Early A.M. Pre workout meal?

[Mario L]

I get to the gym at 5:30 am.I have a protein shake when I wake up. I feel ok for the most part durning and after my workout. But I have noticed if I wake in the middle of the night and have a carb source I feel a bit more energetic. Do I have to wake up early to give the get the pre Wo carb time to work? What do you all you early birds do?

[boxa06]

I get to the gym at 5:30 am.I have a protein shake when I wake up. I feel ok for the most part durning and after my workout. But I have noticed if I wake in the middle of the night and have a carb source I feel a bit more energetic. Do I have to wake up early to give the get the pre Wo carb time to work? What do you all you early birds do?

Throw oats in your protein shake when you wake up for a carb source.

[Dpyle]

Days that I hit it in the am I have a shake of 2 scoops whey, 1 scoop casein, and 1 1/2 cups oats, and 2 tablespoons instant coffee about an hour before I hit the gym. Gets me going and keeps me going throughout my workout.

[Mario L]

So either way I have to get the carb in 1 hour before workout. Thanks.

[boxa06]

So either way I have to get the carb in 1 hour before workout. Thanks.

I would say so.

For me the 3 most important times of the day to have carbs are.. First thing in the morning, before training and post workout. So if you train in the morning I would say it's twice as important to have carbs.

[gbrice75]

I start my workout at 6am, so i'm in nearly the same boat as you. I wake up around 4:40am and start breakfast right away. I have 3 different go to meals I stick with:

Meal 1:
1 scoop protein powder
3/4 cup liquid egg whites
3/4 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
4 packets of splenda or stevia
1/2 cup 1% milkfat cottage cheese
1/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt
1/2 tbsp instant coffee
1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup oats
1 cup crushed ice
1 tbsp natty PB

All blended into a thick frothy shake.

Meal 2:
1 cup nonfat greek yogurt
1 whole egg, 1/2 cup whites
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup blueberries

Meal 3:
1/2 cup 1% milkfat cottage cheese
1/2 cup liquid egg whites
1/2 cup oats
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/2 cup blueberries
salt, baking powder, stevia, cinnamon

Made into a large pancake, drizzled with sugar free syrup.

I try to eat as early as possible to allow time for digestion and maximum benefit. Ideally, I would eat 1.5 hours before working out, but it usually doesn't happen for me and I realistically get about an hour. You workout even earlier than I do, so it all depends on how early you're willing to wake up and dedicate time to prep and eat.

Good luck, hope this helps!

[digsy1983]

I start my workout at 6am, so i'm in nearly the same boat as you. I wake up around 4:40am and start breakfast right away. I have 3 different go to meals I stick with:

Meal 1:
1 scoop protein powder
3/4 cup liquid egg whites
3/4 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
4 packets of splenda or stevia
1/2 cup 1% milkfat cottage cheese
1/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt
1/2 tbsp instant coffee
1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup oats
1 cup crushed ice
1 tbsp natty PB

All blended into a thick frothy shake.

Meal 2:
1 cup nonfat greek yogurt
1 whole egg, 1/2 cup whites
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup blueberries

Meal 3:
1/2 cup 1% milkfat cottage cheese
1/2 cup liquid egg whites
1/2 cup oats
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/2 cup blueberries
salt, baking powder, stevia, cinnamon

Made into a large pancake, drizzled with sugar free syrup.

I try to eat as early as possible to allow time for digestion and maximum benefit. Ideally, I would eat 1.5 hours before working out, but it usually doesn't happen for me and I realistically get about an hour. You workout even earlier than I do, so it all depends on how early you're willing to wake up and dedicate time to prep and eat.

Good luck, hope this helps!

Meal 1 is epic! Theres more ingredients in it than I have in my weekly diet plan! I might have to sample this one day, but I'll have to fast for about 5 hours to make room for it!!

[gbrice75]

Meal 1 is epic! Theres more ingredients in it than I have in my weekly diet plan! I might have to sample this one day, but I'll have to fast for about 5 hours to make room for it!!

Lmao! It's one of my favorite meals! I've been using 50% ON casein and 50% ON pro complex, but whatever protein powder floats your boat will do.

[digsy1983]

do you know the macros of the shake?

i dont really alter my shakes, at most i add oats. think its time i experimented about with them. love the idea of mixing coffee into a shake!!

[gbrice75]

do you know the macros of the shake?

i dont really alter my shakes, at most i add oats. think its time i experimented about with them. love the idea of mixing coffee into a shake!!

Roughly: 75g protein, 45g carbs, 15g fat - 615 calories. It's a monster. Obviously you can make some easy changes to adjust macros. To make it low fat, i'd omit the PB - that's a no brainer and will reduce fat by 8g. You can also decrease protein by either omitting the egg whites and bumping the almond milk, or leaving the protein powder out all together (preferred over the former).

As for the coffee, I can't take credit for that - got the idea from Nark, and damn am I glad I did!!

[digsy1983]

perfect man, cheers!! bet if the carbs were upped to 80-100g this would beat any 'MASS GAIN' shake hands down. (prob 1/4 of the price aswel)

[gbrice75]

perfect man, cheers!! bet if the carbs were upped to 80-100g this would beat any 'MASS GAIN' shake hands down. (prob 1/4 of the price aswel)

No doubt. You could easily blend in another 1/2 cup oats which will bump carbs by another 25g or so. I used to eat this shake along with a bowl of oats, blueberries, and 2 whole eggs. I also went from 9% BF to my current ~16%, so listen to me at your own risk, lmao!

[digsy1983]

haha! i'll proceed with extra caution buddy! may leave the extra oats out for the time being, and also cut a bit of the fat out (just to be safe) lol.