Workout without eating in the morning

[Kim Hanjin]

Hi Rippitoe and the experienced coaches. I am so busy these days. When I get to the gym after work, it is almost 9 pm(The gym is a little far away, and the traffic is a bit bad.) The gym closes at 10 pm, and therefore I CAN'T FINISH MY WORKOUT WELL.

So, I am considering workout without a eating in the early morning.

Someone says to me, "If you eat enough food 12 hours before the workout, you can do your workout well". Is that true? If that word is true, I don't think there's any problem with morning exercise(without eating).

Many people don't have enough time like me. What do you think about workout without eating in the morning?

+ I'm not good at English. Thank you for reading

[Mark Rippetoe]

I think most people who train in the morning do so without eating. I think you should try it.

[Bradlynn]

I think most people who train in the morning do so without eating. I think you should try it.

I agree with the above. I workout at 5:30am (wake up at 4:30). I do pretty well in the mornings and I can stay Consistent. I just eat plenty the night before. I am hungry by the end of the workout, so be sure to take a shake or eat immediately afterwards if you are hungry. I also feel much better the rest of the day and do not have to worry about rushing to get training in later.

[mitchless]

Many people don't have enough time like me. What do you think about workout without eating in the morning?

I train at around 6am. I think eating before at that hour is a question of personal comfort and food selection.

My pre-workout breakfast is a fruit/yogurt smoothie that I've been making for years. In addition to the fruit and yogurt I scoop in some protein powder, creatine, and flax seed to give it more substance. If I'm going to be pressed for time in the morning I can put the components together in two or three containers and throw them right into the blender in the morning. In 10-15 minutes I can be out the door without feeling a heavy meal in my stomach.

[JimB]

I train in the morning and eat as soon as I wake up - about an hour before my first set. Seems to work just fine. I stick with easily digestible foods. Some other folks who train early morning seem to like a protein shake with quick absorbing carbs (e.g., dextrose) when they wake up - very easy to consume in <1 minute and will give you some good energy.

[Jennifer Williams]

I’ve been working out for about 6 years in the mornings. I get up at 4:30 and try to get my first set in around 4:45. I work out in my garage. For me, it was a huge game changer. I get it done first thing and don’t have to worry about whether I have time or energy in the evening hours after a day at work. I always work out on an empty stomach with the exception of coffee which I drink between sets. I’ve never thought too much about carb’ing it up the night before, but I guess I just do that naturally. I eat protein meals throughout the day 8:30 and 11:30, until about 2:00 when I tend to get hungry. Then I eat fiber. But I try to save the bulk of my carbs for dinner. Otherwise, I’ll eat the carbs in the afternoon and I’ll eat more in the evening too. I like carbs a lot. HA!

[tfranc]

Caffeine, protein shake and a couple bananas will help if you can stomach it.

Feigenbaum told me once 100-200mg caffeine, 30g carbs and a scoop of whey for early morning training

[LimieJosh]

A lot of people have a messed up relationship with food, and they can convince themselves that they will lack sufficient "energy" if they skip breakfast. Physiologucally speaking, that isnt really how it works though, certainly not with the sort of training most of us here do. So, going without is not going to cause you to miss a rep on your last set of 5s. WRT what Jim wrote in #5, you're getting into Jordan/Robert territory in questioning whether the cellular response to your training would be better with some readily available aminos circulating, but even though I always throw down 30g of whey an hour prior to my session I am not really convinced it make that much of a difference assuming you eat properly afterwards.

However, there is a serious issue to overcome with training early in the morning if you're in a rush to get to work - getting your bowels to respond on command. There are few things less conducive to putting in a good effort under the bar than putting on your belt for your first set of work set squats and realizing that even attempting one rep will make you shit yourself. Working out at home is obviously a help in this respect, but at my gym, as is the case for most commercial gyms, the men's bathroom is like a scene from news footage of an ebola outbreak. I would rather void myself in a portapotty on day 5 of a 5 day music festival in the middle of the dessert than go in there. My trick is to 1) make sure my coffee maker is programmed so it's already brewed by the time I get into the kitchen. 2) put just enough ice in the cup to cool it down so I can chugg a couple of cups immediately (still hot, just not "having to sip it carefully" hot). 3) follow that up immediately with a cold protein shake I made the night before. The combination of the coffee and the temperature contrast starts the process going immediately, and I can be out of my front door within about 15 minutes.

[Polishdude20]

A lot of people have a messed up relationship with food, and they can convince themselves that they will lack sufficient "energy" if they skip breakfast.

I think it's more of the fact that if you're not used to skipping breakfast the first few mornings suck while your body gets used to it. A lot of people just don't push through and continue long enough to get used to it.

[johnnys]

A lot of people have a messed up relationship with food, and they can convince themselves that they will lack sufficient "energy" if they skip breakfast. Physiologucally speaking, that isnt really how it works though, certainly not with the sort of training most of us here do. So, going without is not going to cause you to miss a rep on your last set of 5s. WRT what Jim wrote in #5, you're getting into Jordan/Robert territory in questioning whether the cellular response to your training would be better with some readily available aminos circulating, but even though I always throw down 30g of whey an hour prior to my session I am not really convinced it make that much of a difference assuming you eat properly afterwards.

However, there is a serious issue to overcome with training early in the morning if you're in a rush to get to work - getting your bowels to respond on command. There are few things less conducive to putting in a good effort under the bar than putting on your belt for your first set of work set squats and realizing that even attempting one rep will make you shit yourself. Working out at home is obviously a help in this respect, but at my gym, as is the case for most commercial gyms, the men's bathroom is like a scene from news footage of an ebola outbreak. I would rather void myself in a portapotty on day 5 of a 5 day music festival in the middle of the dessert than go in there. My trick is to 1) make sure my coffee maker is programmed so it's already brewed by the time I get into the kitchen. 2) put just enough ice in the cup to cool it down so I can chugg a couple of cups immediately (still hot, just not "having to sip it carefully" hot). 3) follow that up immediately with a cold protein shake I made the night before. The combination of the coffee and the temperature contrast starts the process going immediately, and I can be out of my front door within about 15 minutes.

A couple scoops of fiber, or a handful of baby carrots or dried plums/apricots, before bed is just as effective.