Hi, I need an advise...

I wake up at 5:30am to swim for 30-45 minutes and later lift some weights for 30 minutes, 5 times per week.
After this, I eat a balanced breakfast, but I'd like to know if is necessary to eat something before get it the pool?

Thanks.

As an ex-rower I have had my fair share of early mornings and in the end I had to settle for eating my breakfast the night before (!!) and having a banana or some juice or both before morning training. If your stomach can hold breakfast (though you still need at least 30 mins before you begin exercising) it's always good to have something before you exercise. And of course eat plenty afterwards!!

Good luck with the morning training ;)

No, I don't think it is necessary at all. My pool doesn't open until 9. I eat some fruit an hour or more before swimming and a lot of times my stomach is growling as I get in the pool. Soon,
however, blood is drawn into the muscles and there is no hint of hunger until after the swim.
I think most of us have enough stored fat to give us more than enough energy to get through
a workout. I wish my pool opened early so I could actually eat a nice breakfast. The way it is now I eat breakfast as a snack in the middle of the afternoon. A final thought - if you're stomach is empty you benefit from perfect circulation, lower body temp., lower heart rate.

garager

Before my 6 am swims this week, I haven't had much more than a cup of coffee (milk and sugar, please);
and have been feeling a little sluggish.

Next week its back to something a little bit more substantial; maybe a banana or apple, and a homemade carbo/energy bar. Don't want much more than that in the stomach while swimming.

I'll sit down down now, and listen for a presentation on blood sugar levels and the rest of it.

thehitman

Chow down a Gu / Gel packet about 15 mins before your swim.

Chow down a Gu / Gel packet about 15 mins before your swim.

Totally agree. It gives you an opportunity to test out different gels and you get a little pep from them if they are laced with caffeine. I start every workout (swim/bike/run) with a gel. I believe it helps in recovery as well since they all have antioxidants in them.

Experience for me has shown that if the exercise regime is moderate (<70% HRmax) you will slowly loose weight if you have an empty stomach. But, energy to go full out will not be there (nausea comes on). Loading up before bed, which some say is not the best thing, may help.

I would def. try a bagel or some fruit and a gel. I HATE early morning workouts!

I don't have any scientific rationale to share, but I used to do the same thing...wake up at 4:30 for a 5:30 a.m. workout. I woke up hungry and the few times I tried to ignore my gut I was sorry...low engery levels and severe hunger pains/nausea by the end of the workout. (Having gone to bed by 9 that meant I had had dinner at 6:30-7...that's a long time to go without food...at least for me.)

So, I started eating a piece of toast with very light PB or a little butter/jam. That, or a really small bowl of cereal (light on fiber) or banana...shot for 150-200 cals. Of course, I always had my cup of coffee or caffeinated Carb Boom.

I think the benefits are two-fold: 1) felt better/fresher during the workout; and 2) my body got used to having a bit of food before training. Thus, come race morning I didn't have to force myself to eat. My body was used to having some solid food and wanted it.

If you try solid food and that doesn't agree, try something liquid like a Boost or Ensure. I used Boost prior to my half-IM to supplement calories and it worked great.

Good luck!

Everyone's body is different, so you just need to experiment with eating solids vs. gels/liquids vs. nothing at all. In college, I was in the pool at 5:30 three times a week going about 5000 yds each workout and never ate anything prior to working out. Now I try to get AM workouts in 3 times a week and typically go for an hour to hour and a half and I still have no problem going without food.

So I don't think there's a cookie cutter answer to this, just give some different things a try and see what works best for your body.

I ussually wake up at 4:50am and eat a cup of cereal with a cup of skim milk. And a fruit.

My first training starts at 6:00am so there's plenty of time to digest. And......I am not able training on an empty stomach since I get nausea.

As I have read in the past it's not a good idea to exercise on an empty stomach. :(

i have to agree with tri chris, there is no "cookie cutter" answer to this question... everybody reacts differently to different foods at different times. for me, i have a big mug of coffee, a squirt bottle of poland spring, a container of vanilla nonfat yogurt and a banana about an hour before i hop on the treadmill. i cannot workout on an empty stomach because i get sooooo lightheaded. sometimes during really crazy mornings, i'm actually finishing the last bites of my banana as i begin to jog on the treadmill...

whatever works for you...works! :)