workout, but maybe not legs. Can you put in sufficient effort on legs three times each week, plus all that cardio work? I mean sets close to failure without needing huge reps, not just going through the motions. If you can, carry on. Otherwise, consider squats on just two days, or do the deadlift on the middle workout without squats that day.beanfacekilla wrote: »I do vary my exercises from workout to workout, I don't know if that's what you meant. I'll give you a few examples:
I change the grip width on lat pull downs. I vary curls with EZ bar, sometimes dumb bells. I vary overhead presses with dumb bells or EZ bar. I sometimes switch bench press to decline or incline.
A suggestion here so you don't need to go buy bumper plates for deadlift, you could probably do barbell row or Pendlay row or seal rows with what you have. It's not the same as the DL of course, but it'll target your back, and you have squats for legs already, maybe add RDL for the posterior chain too. Just throwing out options so you maybe don't need to spend more.1 -
Retroguy2000 wrote: »
I was referring to different body parts recovering at different rates, so full body doesn't have to literally mean full body every single time, e.g. arms recover much faster than legs, especially since you're also doing cardio on the in-between days. So go ahead and do arms every workout, but maybe not legs. Can you put in sufficient effort on legs three times each week, plus all that cardio work? I mean sets close to failure without needing huge reps, not just going through the motions. If you can, carry on. Otherwise, consider squats on just two days, or do the deadlift on the middle workout without squats that day.beanfacekilla wrote: »I do vary my exercises from workout to workout, I don't know if that's what you meant. I'll give you a few examples:
I change the grip width on lat pull downs. I vary curls with EZ bar, sometimes dumb bells. I vary overhead presses with dumb bells or EZ bar. I sometimes switch bench press to decline or incline.
A suggestion here so you don't need to go buy bumper plates for deadlift, you could probably do barbell row or Pendlay row or seal rows with what you have. It's not the same as the DL of course, but it'll target your back, and you have squats for legs already, maybe add RDL for the posterior chain too. Just throwing out options so you maybe don't need to spend more.
Awesome suggestions here, especially the rows. I have a cable pull contraption, I could def implement them in other ways besides a bar as well.
And I love the idea of reducing the legs, I never thought about the point you made about the recovery time! Thanks!0 -
I do fasted workouts. Wake up, hit the bathroom and then out the door to the gym. 30 minutes of running on the treadmill (around 5km), followed by 30 minutes of strength training. Then I hit Tin Hortons on the way home for my coffee, followed by a protein shake and an English Muffin.1
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I do fasted workouts. Wake up, hit the bathroom and then out the door to the gym. 30 minutes of running on the treadmill (around 5km), followed by 30 minutes of strength training. Then I hit Tin Hortons on the way home for my coffee, followed by a protein shake and an English Muffin.
Tim Hortons has excellent coffee!0 -
I'm a Canadian. It's part of our citizenship to drink Tim Horton's Coffee or risk exile lol0
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I've been doing my workouts fasted, early in the morning for years. Before the workout I use 2 scoops of Optimum Nutrition Amino Energy (amino acids and caffeine) and drink water during the workout. I've tried eating something small, or having a protein shake beforehand, and it would sit like rock in my stomach while I was trying to work out, and just slowed me down.
When I am focusing on losing weight, I usually do my cardio first thing the workout, as I can keep my intensity higher if I do the cardio before lifting. Once I hit my goal weight, I moved the weightlifting to the start of the workout and did cardio afterwards. Now that I'm trying to lose weight again, I am back to cardio first!
After the workout I try to get a breakfast high in protein. Usually that has been a couple of scoops of Optimum Nutrition Hudro Whey blended with some frozen strawberries and bananas. Sometimes a few eggs, ham and some fruit.
In regard to lean muscle mass, the more muscle mass you have, the higher your base metabolic rate is going to be. I feel that strength training was integral to my success at losing weight the first time around. You don't need to be "Arnold" big but adding some pounds of lean muscle mass makes a difference.1 -
I've been doing my workouts fasted, early in the morning for years. Before the workout I use 2 scoops of Optimum Nutrition Amino Energy (amino acids and caffeine) and drink water during the workout. I've tried eating something small, or having a protein shake beforehand, and it would sit like rock in my stomach while I was trying to work out, and just slowed me down.
When I am focusing on losing weight, I usually do my cardio first thing the workout, as I can keep my intensity higher if I do the cardio before lifting. Once I hit my goal weight, I moved the weightlifting to the start of the workout and did cardio afterwards. Now that I'm trying to lose weight again, I am back to cardio first!
After the workout I try to get a breakfast high in protein. Usually that has been a couple of scoops of Optimum Nutrition Hudro Whey blended with some frozen strawberries and bananas. Sometimes a few eggs, ham and some fruit.
In regard to lean muscle mass, the more muscle mass you have, the higher your base metabolic rate is going to be. I feel that strength training was integral to my success at losing weight the first time around. You don't need to be "Arnold" big but adding some pounds of lean muscle mass makes a difference.
Thanks for all the tips!0 -
Your evening routine is going to determine how much you got left in the morning to power your workouts.
Sleep is burning mainly fat, little bit of liver carbs for the brain.
If you eat a small meal at say 5pm very light on the carbs (because you ate a big breakfast/lunch say), and then were busy all night say moving stuff around, working in the yard, just using up those carbs with intense type activities, going to bed at midnight - then ya that could spell being impaired for a morning fasted workout. Probably not even notice it until you could compare, as you suggested.
If you eat say the biggest meal of the day 6-8 pm and are busy sitting around rest of the night and go to bed say 10:30 pm - then ya fasted in the morning is no issue probably.
There's your extremes - where are you in there, really a concern then?
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I've been doing my workouts fasted, early in the morning for years. Before the workout I use 2 scoops of Optimum Nutrition Amino Energy (amino acids and caffeine) and drink water during the workout. I've tried eating something small, or having a protein shake beforehand, and it would sit like rock in my stomach while I was trying to work out, and just slowed me down.
When I am focusing on losing weight, I usually do my cardio first thing the workout, as I can keep my intensity higher if I do the cardio before lifting. Once I hit my goal weight, I moved the weightlifting to the start of the workout and did cardio afterwards. Now that I'm trying to lose weight again, I am back to cardio first!
After the workout I try to get a breakfast high in protein. Usually that has been a couple of scoops of Optimum Nutrition Hudro Whey blended with some frozen strawberries and bananas. Sometimes a few eggs, ham and some fruit.
In regard to lean muscle mass, the more muscle mass you have, the higher your base metabolic rate is going to be. I feel that strength training was integral to my success at losing weight the first time around. You don't need to be "Arnold" big but adding some pounds of lean muscle mass makes a difference.
Thanks for all the tips!Your evening routine is going to determine how much you got left in the morning to power your workouts.
Sleep is burning mainly fat, little bit of liver carbs for the brain.
If you eat a small meal at say 5pm very light on the carbs (because you ate a big breakfast/lunch say), and then were busy all night say moving stuff around, working in the yard, just using up those carbs with intense type activities, going to bed at midnight - then ya that could spell being impaired for a morning fasted workout. Probably not even notice it until you could compare, as you suggested.
If you eat say the biggest meal of the day 6-8 pm and are busy sitting around rest of the night and go to bed say 10:30 pm - then ya fasted in the morning is no issue probably.
There's your extremes - where are you in there, really a concern then?
Hey thanks for your thoughts!
I just got through with an upper body workout, and I ate a pre-workout wrap, about 250 cals, and a post workout sandwich and protein shake. It felt better to eat beforehand TBH, at least today it did.
I'm going to experiment a little here and there but I think I like eating something pre-workout.0
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