GamJams Coaches Roundtable: Fuel for Early AM Workouts

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This week's GamJams Coaches Roundtable question comes from Bryan, who asks:

Q: I do a lot of my training early in the morning and usually don't eat anything before I ride. During the ride I drink only water. I don't get hungry while I'm riding, but I also ride for only about an hour just in case.  Should be eating beforehand or drinking something else during the ride to get more out of them?

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Peter Cannell
Cannell Champion Training

This is a subject that has been written about extensively and the bottom line is that it really depends on the individual.

I am a big proponent of early morning workouts for a number of reasons and proper fueling is important.

If we make the assumption that the athlete is performing a workout in the 1 to 2 hr range with some intervals or tempo work, then the following would apply:

-When you wake up you will have plenty of stored muscle glycogen for the workout
-If you wake up hungry, then by all means eat before your workout.  
-Coffee is an excellent way to start the morning
-What you eat and how much really depends.  If you wake up hungry and generally feel like you need to eat, then eat a few hundred calories or more.  What you eat really depends.  Could be an energy bar, some oatmeal, cereal or quite frankly whatever you want.  If you eat and head out the door, it pretty much doesn't matter.  As long as you aren't woofing down a huge amount of food, and as long as you don't have stomach discomfort you are good to go.
-If you don't feel like eating when you wake up, then no need.  
-On the bike, I'd highly recommend an energy drink of your choosing.

What really matters is that you have good energy levels and can complete the workout.  Food, no food, energy bar or leftovers from the night before, it won't make much of a difference.  It really isn't worth over analyzing or trying to choke down some horrible concoction - simply experiment with various food and stick with what works for you.  

Now post workout nutrition is much more important, but beyond the scope of this question.

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Mike Birner
Mid-Maryland Coaching

The answer depends on several factors - primarily what training you are doing and how well you recover.  Generally speaking though, a ride of one hour doesn't usually require additional nutritional support.  But by doing this first thing in the morning several other variables come into play. 

Provided you are supplying your body with the right caloric load (and quality nutrition) in the day(s) before your ride and you are having no problem with your workout goals then I wouldn't change a thing.  Some people, however, have trouble getting into their workouts at an early hour.  For the first interval or two it can be tough to get the power and/or heart rate up to your designated zones.  

Also, athletes with a high metabolism may find that they've burned through a significant amount of glycogen through the night and need additional nutrition to get through a workout of significant intensity early in the morning.  It's not uncommon for riders with high muscle mass/low body fat to feel a bonk coming on during that hour without something in their system to start off.

In either case, something light to eat - perhaps some fruit, a gel or an energy drink - 15 minutes before your ride can help to kick start your metabolism and possibly give you a higher quality workout.

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Chris Mayhew
JBVCoaching.com

This is a problem I often have with clients. Having clients so dedicated that they'll ride early in the morning is a good problem to have.  However, not eating beforehand is not the best way to maximize performance on the bike.A rider would never eat at 6:00 A.M., not eat all day and then race Greenbelt that night yet people treat sleep as if they're Han Solo frozen in carbonite.

This is one of the few times I'd recommend "energy foods". Primarily the advantage of those foods is the packaging. However, they also tend to have high glycemic indexes, meaning they are sugary and will spike your blood sugar levels fairly quickly. For someone pressed for time a Clif Bar, or a couple of gels about half an hour before getting out the door would really help. On the ride something simple like a maltodextrin based drink (eg Heed Perpetuem) would help maintain blood sugar levels.

Be careful not to confuse how hard a workout feels with how hard it actually is. These early morning work outs may feel hard simply because you're close to bonking. Establish some sort of metric by which to measure the efforts (power, distance covered, elevation gained) so that you know they *are* hard and simply don't *feel* hard because of other factors.

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Bill Gros
Pyramid Training Systems

If you've been re-fueling and re-hydrating adequately, you should be able to train for about 90minutes with just water. If you're getting out of bed you could be slightly dehydrated, so getting 12-20oz of water into your system during your initial 15 minute warm-up will certainly be helpful as you seem to be doing. It seems as though you're limiting your training duration to one hour because of the fact that you haven't had anything to eat, but most athletes with a good recovery regimen, will have about 90 to 120min worth of stored glycogen available for use in training. The duration is intensity dependent of course, and dependent upon the development of your aerobic system. which will burn a higher percentage of fats when it has been properly stressed with a volume of  aerobic base training. Don't be hesitant to extend your training duration beyond 60minutes with your current routine. Then eat a breakfast within 30 to 45 minutes of finishing up with 100-150grams of carbohydrate, 20-30grams of protein, and 10-15grams of fat. This is a range of calories between 570-855. You'll want to eat again in 2-4 hours.
 
You also ask if you'd get more out of your workouts if you ate or drank something else besides the water during your training. If you train with a power meter, you'd be able to scrutinize power levels of intervals or longer steady state efforts that could be affected by accessible energy levels. You can repeat similar workouts after starting a ride after having eaten half to a whole Cliff bar for example and an energy replacement fluid during the ride and see if power levels drop off similarly to a comparable ride with no food and just water. Power output relative to nutrition, given the same environmental and fatigue levels, generally will not fall off until glycogen stores become compromised. If you don't have a power meter, then this comparison becomes highly subjective of course. My inclination is to state that you shouldn't be experiencing drops in power output during the 60minutes of your training so long as you are hydrated, fueled and properly rested.

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BJ Basham
Peaks Coaching Group

If you are heading out for an hour of easy recovery riding, your nutritional needs will be different from if you are heading out for some lung searing intervals.

Ideally, you should be in the habit of doing what you need to in order to replace your spent glycogen stores between workouts. When you wake up in the morning, those stores can be slightly depleted and if you were racing, it is a good idea to eat several hours before your race to top off your fuel. If time is a limiter, then including some carbohydrates in your bottle or easily digested gels may help you to spare your muscle glycogen which may allow you to ride harder longer in your morning workout.

Eating anything too much right before a workout can lead to gastric unrest which can make a ride a bit less fun while not really contibuting anything to your fuel supplies for that workout. If a little something in your stomach makes you feel better than go ahead, but avoid big meals too close to your workout and then make sure to get any spent fuel and water replaced right after you are done with your ride.

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Susan Hefler
Hefler Performance Coaching

You don't need much caloric intake before a 1 hour ride. You did not mention the intensity of this hour ride - so I will assume it could be either an interval workout and/or a recovery spin. Even though your body wakes up in a fasted state - you have enough glycogen stores to do an hour training session. Also - in order for the food you ingest to be of benefit to a training ride - it has to be digested. So you would have to get up even earlier - in order to eat early enough - for that early morning fueling to be of use. An early morning workout IS a good calorie fat burner - depending on the intensity. If the workout is more of an interval workout - you may want to have some fueling in your bottles - some carb and/or electrolytes. Carry a gel(s) in your pocket to eat immediately after or if you want to eat a gel halfway through a hard interval hour workout. There are several drink mixes on the market. Many people like to have a cup of coffee in the morning - this also works fine and aids as a fat burner.

What IS important is the fueling and recovery process post ride. An hour ride can burn anywhere from 500 (easy endurance spin) to 1200 calories (interval workout) assuming you weigh somewhere between 130-170 lbs. As such - if you are running on glycogen for fueling during the 1 hour workout - you want to replace this as SOON as possible post ride. This can be done by ingesting about 200-300 calories. As I mentioned, if the hour session is a hard session - having a gel at mid point is smart (but mainly helps the recovery process for subsequent training vs help on that day). Doesn't really matter what you eat - as long as you eat. The refueling should have some protein in it. There are many shakes available, you can make a smoothie, some eggs and toast, etc. Cereal and milk is a great recovery fuel. It is also good to have some fruit.

Remember that the recovery process is as important if not more important - then the training. Both are critical to success - but so few people ask me "hey can I recover?" They are always asking me for more intervals or more threshold/ power work?? Remember to REST. It is when your body adapts to the exercise stress. If you can get your legs up for about 15' - this also is a great recovery tool. Let the blood drain out and fresh blood pumped into the muscle tissue. Helps remove the waste products broken down by training.

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Add your own thoughts to this topic in the comments.

Comments

[Chuck Hutch]

I eat no matter what before a ride. I would rather have a slightly full stomach than come close to bonking. I choose meals based on duration rather than intensity, anywhere from a couple bowls of cereal and an omelet with fresh squeezed juice for short rides to a steak and some eggs with juice for a longer ride. I carry 3 or 4 gus and a bar to eat almost every ride, just in case.

[karen]

I wanna be Chuck so I can eat steak and eggs and then ride!

[BA]

You are what you eat. Chuck Hutch eats spring steel for breakfast, fire for lunch, and a mixture of titanium and carbon fiber for dinner. For between-meal snacks he eats men's souls, and downs it with a tall cool glass of The Milk of Human Suffering.