One of the dilemmas facing those that train early (by early I mean 6 or 7am – don’t talk to me if you class 10am as early) is whether or not to eat prior to training.
The answer will ultimately come down to individual preference but here are some guidelines and suggestions.
Eat Big
If you are training hard in the morning have a meal the night before that reflects this. All work in the gym must be fuelled. I usually say “A big truck needs a lot of gas” but if you don’t want to think of yourself as a big truck (I do because I’m an ego-driven red neck) just realise that you need energy to perform. Much of the work we do in the Hub will be at relatively high intensity. The primary fuel source for this is glycogen (carbohydrate) so I would recommend including a little sweet potato or brown rice in your evening meal. This will be enough to fuel the forthcoming morning session.
Don’t Run on Empty
Despite this I have had clients over the years that felt a little queezy in the morning if they don’t have a little something in their stomach. If this is the case then the key is to eat a little but not a lot. A lot will lead to cramps or potentially bringing it back up as it will not have digested properly.
So what should you eat?
I would recommend the following;
- Spoon of nut butter
- Hand Full of Almonds or Macadamia Nuts
- Apple
- Banana
- Handful Of Blueberries
- 2x Figs
- Small Protein Shake
- Cadburys Cream Egg (joking)
These will be enough to get you through without slowing you down. I also like to have a glass of water and black coffee. This hydrates me (water) and gets me focused (coffee).
If you need any help or want to chat through any of this, then arrange a callback or drop in and try one of our personal training sessions.
Check out our free nutrition ebooks for additional breakfast ideas.
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