eating before workouts

[urso8up]

About how far in advance should you eat before you head to the gym? also for the morning workouts should you eat before or after your workout

[Starr]

Depends on whether you are prepping for a comp, cutting, bulking, or maintaining...

[Skywalker]

Originally posted by Starr
Depends on whether you are prepping for a comp, cutting, bulking, or maintaining...

i feel i need to eat before a workout no matter what im doing (cutting bulking matining) or else i haev no energy to complete the workout. the type of food you eat depends.

as a rough guideline i would say eat solid food about an hour before, or a shake 30-45min before

i know guys doing legs like to eat LONG before so they can fully digest

[Skywalker]

sorry just saw the 2nd part of your question:

for morning workouts eat both before and after, unless you are doing cardio...try doing that on an empty stomach

[Faye]

I like to eat 1 to 1 1/2 hours before a weight workout if I'm eating whole food. Shakes 45 minutes. Just morning cardio - just water before. And you should always eat after a workout.

[urso8up]

Thanks everyone for your imput.
I train for me I don't do any compitions So i am really just trying o gain size and shape right now ...Not big enough to compete just yet. I am going to do the shake thing in the morning i figure i wake up make my shake and get ready to go it should be a good hour beofre i work out.

Thanks again everyone

[playthegame]

Originally posted by iamcdn
unless you are doing cardio...try doing that on an empty stomach

I disagree with this but to each his own!

[urso8up]

Originally posted by playthegame
I disagree with this but to each his own!

Well lets hear why you disagree

[bigpetefox]

I don't do cardio, so that's out the window..

I do eat whole food about an hour and 1/2 before I hit the gym, have a shake after I lift(46g protein, 50g carbs, 10g creatine), then I eat no more than 5 minutes of walking in the door..

[THE BOUNCER]

I usually have to light meals before i hit the gym around 1 pm. i eat about 45 min before working out.

[JUICE]

i eat an hour before hitting the weights

[Atherjen]

If its a light meal about an hour before or so.. if its a shake, 30 minutes.

[prolangtum]

I eat a solid meal about 1.5-2 hours prior, then 15 minutes prior I start drinking my during workout shake, finish half on the way to the gym, and half during the workout. A preworkout shake has shown to be better in some cases than PWO shake. But, i do both, pre/during/ and post.

[BIKER_GIXXER]

I've always understood that you want to wait at least an hour before you workout, so your food can fully digest. I've made the mistake of eating 30-45 mintues prior to a workout and I was 'weak' the whole time. From what I understand, I was weak because my body was still using some of it's energy to digest the food, so I wasn't at 100% energy level.

[KiltedHasher]

I try to time things to keep the schedule of eating a substantial meal every three hours, or something lighter more frequently. This translates to my eating a "real meal" about 1.5 hours before my workout, or having a shake or a bar 45-60 minutes before.

I also tend to follow "Dr. Squat" Hatfield's recommendation about eating for what you'll be doing for the next 3 hours. But then, I've rarely had a problem with a large carb/protein meal making me feel sluggish.

I should probably also clarify that my definition of a pre-workout meal is something like egg whites or chicken, oatmeal, fruit, and water or green tea. I wouldn't try this on pot roast and potatoes

[Cory]

Originally posted by urso8up
Well lets hear why you disagree

I also disagree, because studies prove that cardio has negligiable impact on fat loss. It is merely an activity that enhances cardio-vascular health and stamina. Caloric intake is the determining factor in losing body fat. So why restict calories before doing an activity that is not going to help with fat loss. You may wind up hindering your lean gains. I don't do separate cardio work from my weight training, because I train very intense and with short rest periods between sets. I definately get that heart pumping more than enough.

[Cory]

I time my workout to fall an hour short of one of my feedings which occurs every three hours. So, my last solid meal is about 2 hours prior to my workout and then I train no more than an hour and immediately have my next feeding which is usually a big dose of protein and carbs in a shake form. Then I follow that with another solid meal about 2 hours later.

[Cory]

Originally posted by urso8up
Thanks everyone for your imput.
I train for me I don't do any compitions So i am really just trying o gain size and shape right now ...Not big enough to compete just yet. I am going to do the shake thing in the morning i figure i wake up make my shake and get ready to go it should be a good hour beofre i work out.

Thanks again everyone

I recommend that you throw in a serving of oatmeal with this shake if you are looking to make gains. You are just coming out of a 6-8 hour fast while sleeping and you are depleted. You need some good carbs along with that protein so you don't risk catabolizing muscle tissue from a lack of calories going into the gym to do an intense workout. A shake alone will be sucked up like a sponge after not eating all night. You need more, brotha!!

[JUICE]

hey guys is it bad if i just wait 45min after eating thenworkout

[bigpetefox]

45min - 1hr isn't bad at all..

[urso8up]

Originally posted by Cory
I recommend that you throw in a serving of oatmeal with this shake if you are looking to make gains. You are just coming out of a 6-8 hour fast while sleeping and you are depleted. You need some good carbs along with that protein so you don't risk catabolizing muscle tissue from a lack of calories going into the gym to do an intense workout. A shake alone will be sucked up like a sponge after not eating all night. You need more, brotha!!

oatmeal....I will try that

[playthegame]

Originally posted by urso8up
Well lets hear why you disagree

Well especially if you are natural, you become very catabolic in the morning, due to the 6-10 hour fast overnight. You need some type of carbs and protein before a cardio session in the morning.

The point is to put yourself into a calorie deficit, which is done by the calories you burn during cardio.

Maybe try HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) cardio for a couple weeks. This raises your BMR all day and helps you to burn more calories throughout the day.

[Cory]

Originally posted by playthegame
Well especially if you are natural, you become very catabolic in the morning, due to the 6-10 hour fast overnight. You need some type of carbs and protein before a cardio session in the morning.

The point is to put yourself into a calorie deficit, which is done by the calories you burn during cardio.

Maybe try HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) cardio for a couple weeks. This raises your BMR all day and helps you to burn more calories throughout the day.

I still would not rely on cardio as a major means to cut BF. It has been proven that it takes 10 hours of non-stop steady static cardio work to burn just one pound of fat. That means that if you did a half an hour cardio session 5 days a week, it would take 2 weeks to burn one pound of fat, given that you did'nt take in any calories. It is worthless for burning alot of fat quick. Reducing your caloric intake to 300-500 calories below maintainence is the single best way to burn fat. Train hard and keep that strength up so you don't risk losing too much muscle while cutting.

[bigpetefox]

Originally posted by playthegame
Well especially if you are natural, you become very catabolic in the morning, due to the 6-10 hour fast overnight. You need some type of carbs and protein before a cardio session in the morning.

I believe the catabolic in the morning thing relates to anyone who trains as a bodybuilder, not just a natural athlete..

[Cory]

Originally posted by bigpetefox
I believe the catabolic in the morning thing relates to anyone who trains as a bodybuilder, not just a natural athlete..

Actually it depends on individual genetics as far as metabolism and so forth. Someone that finds it very difficult to put on weight may want to eat more calories before a morning workout session as opposed to someone that has a very slow metabolism and can't lose weight. Regardless, of what kind of athelete you are.

[bigpetefox]

Originally posted by Cory
Actually it depends on individual genetics as far as metabolism and so forth. Someone that finds it very difficult to put on weight may want to eat more calories before a morning workout session as opposed to someone that has a very slow metabolism and can't lose weight. Regardless, of what kind of athelete you are.

True, but I was saying in general.. I think it was the comment on being a natural athlete that got me..