we start at 5:15 am soo not b-fast for me.. i eat a good dose of protein with some fats the night before. I have to take a pill 1hr in the am before i eat so eating at 3:30am is no fun!!
I always eat after swimming.. usually a kaski roll bar..and lotsa of water
I don't know, maybe it's as simple as: if you're hungry eat.
Good advice. You won't swim well if your gut isn't happy.
Personally, I don't eat anything before an early morning workout.
I have no doubt that I'd swim better if properly fueled, but I can't do it. My stomach is in no more mood to do any work before dawn than the rest of me is. When I try to make myself eat, the bagel or banana just sits on my car seat mostly uneaten on the way to the pool. If I'm exercising long enough to get hungry (I usually don't), I just opt for something with calories in my water bottle.
Science provides some constraints on personal preference, though.
Any pre-workout calories will take 30+ minutes to do you some good, depending on the type of food. Liquid sugary drinks (OJ, Gatorade, energy drinks, gels) are easily digested, and can contribute to muscle glycogen within 30 minutes. Eggs Benedict would take longer.
Digesting food does draw blood away from muscles, and decrease performance. If you doubt this, try sprinting on a full stomach. So you may not get cramps or drown, like our mothers warned us, but eating a big breakfast too soon before swimming could be counterproductive.
This is part of the reason I just decided to give up swimming in the morning (again). It sucks because it is the most efficient time for me to do it but my body just can't handle it. I need coffee, potty, a nice long shower to wake up, food and then time to digest it. I had made it several months of early morning workouts this time - and I had never made it more than a couple weeks before in several other failed attempts over the years. I thought I really had a routine going this time and then one day a couple of weeks ago I just couldn't swim at all. Somedays feel better than others and I might cut a set short, but this was the only time I just could not do it - at all. Maybe it was just a bad day but I decided enough was enough.Sorry for my own lame story. I say do whatever works for you.
Herb's reply reminds me of a question that sometimes occurs to me. Even though many people swim and do exercise in early morning, I wonder if it is really good to do intensive physical exercises right after you just got up from a long night's complete rest? I mean, from the most restful 8 hours or so, to suddenly engaging the most intensive physical activities? :rolleyes:
There's an article in the march 2010 Runner's World about just that. Getting used to working out at different times, eating for it, adjusting for winter, etc. I'd strongly advise reading it.
As for me, I mostly swim in the mornings. When I take a break, it takes my body about 2 weeks to fully readjust to getting up early and working out. But if I'm not swimming early, I'm doing something else.
After reading this thread, and the book Racing Weight, I've tested myself with eating before morning workouts. For running, I get up an hour before my start, eat right away, and am ready to go when I plan. For swimming, I've been eating in my car on the way there. Depending on the set it either feels great or like I'm going to throw up. Before I tried this, I'd always be starving 30 min into a swim workout.
I always take a Gatorade type drink for workouts of around 75 min or more, especially with warm temps. I start drinking it about 40 min in; lots of water before that and even with it. Shorter than 75 min it just seems like empty calories (which I don't need) to me.
If you haven't read the Racing Weight book, I'd highly recommend it, as it covers this topic rather well.
Herb's reply reminds me of a question that sometimes occurs to me. Even though many people swim and do exercise in early morning, I wonder if it is really good to do intensive physical exercises right after you just got up from a long night's complete rest? I mean, from the most restful 8 hours or so, to suddenly engaging the most intensive physical activities? :rolleyes:
Herb's reply reminds me of a question that sometimes occurs to me. Even though many people swim and do exercise in early morning, I wonder if it is really good to do intensive physical exercises right after you just got up from a long night's complete rest? I mean, from the most restful 8 hours or so, to suddenly engaging the most intensive physical activities? :rolleyes:
Personally, I love it. I'm a morning person so a good, early morning workout is perfect for me. Late night ones give me migraines the next day lately.
I swim at 4:45am. I get up at 4:10, go straight in to the bathroom to go, eat a banana, get dressed, brush my teeth and then I head out the door. I'm at the pool by 4:35, stretch and in the water with my team by 4:45. I don't think I could make it through such an intensive workout without a banana. I did once go to a later, on my own workout and had forgotten to eat and I crashed hard!
I swim at 5:30 or 6 AM depending on masters practice and/or pools schedules. I typically have coffee on the ride to the pool along with a piece of toast and PB or an energy bar. I am a big believer in having a light pre-workout snack. I don't have too many problems if I don't eat but I hate to miss my AM coffee!
