Morning Supplements

[Adventurer]

I get up at 4:40am to workout before going to the office. How best should I fuel my body? Should I eat first? Take creatine? Protein? What is the best formula for early morning workouts?

I am in a lifting phase and trying to increase lean muscle while loosing %body fat.

[alopez17]

I go to the gym at 5:00 a.m. so I'm in the same boat as you. I used to always drink some whey, but since I've been using some sort of pre-workout mix, I've started drinking either Xtend or PW and slam down 1/3 cup of oats. I also have another scoop of PW during my workout.

[AConrad00]

i pop 2 velocity xt in the mornings to wake me up, and have recently been using 3 adrenalean in the AM before work

[Dedicated37]

Originally Posted by alopez17

I go to the gym at 5:00 a.m. so I'm in the same boat as you. I used to always drink some whey, but since I've been using some sort of pre-workout mix, I've started drinking either Xtend or PW and slam down 1/3 cup of oats. I also have another scoop of PW during my workout.

What do you find to be better, Purple Wraath or Xtend?

[mjhtan]

You will get tons of different responses to that last question. Best just to try both.

With that being said, Purple Wraath seemed to work better for me, but thats just my personal opinion.

Honestly, this debate will go on until the end, sort of like the "Which is the best Whey protein" debate.

As to your first question, oatmeal really gives me the energy to finish my workouts in the morning. Only problem is having to wake up a little earlier to eat it and give yourself enough time to rest before the gym. If I go too soon after eating, I get stomach cramps.

Good luck!

[drooks10]

I wake up, take my pre-workout supplement (currently Universal Shock Therapy), and head to the gym. While I work out I sip on a BCAA/EAA product (currently using Purple Wraath, but love Xtend and Core ABC), and then as soon as my workout is over, I down a shake with 40 g of protein and 50 g of carbs (oats). You can get a good post-workout shake like Universal Torrent or Controlled Labs' Golden Finish (loved them both), but I'm just making my own right now. Then 1 hour later have another 40 g of protein and another 50 g of some type of carbs.
Best of luck to you!

[Adventurer]

So far I am getting up, taking two LIPO 6X, creatine with OJ, and head to the gym. Post workout is an immediate whey protein shake, oatmeal, and 1/2 cup egg whites. I feel like I am missing something pre-workout.

[dvsness]

You may not make the progress you are desiring lifting on an empty stomach and try to add muscle while using a stimulant fat burner.

[chicharrra]

Originally Posted by Adventurer

I get up at 4:40am to workout before going to the office. How best should I fuel my body? Should I eat first? Take creatine? Protein? What is the best formula for early morning workouts?

I am in a lifting phase and trying to increase lean muscle while loosing %body fat.

I work out early as well, and i think the best, easiest, quickest way to get what you need is to take a pre-workout drink. and bring a protein bar with you to the gym, along with a water bottle filled with your creatine. for pre-workout I would take Cytosports preformance. it mixes with like 8 oz of water so you can slam it in one gulp and then you can fill up the water bottle with your creatine. the Cytosport is fairly high in calories so it sort of works as a meal, take a protein bar to get the rest of the calories you need.

[mjhtan]

Originally Posted by dvsness

You may not make the progress you are desiring lifting on an empty stomach and try to add muscle while using a stimulant fat burner.

I would agree. A BCAA drink would be a good addition, but I find eating before hand gives me more energy and I can push up more weight. I feel the increased intensity I get at the gym burns off the extra food that I ate pre workout.

[alopez17]

Originally Posted by Dedicated37

What do you find to be better, Purple Wraath or Xtend?

I prefer Xtend before and PW during. If had to choose just one, I would use two scoops of PW and begin drinking before I go to the gym.

[alopez17]

Originally Posted by Adventurer

I feel like I am missing something pre-workout.

I would defintely get some kind of BCAA or EAA mix to drink before if your not going to eat anything before you hit the gym. You can even buy bulk and add it to your OJ and creatine.

[dvsness]

Originally Posted by mjhtan

I would agree. A BCAA drink would be a good addition, but I find eating before hand gives me more energy and I can push up more weight. I feel the increased intensity I get at the gym burns off the extra food that I ate pre workout.

After fasting for ~8 hours, training with no nutrients in your system is a catabolic exercise. I learned this from experience - I can't train too close to eating or I get nausea, so I used to lift fasted upon waking. These days I train later in the day and my results are drastically different. The only thing I will ever do fasted again is low intensity cardio, and even then I take aminos (Humino MAAX) first for preserving mass.

[dexterium]

You should definitely eat before your workout but also have an hour in between eating and working out to allow your food to digest. I would go with 1 cup of oatmeal and 1.5 scoop of whey protein. Pre-workout I would take creatine monohydrate with 500 mL of water. If you want something that will give you insane energy and endurance and help you to increase muscle while losing body fat then add Anabolic Pump. Just take it 15 minutes before your morning meal (and other high carbohydrate meals) and you will be happy with the results.

[T-Rem-Endous]

Originally Posted by Adventurer

So far I am getting up, taking two LIPO 6X, creatine with OJ, and head to the gym. Post workout is an immediate whey protein shake, oatmeal, and 1/2 cup egg whites. I feel like I am missing something pre-workout.

yeah thats a good start to the day!

And ur post is awesome!

[HealthNWellness]

I think too much focus has been put on this one phase of your day. It is important, however, to achieve your overall goal of increasing muscle while losing body fat you need to focus on all your meals.

Not to sound repetitive, but I have to agree with everyone who recommended eating a real meal at least an hour before hitting the gym.

If this is not practical for you, then my suggestion (based off my personal experience) would be to take a BCAA/Creatine drink both before and during your workout. You can also add some form of quick-carbohydrate such as Waxy Maize so you don?t run out of steam after your first few sets

I'd include 15-30 minutes of cardio afterwards, followed by a real breakfast or an MRP

Train Hard, eat clean and with moderation and you'll get there