What Should I Eat Before My Work Out?

QUESTION:
I'm an early riser and I work out at 4:30 am. I prefer to get everything
done and out of the way in the morning. My workout usually consists of 45
minutes of weight training and then 30 minutes of cardio work. What if
anything should I eat before I get to the weight room to help maximize my
fat burning?

Also, I've heard different things about when is the best time of day to
train. What are your thoughts on workout timing? I do my weights andcardio together but have been getting confused because some experts say
you should split it up.

Do you recommend that cardio and weights be done separately or together
and which should come first? For example: (1) wake up, eat, cardio, lift,
or (2) wake up, cardio, eat, lift later in day?

ANSWER:
There's probably some truth to the idea that each individual has a certainnatural biorhythm which dictates their personal best time to train
(morning people vs. night people, etc).

I've also seen some research literature which cited hormonal ebbs and
tides as evidence for one "perfect time of day" for everyone to liftweights, but since there is so much variation from person to person, I'm
cautious about making generalizations.

For example, I experimented one season with very early morning training.
I gave it a fair trial for three months straight without missing. I got up
at 5:00 am to eat meal one, then hit the weights at 5:30 am.

But I found that my workouts suffered greatly from this schedule. I was
not mentally or physically primed to train at that early hour. I prefer totrain late in the morning after I've been awake several hours and I have
a couple of meals in me.

If you've discovered a certain time that "feels" good to you and suits
your lifestyle, go with it. I don't believe there is a single best time of
day to train.

I've seen many people get results while training at just about any time of
the day or night. I even know a few people who train at midnight or in the
wee hours of the morning at a 24 hour health club or home gym.

As for eating prior to workouts, if you are only doing cardio early in the
morning, then it's okay to do the cardio without eating anything
beforehand. Although controversial, many fitness experts believe that it's
even more effective for fat loss to do cardio in a fasted state. However,
the same is not true for strength training.

Most people will compromise their workout performance too much by weight
training on empty. Instead, I suggest you eat before weight training inthe morning and especially if you are doing weights and cardio together in
one long workout.

If you are the type of person who has trouble training too soon after a
full meal because the food sits "heavily" in your stomach, or makes you
feel nauseous, then at least have a light meal or a meal replacement drink
that's not too filling. Then be sure to take one of your largest meals of
the day immediately after training.

Judging by the number of times I've heard questions about workout timing,
a lot of people are concerned about doing it "wrong." Well, the only wayyou can really get it "wrong" is by doing nothing, but you can definitely
fine tune your workout timing approach based on your objectives.

If training in the early morning works well for you, then I'd suggest you
continue. If you're not getting the results you want, you might consider
experimenting with a different training time.

The ideal training time will depend on:

(1) your goals/primary objective ( fat loss versus gaining mass)

(2) practical considerations like job, family and time available

(3) whether you're doing cardio only or cardio + weights the same day.

When considering workout timing issues, a good rule of thumb to follow is:

"Never compromise your primary objective."

When fat loss is the primary objective, and it's just a cardio day, then
doing your cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach has many
benefits for increasing fat loss, not to mention it's a great way to start
the day, physically as well as psychologically. Eat your first meal
immediately afterwards.

If you're on a fat loss program and you're doing weights and cardio thesame day, you have options:

One, do your cardio early in the A.M. on an empty stomach, then eat meal
one immediately afterwards. Hit your weights in a separate session later
in the day - late morning, afternoon or evening.

Two, since working out twice a day isn't practical for everyone, a second
option is to eat your first meal, give it just enough time to startdigesting, then hit the weights first and your cardio second, followed
immediately by your second meal.

On a muscle growth program, things are different. I don't recommendmorning cardio in a fasted state on muscle mass building programs.

In fact, I recommend keeping the cardio to a minimum on muscle gaining
programs: 3 days per week for 20-30 minutes is usually plenty. Ectomorphs(skinny, small jointed, slow-gaining body types) might do even less cardio
and extreme ectomorphs may do none at all.

On the muscle mass program, split up your cardio and weights if that's
practical and space them out a good eight hours or so (lift in morning,cardio at night, or vice versa). Eat plentifully after each workout
session.

If two separate sessions - one cardio and one weights - doesn't fit your
schedule, no worries, just do your cardio workout immediately after your
weight training in the same session.

If you're doing cardio & weights in the same session, and your prime
objective is bodybuilding, then always hit the weights first and cardio
last because you will have the most strength and energy for whatever you
do when you are fresh at the beginning of the workout. Put the most energy
into your primary objective.

One final suggestion is to get yourself on a regular schedule rather thanto train at random times that vary from day to day.

People who have a designated workout time every day, regardless of whether
it's 4:30 in the morning, 12:00 noon or 10:00 pm in the evening, tend tobe the most consistent in the long run and many become fiercely religious
about their "sacred workout hour."

The big advantage of getting onto this kind of regular schedule is that it
will begin to become a habit. Eventually, your "training time" can becomeas deeply ingrained into your daily habit patterns as taking a shower
every morning and brushing your teeth before bed every night.

That's the point where your workouts no longer require willpower and they
become more difficult NOT to do than to do... and that is a great place to
arrive at.