Working out in the a.m. on an empty stomach

[Guinness5.0]

Is this a bad thing? If so, why? I did this for about a year and made incredible progress, but it was upon returning from a multi-year layoff. For me right now, it's easiest, schedule-wise, to just roll out of bed, throw on my gym clothes, and hit the weights. Is there evidence (anecedotal or otherwise) that this is a bad idea?

 

[The Shadow]

Depends:


Fat loss = cardio on empty
LBM gains = having cals and protein inthe system



......neither can be maximized in a single session of cardio and lifting



Do cardio am to keep of fat while lifting later inthe day works best for the majority

 

[Cynical Simian]

Elevated cortisol (at least until you eat something), relatively carb-depleted and dehydrated state...

Just put some whey and some sort of carbohydrate in a cup/shaker the night before and slam that on your way out the door.

 

[Protobuilder]

Low blood glucose levels = bad for weight training. How bad? I don't know. But considering that, like CS mentioned, you can raise blood glucose levels relatively easy, there's not much reason to do it in a true fasted state. Drink 8 oz. of milk and a piece of fruit or a slice of toast or something. Just something to kick the glucose levels back up. You don't have to do a BiggT breakfast.

edit: forgot something else . . . "studies have shown" that amino acids in teh bloodstream before your workout have a large impact on protein synthesis (or something else that's important, LoL, I don't remember the details). You can achieve this by just eating like a normal person, LoL, or by downing a small bit of protein shake 30 min's before you lift. If you eat every few hours, you'll be fine. But coming out of teh nighttime fast, you'll have no/few aminos in the blood. Another argument for drinking a bit of whey and a slice of toast or something beforehadn.

 

[fortunatesun]

Strictly ancedotal:
Bill Pearl did that- woke up in the middle of the night to train. I think he did have some sort of protein beforehand, not much, and then eat a big breakfast afterwards and again 2 hrs lator. I forget his actual theory, I bet alot of Bbuilders on here know it though. I seem to remember that he thought you should pop BCAAs throughout your workout to keep energy levels up.

 

[needtogetaas]

Depends:


Fat loss = cardio on empty
LBM gains = having cals and protein inthe system



......neither can be maximized in a single session of cardio and lifting



Do cardio am to keep of fat while lifting later inthe day works best for the majority

smart man.knows his shit

 

[Guinness5.0]

LOL - I guess it wouldn't kill me to drink some milk before heading out.

FWIW I've had many more workouts ruined by overeating beforehand than by being hungry during the session; hence the question.

 

[BiggT]

Guinness....I wouldn't even recommend overeating pre-training, and I do recommend overeating, lol......AMs are tough for me, if you can do it and get it done, go for it.....I have used early mornings for cardio before and for LIGHT olympic lifts and some abs and calves etc to "prep" for a heavy second session later in the day.

I wouldn't ever go on an empty stomach.....you'll be asking to crash and have a shitty workout. I don't even think simply protein is adequate......what always worked wonders for me was 2 eggo waffles with peanut butter and a glass of milk. Also, and I may be flamed on a "bodybuilding" board for mentioning this endurance sugary crap, but 2 power bars will provide PLENTY of fuel for a workout.....or a MRP like MetRx or Myoplex.....I'd do 2 packets if I was gonna lift heavy for any length of time though.......but get something in you, treat it like a typical pre workout meal....don't gorge, but dont go trying to lift when you're starving.

 

[Tweakle]

It's a totally personal thing, I had to do it at my last job and it sucked.. I barely had the energy to lift and got injured a lot.

If your CNS is switched on in the am, lucky you. I'd need to wake up 60 mins pre workout, knock back a big MRP shake, a handful of Ephidrine and a double expresso to make it thru alive.

 

[fortunatesun]

Protein bars work great for me, also. Strange because there aren't too many things I can get away with vis-a-vis my diet. It must be the miracle of faith and chocolate.