It seems that most people here do their workouts in the morning, so my question is do you eat first and then workout? I have a hard time starting the day if I haven't had anything to eat, so just curious.

If I had the time to work out early in the morning, I'd eat first and then work out shortly after it.

you should exercise first. First thing in the morning your body is in a fat burning state (assuming no snacks late at night). Exercising before you eat uses the fat stores, then you should have a healthy breakfast.

davey

I get up at 6am, go to the gym, then get back and eat breakfast. Breakfast always has 1c of orange juice and 2 cups of coffee. On cardio days, I eat Kashi Good Friends cereal (with skim milk) and a banana. On weight days, I have one sausage patty (only one cuz of the high fat, but I like the taste!) and one egg beater (2 eggs). I also have my whey-protein supplement that I take following breakfast.

All this is making me hungry!! :drool:

-CP

If I am lifting in the morning, I eat a light breakfast with some decent protein and then take a protein shake after.

If I am doing cardio in the morning, I don't eat anything until about 1 hour after the cardio.

That's based on what I've read is recommended to do.

um yeah.. if you wake up in the morning without eating and "lift weights".. tell me where exactly is your energy comming from

doing light cardio in the morning on an empty stomach..

but never HIIT or weight training is a good idea on an empty stomach

um yeah.. if you wake up in the morning without eating and "lift weights".. tell me where exactly is your energy comming from

doing light cardio in the morning on an empty stomach..

but never HIIT or weight training is a good idea on an empty stomach

I agree with Jono here. I don't think that lifting weights first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is the wisest thing to do at all. I would definately take down at least a protein shake and some oatmeal before doing that.

I can't really speak for cardio because I'm not an AM cardio guy, but if I ever did HIIT on an empty stomach first thing in the morning I think I would die. :p I'd probably have at least a protein shake before that as well.

um yeah.. if you wake up in the morning without eating and "lift weights".. tell me where exactly is your energy comming from

doing light cardio in the morning on an empty stomach..

but never HIIT or weight training is a good idea on an empty stomach


Agreed (although I personally don't do any cardio in a fasted state any more).

Prior to my morning workout (which is lifting), I eat 1/2 cup of oatmeal with 1/2tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The complex carbs and the EFA's provide the body with some solid "fuel," particularly when coming off a fasted state and going into a period where I will be expending many calories.

An hour later I have my pre-workout protein shake (23g whey, 20g dextrose, 5g glutamine). The simple sugar (dextrose) helps to transport the protein through the blood stream and to my muscles rather quickly in preparation for the forthcoming heavy training (relatively speaking).

15 minutes after my shake, I lift.

I saw this TV-program about bodybuilders, and the persons there all started with simply a fast walk for an hour or so before breakfast to burn fat. It seems like a good idea, but I'm pretty new to this, what do you guys think? I'm kinda starting out like john did, although not quite that bad, but anyway, my first priority is to remove about 15+kilos of fat, and hopefully gain som muscle, and I'm not sure what's the best way to start out, so tips are welcome! I've read about the max-OT program, and it seems great, but I think maybe I need to do a few weeks with lighter weights until the muscles attach properly..

my two cents is:

if you are solely intersted in losing weight only, then go ahead and do cardio on an empty stomach.

if you want to preserve or gain muscle mass, dont do cardio on an empty stomach. i have heard that you could burn quite a bit of muscle by not eating and doing cardio.

if you want to preserve muscle mass, i have heard that you should either do your cardio on off days, early in the morning (after eating) if you wieght train in the afternoon, or right after your workout.

most of my ideas related to this subject come from flex magazine, i think it is a pretty reputable source.