If any of you have worked with me for any extended period of time, especially in the morning camps, you have heard me talk about how you MUST eat something before coming to the workout (even just a small amount). You have also heard me ask many people….”have you eaten breakfast?” and then subsequently get on my soapbox after they say "no." I understand you may not be a “morning eater” but you can certainly change that. There is no genetic code that says that you will always feel nauseous and not be able to eat in the morning until you have been up for 2-3 hours. If you have been ignoring your body for a long time (because I bet there was a time in your life that you WERE hungry in the morning and you just ignored it) then you need to start telling your body what’s right again. You may hate the morning protein shake, eggs, bar, toast with peanut butter, etc for a week or so but your body will adapt. It will soon start expecting it and asking for it. They don’t say “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” for nothing. It is important to get some fuel in there and kickstart your metabolism right from the get-go. What drives metabolism? MUSCLE! So make sure your breakfast include an adequate amount of protein (20+ grams).
Believe me, I wasn’t always a morning eater and HATED choking down something before our 6am workouts in college. Even though all I had was a crappy little Nutrigrain bar and my choice could have been MUCH better, at least it was something. In hindsight, I wish I would’ve had a good quality protein shake instead like the Advocare Meal Replacement Shake or Muscle Gain. This would have been a much better option to feed my muscles for intense exercise.
Ok, so back to the point. You MUST eat before a morning workout and if you are still wondering why then pay attention closely. Let’s take a random person named Ed, for example. Say Ed eats dinner at 7pm the night before a workout. Ed heads to bed around 10:30pm and gets up at 5:30am for a 6am workout. He goes straight to the workout without eating anything. He works out intensely for one hour and then waits to eat breakfast until he gets home, has had his shower and is cleaned up (another hour later). First of all, he went 11 hours with ZERO input before his workout. This means that he has NO fuel in his body for exercise. If any of you have paid attention to my previous posts then you will know that the next source of energy your body uses for fuel is muscle. So Ed’s body was breaking down muscle to use for energy as he was trying to build it. If that seems counterproductive then you are correct. The second mistake Ed made was waiting to refuel afterwards. Your body needs fuel to recover and rebuild after a workout. I personally drink Post-Workout Recovery immediately after my workouts and then eat a protein-focused meal about 30-45 minutes later after my body has digested the shake and used it to start the recovery process.
If you need EVEN MORE proof that I am right (wink wink), then take this case in point. One of my campers who has been coming for over a year brought his daughter out to camp this morning visiting from out of town. As soon as we completed the dynamic warm-up (about 8 minutes long) and I was getting ready to explain the workout, she fell over. I thought she had tripped on something but turns out that she blacked out momentarily. The first emotion that goes through your head is worry but my next immediate thought, from previous knowledge, was to ask her if she ate anything before coming. Of course, her answer was “no.” Thankfully her Dad was there and knows how adamant I am about eating before a workout and has heard it many times before (I think he finally believes me now). Since we had only had gone through a light warm-up at that point, there really could be no other reason (barring something more serious) than a lack of nutrition in her body.
So do you guys finally get it?!?!? I always feel like I’m talking on deaf ears when I tell people they need to eat before a workout. That pre-workout food is not meant for pleasure. It serves a very distinct purpose……FUEL!
~Coach Robyn
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