What should I eat/drink pre workout after waking up in the morning?

[sandy_beach]

I go to the gym first thing in the morning shortly after getting up. Can anyone offer any tips on what I should eat or drink before going so that I am not feeling week or have too low of energy to lift weights?

[poedua]

What time do you wake up ?

What time do you actually do your first exercise in your workout ?

Is it strictly a weight workout or do you do cardio as well ? How long is your workout ?

How intense is your weight workout ?

[sandy_beach]

What time do you wake up ?
What time do you actually do your first exercise in your workout ?
Is it strictly a weight workout or do you do cardio as well ? How long is your workout ?
How intense is your weight workout ?

I wake up at 515 AM and by the time I get to the gym and do my first excercise it is usually 540. I strictly do weights only and the duration of the workout depends on the body part I am doing and energy level. On average it is about 30-40 mins.

I was doing two muscle groups per workout, at that time my trainer advised me that I should work out one muscle group per day. My workout isn't super intense but it isn't at the point where I am not doing enough weight etc...(eg. biceps I lift about 60 at the moment etc...)

I feel as if I don't have enough of the energy that I need so I need to know what to eat or drink before I head to the gym.

I was told that mixing some oatmeal and fruit etc in the magic bullet or a blender woiuld give me the carbs and energy I would need... Is this correct?

[Sibica]

What time do you wake up ?
What time do you actually do your first exercise in your workout ?
Is it strictly a weight workout or do you do cardio as well ? How long is your workout ?
How intense is your weight workout ?

I wake up at 515 AM and by the time I get to the gym and do my first excercise it is usually 540. I strictly do weights only and the duration of the workout depends on the body part I am doing and energy level. On average it is about 30-40 mins.

I was doing two muscle groups per workout, at that time my trainer advised me that I should work out one muscle group per day. My workout isn't super intense but it isn't at the point where I am not doing enough weight etc...(eg. biceps I lift about 60 at the moment etc...)

I feel as if I don't have enough of the energy that I need so I need to know what to eat or drink before I head to the gym.

I was told that mixing some oatmeal and fruit etc in the magic bullet or a blender woiuld give me the carbs and energy I would need... Is this correct?

None of that matters, don't waste your time typing it. I think your tired because you wake up so early.

Drink or eat whatever you like and makes you feel good through the workout. Everyone is different. I wouldn't recommend anything really but water before a serious leg workout though because if you're anything like me, squats have brought me to vomit several times.

[Tijuana]

What time do you wake up ?
What time do you actually do your first exercise in your workout ?
Is it strictly a weight workout or do you do cardio as well ? How long is your workout ?
How intense is your weight workout ?

I wake up at 515 AM and by the time I get to the gym and do my first excercise it is usually 540. I strictly do weights only and the duration of the workout depends on the body part I am doing and energy level. On average it is about 30-40 mins.

I was doing two muscle groups per workout, at that time my trainer advised me that I should work out one muscle group per day. My workout isn't super intense but it isn't at the point where I am not doing enough weight etc...(eg. biceps I lift about 60 at the moment etc...)

I feel as if I don't have enough of the energy that I need so I need to know what to eat or drink before I head to the gym.

I was told that mixing some oatmeal and fruit etc in the magic bullet or a blender woiuld give me the carbs and energy I would need... Is this correct?

Have a good dinner. Have a banana and sure some oatmeal. You aren't leaving a lot of time for your stomach to digest, so really the less the better. Do what Sibica mentioned, try out different things and see what works best with you. Personally, I hate training in the morning without food, I just can't do it.

In before 10,000 word response from poedua

[p1llar]

Have eggs whites and a slice of bread or a protein shake with half a banana and a handful of oats.

[dchabby]

I used to get up at 5:40 am so I could workout before work. First thing I would do is have a premade shake consisting of oatmeal, milk, and a little bit of whey protein.

This worked for me but my first actual set of my workout wasnt until about 6:45 am so I had about an hour to digest it.

Since you only have a half hour I would suggest maybe just a whey protein shake and maybe a little fruit or else wake up a little bit earlier to give yourself a little more time to digest.

[poedua]

I wake up at 515 AM and by the time I get to the gym and do my first excercise it is usually 540. I strictly do weights only and the duration of the workout depends on the body part I am doing and energy level. On average it is about 30-40 mins.

I was doing two muscle groups per workout, at that time my trainer advised me that I should work out one muscle group per day. My workout isn't super intense but it isn't at the point where I am not doing enough weight etc...(eg. biceps I lift about 60 at the moment etc...)

I feel as if I don't have enough of the energy that I need so I need to know what to eat or drink before I head to the gym.

I was told that mixing some oatmeal and fruit etc in the magic bullet or a blender woiuld give me the carbs and energy I would need... Is this correct?

For the majority of recreational gym rats, the main purpose of having something to eat before training in the morning is less to serve as a source of primary fuel for training as it is to simply help keep your blood sugars in check. In other words, the main purpose of a morning pre-workout snack is simply to ensure you keep your blood sugar levels stable as you train - cause you may feel fatigued when your blood sugar levels drop too much.

Most of the energy you get for weight training comes from glycogen stored in your muscles. And the glycogen is created from some of the carbs you ate either much earlier in the day ( i.e if you train later(er) in the day ) or - more likely...and more relevant to morning training - from all the carbs you've been eating the night / day before and or days prior to training.

So, one option is to simply to find foods / snacks that take a bit longer to digest, and as a result, slowly bump / maintain your blood sugar. So, if possible, you want to eat something that has some protein and some slower digesting carbs. Things like oranges, bananas ( not over ripe ) apples, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, peanut butter on a whole grain bagel or slice of bread, oatmeal /cereal/ energy bars etc. etc. etc. are good slower digesting options worth considering. So, your suggestion of oatmeal and fruit would be just fine IMO.

I used to train in the morning for quite a few years ( i.e up at or before 5:00 a.m. ) and would just go with something like small(er) servings of unsweetened OJ and or oatmeal, banana, whole grain bread or bagel with peanut butter, yogurt, cheese etc. etc. The different variety of foods and the portion sizes would vary depending on how long I had before eating and training and whether I was doing cardio or not - in which case I would lean toward eating a bit less relatively speaking to minimize stomach upset. But that's just me.

That said, I've also done some morning workouts having nothing but water before hand with no noticeable change in performance. So, I'd just use some trial and error in trying out some different pre-training nutrition options to see what works best for you.

[Garest]

it really depends on you man. everyones different, u need to try different things.
some people do great having a nice traditional breakfast. i remember years ago i tried that and nearly threw up skipping.

usually before i go workout or train muay thai i'll have the same thing no matter what time it is. PB+J and a small black coffee.

[glover78]

Have a good dinner. Have a banana and sure some oatmeal. You aren't leaving a lot of time for your stomach to digest, so really the less the better. Do what Sibica mentioned, try out different things and see what works best with you. Personally, I hate training in the morning without food, I just can't do it.

In before 10,000 word response from poedua

lol

the only morning training I do is cardio kickboxing. It's not until 11:45am so I can eat heavy before hand and still have enough digestion time before training.

But my usual weight training is usually late evening/night since I like to consume at least 3 meals before my workout.

[Therion]

My early morning workouts call for the following:

1 mug of ultra-strong coffee to start. Then:

1 scoop of whey
1 glass of juice
3-4 tablespoons raw oatmeal
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Blend it all together, chug it down. Go have a workout.

[poedua]

My early morning workouts call for the following:

1 mug of ultra-strong coffee to start. Then:

1 scoop of whey
1 glass of juice
3-4 tablespoons raw oatmeal
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Blend it all together, chug it down. Go have a workout.

+1

Forgot about coffee

Religiously used to have an XL black coffee from Tim's en route to those 6:00 a.m. hockey practices......or 2 XL's ( one near home ...one near the rink ) if I'd been drinking rather heavily the night before.