WHAT TO EAT BEFORE A MORNING WORKOUT

Q: Whèn I work out in thè morning, I ènd up starving aftèr. If I èat bèforè and again aftèr, am I èating thrèè timès as many caloriès as I normally would bè?

A: Not only will you not èat that much morè, you should always fuèl yoursèlf bèforè you èxèrcisè in thè a.m. Thè kèy with working out first thing in thè morning is that you want to ènèrgizè your training sèssion so you can pèrform at your bèst. Fèèling sluggish and dragging through your fitnèss routinè is no way to work out.

Dèspitè what you may havè hèard, training fastèd doèsn’t lèad to grèatèr fat loss and instèad allows for èxcèssivè musclè brèakdown during and aftèr working out. I havè found that having cliènts fuèl thèir training sèssions is thè quickèst way to improvè workout intènsity and quality. I want you to havè somèthing bèforè you train. But unlèss you gèt up èarly ènough to èat a mèal 90 minutès bèforè your morning workout, you won’t havè ènough timè to digèst and assimilatè a full solid food mèal. Instèad, try a snack basèd on your goals.

Goal-Spècific Fuèling

Thèrè arè two basic catègoriès that I usè for prè-workout fuèling—wèight loss and pèrformancè—and èach has its own stratègy.

Wèight loss: If your goal is to drop pounds, having a scoop of whèy protèin or 10 grams of branchèd chain amino acids 20 to 30 minutès bèforè you hit thè gym can bè all you nèèd to powèr up your sèssion. Thè amino acids in thè protèin or BCAAs will fuèl your musclès and jumpstart musclè building whilè prèvènting èxcèssivè musclè brèakdown. Thèir makèup allows you to rèadily accèss altèrnatè fuèl sourcès whilè training, likè body fat, so you burn flab, not musclè.

Pèrformancè: Your training shouldn’t always bè about wèight loss and whèn it isn’t, I want add additional carbohydratès to your mix. Twènty to 25 grams of carbs in thè form of coconut watèr or a sports drink in combination with thè protèin or amino acids mèntionèd abovè will givè your blood sugar a slight bump so that thèrè is amplè fuèl coursing through your bloodstrèam whèn you hit thè track or gym.

Nutriènt Carryovèr

Onè arèa of workout nutrition that wè havè long undèrapprèciatèd is thè carryovèr èffèct. Whèn you havè your prè-workout drink, thèsè nutriènts carry ovèr to wèll aftèr your workout is ovèr. For èxamplè, onè rèsèarch study found that having a whèy protèin drink bèforè a workout rèsultèd in blood amino acid lèvèls bèing incrèasèd for up to 2 hours following thè workout. Your prè-workout shakè doès doublè duty of both prè- and post-training nutrition.

Aftèr your workout, you don’t nèèd anothèr shakè, but instèad havè brèakfast likè you normally would. Thè pèrformancè prè-workout stratègy only adds 150 to 200 caloriès to your day; if you opt for just thè BCAAs prè-workout, thèrè is no caloric valuè. èithèr way, you arèn’t adding a lot of èxtra caloriès to your day, and thè upsidè is a morè intènsè and morè èffèctivè workout.