Diet, Nutrition and SupplementationPost here for supplement reviews or nutritional advice. If you're trying to get "ripped abz" THIS is where you should be.
Normally, at least 2 days/week I lift pretty early. Get up at 5am and am usually in the gym by 5:30ish.
What I've been doing is taking 4 Biotest BCAA tabs before I leave for the gym then 1/2 serving of Surge during my workout and 1/2 serving Surge + 5g creatine, and another 4 BCAA tabs immediately after my workout. Then about an hour afterwards I'll have a bowl of oatmeal with some protein powder thrown in.
Energy typically isn't a problem because I've been exercising first thing in the morning for a long time so I'm used to it. But now I'm wondering if the BCAA is enough to get my muscles back in an anabolic state or if I should try and throw in a small protein shake (~110 kCal, 20g Protein) immediately upon waking. Or do I need to increase the amount of BCAA I'm taking before working out (I'm 160 lbs)?
I'd never be able to workout with something 30 minutes to an hour beforehand. When I did all my workouts in the morning, I had a 30g P drink when I got up, then got ready and went to the gym.
Surge has BCAAs in it already. Do you really need more?
I think a small shake like you're describing would work better than what you're doing. I'd make it a protein/carb meal (maybe fruit in that shake?) if it was me. It depends on your goals and your tolerance for food while exercising.
"Focus on making the 5 lifts stronger and getting enough food. There will be plenty of time to worry about glycemic indexes, PERs, and Bulgarian Split squats later. Much later."-Mark Rippetoe
I think a small shake like you're describing would work better than what you're doing. I'd make it a protein/carb meal (maybe fruit in that shake?) if it was me. It depends on your goals and your tolerance for food while exercising.
Hmm.....now that sounds like a good idea. Maybe a scoop of vanilla Evopro and 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries in either water or Calorie Countdown milk. I'll try that in the morning
I'm usually looking for some carbs to get into my system quicker along with that protein so I drink a gatorade/whey shake as soon as I can after waking. This would be similar to the Surge. I generally drink half the shake before and half after with water during. That's what works for me, but if energy isn't an issue for you right now, stick with what you're doing.
The question to ask is how are your gains? If they're satisfactory, stick with what you're doing. If not, experiment and see how your body reacts.
Ted
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Two Bears Dadda? Two Bears Benno, just two. ______________________________ ___________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971
Maybe try what was outlined in Adam's diet - it would probably give you enough energy to workout early:
8. Drink (roughly): 15 grams of protein, 45 grams of carbohydrate (high-glycemic like maltodextrin or dextrose) in 12 ounces of water--half 5 to 15 minutes before your workout, and the rest evenly divided every 15-20 minutes of your workout. (This is basically a "Nutrient Timing" principle.)
__________________ If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise. -Unknown
eating for early morning workouts
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