what do i have for breakfast before i hit the gym

[laracroft1970]

hi all, i wonder if you could advise me, on what to have for breakfast before i go to the gym , i get up at 7am, get kids sorted , and go to the gym for 9.30am, im a stone over weight . i read that u need to eat little or nothing before doing exercise on a morning or , best done on empty tum, but surley going from, 7am till afternoon is wronge as i dont come out the gym till say 12pm, as i go for a swim and steam room after workout ???????????????????????????????? sorry for going on , carnt seem to ever just get straight to the point , any replys will be greatly appricated .coleen

[MaCD77]

hi all, i wonder if you could advise me, on what to have for breakfast before i go to the gym

You could eat: oats, whole eggs, egg whites, small piece fruit. Check out the nutrition section.

go to the gym for 9.30am, i dont come out the gym till say 12pm.

Why you in the gym so long? Remember DIET is the key for losing weight, if you dont got a clean good diet then you are waisting all them hours in gym.

i read that u need to eat little or nothing before doing exercise on a morning best done on empty tum,

This has been debated over and over, personally it's up to you if you want to do cardio first thing in the morning with an empty stomach or little food. I have tried it before for one week. I still got the same great results when i didnt do it with an empty stomach the next week.

as i go for a swim and steam room after workout ????????????????????????????????sorry for going on , carnt seem to ever just get straight to the point , any replys will be greatly appricated .coleen

Swimming is good, its a good workout. But the steam room thats a waist of time because all you are loosing is water weight! Also if you dont want to lose your muscles make sure you lift Weights, have a clean diet, dont ovetrain. dont do cardio for more than 45 min (low intensity)on the days you lift. Good luck.

[bravo03_old]

bowl of oatmeal or bagel. glass of oj if your lazy.

[laracroft1970]

hi all and thanx for your replys and so quick too, well, i got pretty cut a while ago, but in nov just gone, i had to have a hysterectomy, so had to take time out , coz of this im now 9st instead of 8st, as im only pettite at 5ft2" and a small build. so now getting back into it ,
on a morning as i said , i get the kids sorted and off to school, then its my time , i go the gym everyday , i go everday as it just sets me up for the day,

i do 20 min cardio i will do mon chest/legs

20 min cardio tue :back/shoulders

20 min cardio wed: bis/tri

20 min cardio thu: chest/legs

20 min cardio fri : bis/tri

so really im not in there that long , 20 min cardio , then say 40 min weights .
then i go get changed, i do 20 lenghs in pool , then go sit in spa, for say 10 mins, then steam room , for say 10 mins, then you add onto that the flipping gym chatters, who do your head in lol ,
now what im thinking is it is quite a long time to go with out food isnt it, so do you think i should have a protine shake b4 i go for my swim, ???????
and so you think its ok to have oats, and so on before i go to the gym then ?????

again thanx all for replys i do appriciate this as i am a newbie , here , sorry if ive gone on and on as i do , and not confused you all too much.


oh and on a happier note , my goodness, its true muscle has a memorie, as already my triceps are looking pretty fantastic, and will look so much better once the layer of fat has gone from them.


i just love this site its so great , and so good to have somewhere for advise

happy training to ya ll .

[boyscouT]

i do 20 min cardio i will do mon chest/legs

20 min cardio tue :back/shoulders

20 min cardio wed: bis/tri

20 min cardio thu: chest/legs

20 min cardio fri : bis/tri

so really im not in there that long , 20 min cardio , then say 40 min weights .
then i go get changed, i do 20 lenghs in pool , then go sit in spa, for say 10 mins, then steam room , for say 10 mins, then you add onto that the flipping gym chatters, who do your head in lol ,
now what im thinking is it is quite a long time to go with out food isnt it, so do you think i should have a protine shake b4 i go for my swim, ???????
and so you think its ok to have oats, and so on before i go to the gym then ?????

That is entirely way too much cardio, and it appears this will lead to overtraining.

First, decide which days will be your cardio days, and which days will be your weight days. If you feel you need to do an all-out cardio and weight training program in the same day, I suggest keeping them 8 hours apart.

Second, with all weight training days, only a 5-10 minute warmup at low-moderate intensity to get your heart rate up and blood flowing is necessary. Any more than that will compromise your weight lifting workout.

Third, is there a reason you workout your arms more than your other body parts? Do they recover faster? Do they require more stimulation to grow? You've worked out before, so I trust you know your own body. Just remember that muscles grow out of the gym, not in.

Fourth, you are spending quite a bit of time in the gym at once. A protein shake PWO after weights is essential, however swimming right after will probably give you an upset stomach and affect your cardio for the worst. As I said before, keep your full on cardio 8 hours apart from your weight lifting workout.

I have go to my next class, so i'll fill the rest in later.

[qw3r]

for breakfast i have 3/4 cup of oats + a cup of fat free milk + a scoop of whey protein stirred after its cooked is my meal of choice. coincidently, its also my meal of choice pre workout as well. very convienent.

personally, my workout plan is an hour a day with one day a week dedicated to chest/back/shoulder/arms+abs/legs in that order with two rest days thrown in how you see fit. i see that as the best way for me to split up the load while still being able to give my all each day. i think it would be great for you too, but then again, i dont do cardio and would agree with boyscout that you seem to be overtraining.

[laracroft1970]

hi all thanks for your comments , but surley 20 mins cardio isnt too much??????????? and dont forget, im only doing, on one day chest/legs other day back and shoulders then another day, bis/tris and so on , so its only 2 bod parts a day, with abs thrown in 3 times a week, do you think i should cut the swimming out ??????? thanks again i do find all your comments very helpfull coleen x

[smackdaddyD]

I don't buy into the 'overtraining by doing cardio 5+ times a week' theory.

Maybe for certain people in certain situations, but not for overweight people trying to get in shape. If you're lifting well, you're not going to lose muscle. If you are losing strength, you need to eat more/better, not do less cardio.

[DenverDynamo]

I don't buy into the 'overtraining by doing cardio 5+ times a week' theory.

Maybe for certain people in certain situations, but not for overweight people trying to get in shape. If you're lifting well, you're not going to lose muscle. If you are losing strength, you need to eat more/better, not do less cardio.

I agree. It's way harder to overdo the cardio than many think unless your paranoid about losing even an ounce of muscle. Your workout seems very streched out, but I still wouldn't eat in the middle of it. If possible, get some good carbs (like oats) in there about an hour ahead of time, along with some whey. Then sip on BCAAs with a wee bit of malto/dextro durring your workout. This should give you the juice you need to keep your strength and energy up while still melting off flab. Remeber, with weights and cardio its not just about quantity/time, its about INTENSITY!

[laracroft1970]

hi thanks again, in morning at 8am, i have oats, / 3 egg whites i yolk omlett with spinach or if not the omlett, i will have natural plain yogart mixed with cottage cheese, or a whey if pushed for time, and say an apple or other piece of fruit, then i hit the gym, i find i have more than plenty strenth to keep me going while working out , its only really when i start swimming that i start to feel the hunger .

again thanks for all ur advise, the bit about the drink during workout i will give a go thanks coleen