I am not a morning person and definitely not an morning workout person, but to avoid doing a brick every day, I have to change. So how do you avoid a bonk when you workout in the morning? I have a Cliff bar before I head out, but I feel crap and come home wishing I had just stayed in bed. Will my body slowly adjust?
a cup of joe does wonders for me.
I think you’ll slowly adjust. I know I have in recent weeks as I cured my night owl sickness and religiously maintained an AM/PM workout schedule. You can’t expect to hammer your best workouts first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, but you can learn to appreciate what a great morning workout feels like on its own terms.
Stick with it for a month, and it will get easier.
Well, considering I can hardly find my own ass in the morning, muchless make coffee, maybe I’ll consider a Red Bull.
I agree. there is nothing like the morning. Maybe it is something you have to get used to. I tend to drop off the charts at 6PM but at 5:30 AM I am ready for action.
I agree. there is nothing like the morning. Maybe it is something you have to get used to. I tend to drop off the charts at 6PM but at 5:30 AM I am ready for action.
I WISH I could be like that. I am useless until sometime after 10am, but could stay up until 3am no problem. This is not condusive to a) employment and b) triathlons.
Try eating the cliff bar the evening before – that way you won’t be hungry when you get up but you also won’t be digesting your food while you’re trying to work out.
How old are you? I think the early morning thing also comes with age. I’m 47 and in my earlier days, I really liked sleeping in.
How old are you?
I’m 30. Getting up at 530am is hard enough, but to then have a crap-tastic workout on top of it?! Let’s just say I’m a little bitchy these days…
Try eating the cliff bar the evening before.
I typically have dinner around 9pm, which seems late to me, but maybe I’ll have that bar right before bed and see what happens.
LOL
Hang in there!
I’ve always been a morning person but occassionally there are days where I have to drag myself out of bed…
Have your stuff all set to go the night before. Running shoes/socks laid out, swim bag all packed, bike gear - whatever, just make sure all you have to do is get out there, not fumble around first. I’m not a coffee drinker but a little caffeine might get you fired up to go, if you can stand the icky bitter nasty brown liquid (…apologies to all coffee people…). Going to bed earlier if you’re going to get up is a must.
Morning workouts really are awesome - the whole day you can think, “I already ran/biked/swim X miles and it’s only ___ am!”
During the adjustment period (couple of weeks) don’t go out too hard. I leave for work on my bike at 5:15 and am maybe 1-2 mph slower on the way in than on the way home. It’s good to get the workout in but definitely not as fast as an eve workout for me.
Good luck
I usually have a bottle of Ensure or Boost mixed with water before AM workouts. It gives mucho calories in liquid form and I am good to go.
When I moved to the desert I had to learn how to wake up even earlier because the summer heat just killed you later in the day. The main workout of the day has to take place between 5 am and 730 am. At first this was not fun. I find the best way to adapt to a morning run is with a five minute walk, then start running really slow and work into the pace. Sometimes I can start the day feeling like I want to quit and by the end of an 1:30 run feel like I was flying.
The bike is even easier because it’s dark at five and I have to be very careful where I am riding. By sunup I feel better and usually have a great day. I don’t ever do speedwork anyway, but I especially would not recommend morning speedwork if you have a hard time getting out of bed. Your body may not be ready for it and you will be mentally defeated before you start.
There is nothing like seeing the sun come up over the mountains in the desert. It is a treat unto itself.
Chad
Morning workouts really are awesome
If I could get past the bonk, I might change my feelings about mornings…
You really do need to eat late. When I was doing 20-hour training weeks I would eat at 8 am after my workout while sitting at my desk at work. Then after my lunchtime workout I’d eat at 1 pm. Then another meal at home with the family between 6-7 pm. Then something else to top off the tank at 9 pm before bed. You have to get a feel for how much to eat late, otherwise your stomach with bug you.
The other thing to remember is that even though your stomach feels empty sometimes, your muscles still have plenty of glycogen to get you through a workout. When I was doing long am workouts I’d take some gel right before leaving. It’s important to do this within five minutes of starting though. Any earlier and you will impair the bodies ability to use the fuel it is already storing. (I’m not a doc or anything, but read all the fuelling advice on Hammer Products website and you will learn all you need to know and more.)
Chad
(I’m not a doc or anything, but read all the fuelling advice on Hammer Products website and you will learn all you need to know and more.)
Chad
Thanks for the web suggestion. I’ll check it out - I know nothing about fueling for training or races. I just eat when I’m hungry. It seems that I need to add some sort of caffeine, gels and a month to adjust, and I’ll be good to go.
I’m not a coffee or caffeine drinker and I would hesitate to force your body to wake up before it is ready. Just my opinion.
Go to the Hammer/Ecaps home page, look at resources, performance tips and read the 10 Biggest Mistakes article. There is a bit about pre-race fueling that applies equally well to early morning training. Read everything you can on their tips page. They know their stuff and their products work.
Here’s the link: