Going to the Gym first thing in the Morning!

[IUPUI]

I plan on this sucking, but it must be done. (5:30 AM)

Must be at work by 8:00 AM. Then must study after work for GMAT and accounting classes.

Going with 50 grams of protien and 2 scoops of NO-Xplode, and a kick in the balls. Any other tips or suggestions for working out in the morning?

I prefer suggestions by people who actually DO workout in the monring first thing.

So give me some advice/tips with respect to energy, supplemenation/diet and expectations. Any worthwhile advice you can think of.

Thanks.

[ThiZzNation925]

Grats man, thats a big step.

As far as what to do, I would highly recommend looking into Rippetoes Starting Strength, West Side For Skinny Bastards (WS4SB), Bill Stars/Madcows 5x5, or any other begginer/intermediate program (depending where you are)

Also, what are you current goals? Stats?

[Fredrock]

I get to the gym around 6 or so each morning before work also.

If your sleep cycle is in order and you've gotten a good sleep for the few days before, I am not sure the time of day would affect it so much.

I usually sleep for 8 hours, wake up, glass of ice water, eat a few oranges, and a piece of toast. I'd eat if I could I am just never too hungry in the morning.

[IUPUI]

Grats man, thats a big step.

As far as what to do, I would highly recommend looking into Rippetoes Starting Strength, West Side For Skinny Bastards (WS4SB), Bill Stars/Madcows 5x5, or any other begginer/intermediate program (depending where you are)

Also, what are you current goals? Stats?

I am not looking for a workout program or anything like that. I don't mind going into stats but that is not my intent in this thread. I was just looking for advice or tips from long time morning lifters. (I have been working out since I was 13..)

What about eating right before going to the gym. I don't get sick from eating before lifting? any thoughts? I know it will affect my energy supplement tho

[ThiZzNation925]

I am not looking for a workout program or anything like that. I don't mind going into stats but that is not my intent in this thread. I was just looking for advice or tips from long time morning lifters. (I have been working out since I was 13..)

What about eating right before going to the gym. I don't get sick from eating before lifting? any thoughts? I know it will affect my energy supplement tho

Thats my fault, misinterpretation.

Hopefully other users will chime in who hit the gym early.

[dubya M84]

I do get up and hit the gym @ 5am. I've found that the NO-Xplode pre-workout does wonders. I rarely touch any food though. But I do take protein during the workout to prevent burning muscle for energy. Then I do a little moderate intensity cardio afterwards, eat some oatmeal (not the instant kind), some eggs, and start the day. I like to get it out of the way early and my gym is terrible after work!

[IUPUI]

Thats my fault, misinterpretation.

Hopefully other users will chime in who hit the gym early.

No prob, I appreciate the gesture of replying to my thread either way.

[dinger8]

set the coffee pot early and have a few cups and take comr with ya. not just the caffine that helps me its the hot. gets me moving. plus caffine is good for burning fat and blunting pain

[GuyJin]

I've been working out between 5 and 5:30 for the longest time. While it takes some getting used to, a few points you might consider:

1. Get to bed early the night before. No booze, have fun with your girlfriend, but get your eight hours in.

2. Try to have a slow-acting protein drink before bed i.e. an hour before or so. Whey-and-casein mixes usually are best, as they're digested more slowly.

3. When you get up, eating or not is a matter of what works best for you. Personally, I can't keep anything down if I eat about thirty minutes or an hour before I work out, so I do it empty-stomached and have a protein shake afterwards. If you need to have something in your gut, either a small protein shake before or a banana may help--if you can keep it down. Other guys like to drink their shakes during training, but I could never handle that. So, you'll have to figure out what works best for you.

4. Coffee? Again, depends. If you can stomach it, it will get you charged up but see how it goes. Same for any "energy enhancers"--they may get you revved up for the workout, but some of them will leave you crashed out about an hour later or so. Use them wisely if you have to.

5. Sleep soundly. I know I said it before, but you can't underestimate it. You know the old rule about baseball players not having sex before a game? Sex doesn't weaken legs; lack of sleep does. As the great Casey Stengel (manager of the Yankees long ago, in addition to other teams) once said: "It ain't sex that's killing our guys, it's staying up all night looking for it."

Good words to live and work out by.

Hope this helps a little..

[IUPUI]

I've been working out between 5 and 5:30 for the longest time. While it takes some getting used to, a few points you might consider:

1. Get to bed early the night before. No booze, have fun with your girlfriend, but get your eight hours in.

2. Try to have a slow-acting protein drink before bed i.e. an hour before or so. Whey-and-casein mixes usually are best, as they're digested more slowly.

3. When you get up, eating or not is a matter of what works best for you. Personally, I can't keep anything down if I eat about thirty minutes or an hour before I work out, so I do it empty-stomached and have a protein shake afterwards. If you need to have something in your gut, either a small protein shake before or a banana may help--if you can keep it down. Other guys like to drink their shakes during training, but I could never handle that. So, you'll have to figure out what works best for you.

4. Coffee? Again, depends. If you can stomach it, it will get you charged up but see how it goes. Same for any "energy enhancers"--they may get you revved up for the workout, but some of them will leave you crashed out about an hour later or so. Use them wisely if you have to.

5. Sleep soundly. I know I said it before, but you can't underestimate it. You know the old rule about baseball players not having sex before a game? Sex doesn't weaken legs; lack of sleep does. As the great Casey Stengel (manager of the Yankees long ago, in addition to other teams) once said: "It ain't sex that's killing our guys, it's staying up all night looking for it."

Good words to live and work out by.

Hope this helps a little..

Sounds like great advice thanks!

[IUPUI]

Failed this morning. I think taking the NO supplement at 5 pm each day is keeping my mind going into the early morning. Slept like ****. I think I am going to try to start this morning workthing on a fresh week. Not on the second lifting day of the week that was probably a bad decision on my behalf.

Yet so go not sleep last night. So waiting until next monday to begin.

[R_Bid]

loved Guyjin's post, for the most part.

i do have one HUGE quibble, though... i definitely do not believe that hitting the weights on an empty stomach is going to lead to consistently high performance with the weights.

i do my lifting early very, very regularly--and often really early in the morning (i've kicked off more than a few workouts by 4:45am).

these are things i absolutely believe will give you the best possible performance you can have at the gym early in the morning:

1. a multivitamin & slow acting protein before bed. cottage cheese, casein shake, whatever.

2. make sure you get adequate sleep. this is really a big deal over the long run if you want any kind of consistency.

3. wake up with enough time for you to get done with breakfast about an hour and a half before you hit the gym. when you eat, include protein and some good sustained energy foods. i like whole oats and a whey + casein shake, plus a multivitamin and a fish oil cap.

4. when you're done eating, do something that lets you ease into your day and get your brain kick-started. sportscenter and bb.com are great for me anything that helps you shake out any cobwebs and really wake up is great here.

5. about 45 or 30 mins (depending on product & your preference) before your first set, throw down any pre-workout supps you may be using, or put your coffee here if that's your thing.

6. review your training journal, plan your session, etc--spend 10 or so minutes just getting yourself ready to put in work, and know what marks you're trying to beat.

7. go to the gym!



when i got consistent with what i was doing BEFORE i went to the gym, my lifting went nuts. really. i started having long strings of workouts where i consistently beat marks from the previous week, etc... i think i've basically set or matched PRs every single workout for the past 2 months, just because i'm always prepared for what i'm doing when i get to the gym.

if what i outlined there looks like a lot... if you sit back and think about it, it really isn't. it's EASY to do. it's definitely not a grueling thing, and it's definitely worth actually setting yourself up for success when you're in the gym long before the sun comes up, and you're crushing PRs while the people around you are shuffling around like zombies.

[GuyJin]

R Bid,

A very good post. While it makes a lot of sense, I have tried getting up even earlier than I do now, doing the small pre-workout fuel thing, and it just didn't work for me all that well. (Actually, I couldn't keep it down which really cheesed my wife off, not to mention the sounds of heaving it up woke my children, scared the neighbours, etc.). I'm not saying that it can't work for others--you gave out an excellent, detailed plan--but in my case, the extra time lost sleeping vs the eating and upchucking was a trade-off I didn't want to make.

Moreover, in my case, I found that I could--and still can--hit the weights hard and worry about my post-workout shake and such afterwards. For me, it's more of a mental thing than anything else; the lack of food just never bothered me that much, and I'm still making slow but steady progress. Again, I'm stressing what I do for me and me alone; may not be the case for someone else.

Still, you made some excellent points which other early morning risers might want to take note of.

Repped!

[tmac4919]

Failed this morning. I think taking the NO supplement at 5 pm each day is keeping my mind going into the early morning. Slept like ****. I think I am going to try to start this morning workthing on a fresh week. Not on the second lifting day of the week that was probably a bad decision on my behalf.

Yet so go not sleep last night. So waiting until next monday to begin.

I wake up each morning at 4am, and get to the gym by 5am. I have been doing this for about 4 years now, and it has been working out well for me. The most important thing is to maintain a strict sleep pattern. A ****ty nights sleep will ruin your morning workouts. Depending on the length and intensity of your workout, then you want to make sure your carb/protein intake is sufficient. I don't eat too much pre-workout, but will have a quality protein shake with oats.

Another thing I might suggest is keeping a workout journal (unless you are already doing so). Track your good workouts and your bad, and compare them to how you felt that morning and your quality of sleep. A ****ty nights sleep = a ****ty workout.

[brian2a]

Going with 50 grams of protien and 2 scoops of NO-Xplode, and a kick in the balls. Any other tips or suggestions for working out in the morning?

Im not a morning person but I have to do it. I always do 15 min cardio first thing. This gets me awake and going.
If i jump right into the weights then I am just a dead fish.