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Nathan Parker
Postaholic Arnold Am........ check. Time to go Pro. Joined: 7/12/11 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1515 |
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Posted: 4/21/15 at 9:04am |
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So, this is something that has been on my mind lately. Getting my work done early(5a.m.) in the morning instead of the evenings. I am not a morning person by any stretch, but habits can be formed.
Why? 1. Getting in the gym at 7-8pm after a long day sucks. Especially after eating what I have to eat cal wise. 2. That could be more family time. 3. Am I getting the most benefit working out late and eating before bed vs working out early and having a full day of meals to feed the body? Anyone have thoughts on this? Was it a struggle? Do you like it? I know a lot of celebs do the early morning stuff, and seem to love it. Thanks! |
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Sport Kilt
JDJ Caber Company Hylete.com |
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getyoukilt
Groupie Joined: 8/28/07 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 142 |
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Only if you don't have to give up sleep to do it. When I work out early I feel like I have less intensity, and always have to rush through it to go to work. If you have enough time to get your body and brain to cooperate, you won't have the overnight fasting right after your workout. I would prefer mornings but can't make it work with my schedule. How crowded is your gym morning versus evening ? I f you can get through a session in the morning an hour quicker ( less crowd) then you may can make up for the sleep.
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" " - Harpo Marx
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C. Smith
Admin Group Retired Joined: 8/30/04 Location: Antarctica Status: Offline Points: 6661443 |
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Talk to Jake.
Your #3 is just minutiae, and isn't going to make any remarkable difference imo. I've tried and couldn't do it. I could probably do lighter stuff or cardio, but early am heavy is no bueno for me. Mornings became the time when I prep all my food for the day. Seems to work better for me. |
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Nathan Parker
Postaholic Arnold Am........ check. Time to go Pro. Joined: 7/12/11 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1515 |
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I was just going to assume that once a routine was formed, that new habits would follow suit. Right now I have a hard time falling asleep before 11. That would probably change if I consistently woke up at 4:30.
The next question is what you said Craig. Can I hit it hard like in the evening? Maybe not at first? I dunno. The food stuff is more of question of how I feel. I agree that if you eat a lot, that the timing isn't as important. 5000 cal/day is hard. Going to bed with a bloat sucks too. The toilet hates the morning... I'll give Jake a text. I forgot he gets up early. |
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Sport Kilt
JDJ Caber Company Hylete.com |
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C. Smith
Admin Group Retired Joined: 8/30/04 Location: Antarctica Status: Offline Points: 6661443 |
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He's up, already texted me over an hour ago during his workout this am, lol.
And I suspect you're right about the routines and habits, just gonna have to commit. I feel you on the food, I'm sooooo happy I don't have to stuff food like that anymore. Hated it. Did it, but hated it. |
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jsully
Postaholic Prefers the D... Joined: 9/13/10 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4096 |
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I forgot my phone at home today.
#2 is the biggest thing for me. I get home from work 430-5ish and my kids want to play. They go to bed at 8 and then my wife and I have our time together. She's usually ready for bed around 930-10pm. This leaves me to train at 10pm? After a full day? Nope. I need to preface this and say that I am by no means a morning person. Prior to training in the am I would go to bed around 12-1am every night and get up 15 minutes before I needed to leave for work. Now, I get up around 4am. I have my phone/alarm in the bathroom so it's easier for me to get up. As soon as it goes off I splash cold water on my face to get me moving then immediately down 200-400mg caffeine with some BCAAs and some Beta Alanine. Something about the BA tingle that gets me going. Haha. From there I usually head to the throne room, then off to my stationary bike for 10-15mins to get my legs warmed up and the blood pumping. Sometimes I'm still crushed tired, sometimes I'm ready to go. I'll spend 10ish mins stretching, rolling or... texting, before grabbing the bar. Usually by then I'm pretty awake and even if I'm not, the first few sets get me there. I don't have any problems moving "big weight" (it's all relative, amirite?) in the am. I doubled a 605 deadlift last year at 5am. It will take a month or so to get used to training that early with regards to your top end strength and overall GAF. I still have trouble getting out of bed crazy early sometimes. I ended up skipping my cardio this morning because I slept in till 435. Shrug. It's cardio. I also throw very early on Saturday as well. I'm usually on the field at 530a and thow until 830a then have the rest of the day with my family. The way I see it this is a hobby. As a "professional athlete" this "hobby" pays for things that my real job can't::: vacations, gifts, extra date nights with the mrs, camping trips, etc. I'm not going to tap into my family time any more than I have to. Mr McKim also trains early in the am for (I think) the same reasons as myself: family time. I'll bet there are some others that train in the AM too if you asked around. |
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jsully
Postaholic Prefers the D... Joined: 9/13/10 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4096 |
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family > 10s of $10s I'll make in the HG. ;)
With that being said, don't picture me ungrateful. I really enjoy this sport and will continue the push to (zero, lol) get better and better.
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C. Smith
Admin Group Retired Joined: 8/30/04 Location: Antarctica Status: Offline Points: 6661443 |
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100%.
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Nathan Parker
Postaholic Arnold Am........ check. Time to go Pro. Joined: 7/12/11 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1515 |
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LOL Craig.
Kinda the response I was expecting. I get up now at 7 with my kids. Out the door at 7:30 to get them off to school/daycare. Wife sleeps because she usually works late. I am back home by 8 and out the door by 8:30 to get to work by 9. I don't eat anything until 10ish. I've trained my stomach to hate food before then. Bad habit. I go to bed around 11 and asleep by 12-12:30 because Netflix. |
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Sport Kilt
JDJ Caber Company Hylete.com |
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Duncan McCallum
Postaholic Joined: 12/07/07 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 7442 |
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I've made an art form of early morning workouts...I take a lot of ideas from Jake as well.
My alarm goes off at 0430 EVERY morning and I am out of bed. If I have to train the next morning, I leave my shoes by the bed, my PWO/supps by the bed, and I am good to go. Get on the scale, get my number (just curious) and down to the garage I go. The Ludus is already prepped for what I have to do; bars are where they should be, jump boxes pulled out, iPod plugged in with Angus Young doing his thing. Post workout protein is mixed and in the fridge, and breakfast-type stuff is prepped and in the pan or in the microwave. This way I never miss a workout due to unforeseen circumstances in the evening. And, if I get home early (like tonight) and I want to throw, I can. It works. For me.
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The man in the arena.
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Sean
Postaholic 9th Best in the World - 2010 Joined: 12/05/06 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 3759 |
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You're younger than I am and your climate MAY be warmer but here's my two cents on AM training:
1. Warmups will take longer. - Just the way of things. It isn't a bad thing but when you wake up, your body is not going to feel the same way it does at 4pm+ 2. You will NOT lift as much - At anything. Gotta be up for at least an hour just doing life before doing another bout of warmups to be anywhere near full strength. 3. Do NOT deadlift in the morning - Yeah, I know Jake does it but FFFFF that. Your spine has spent the entire night elongating and the structure itself is not ready for that shit first thing. Plan your deadlift workouts for Saturdays or something. 4. A little protein powder and some coconut oil goes a long way - Seriously. That's probably all you need to eat to train in the morning. Eat a decent PWO shake and follow it up with a good breakfast 30-60 min later. I've had some decent AM workouts. I even enjoy it. But primarily I'll do mobility or upper body work in the early mornings. I've squatted before but its a slow warmup process and I even put on Inzer Power Pants for it. Movement's easy in the morning. Spinal loading leaves a bit to be desired. |
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Sean
Postaholic 9th Best in the World - 2010 Joined: 12/05/06 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 3759 |
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And I suspect that everyone who trains at 00Dark30 does so because of family.
Left to my own, my workouts would be from 3-5pm every chance. |
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jsully
Postaholic Prefers the D... Joined: 9/13/10 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4096 |
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-_-
broscience? lawl
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Sean
Postaholic 9th Best in the World - 2010 Joined: 12/05/06 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 3759 |
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No, science science :)
But you won't be doing it at 40 either, champ :) |
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jsully
Postaholic Prefers the D... Joined: 9/13/10 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4096 |
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I can't wait for easy workouts and light weights.. *daydreaming* |
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C. Smith
Admin Group Retired Joined: 8/30/04 Location: Antarctica Status: Offline Points: 6661443 |
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jsully
Postaholic Prefers the D... Joined: 9/13/10 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4096 |
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Umm... I was under the impression you should probably never squat or deadlift with a round lower back...
Oh, cool.. so pretty much don't be a human adult with responsibilities. Makes total sense.
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C. Smith
Admin Group Retired Joined: 8/30/04 Location: Antarctica Status: Offline Points: 6661443 |
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I don't care if you ignore it, don't believe it, or take it as gospel, I was just putting it out there, lol.
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CHAD
Postaholic Dangerously Anabolic Joined: 2/04/05 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2142 |
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I've tried it. It's too easy to train smart and still hurt myself in the morning. I can be stupid in the evening and yet rarely ding myself up.
How about this, Nate? Something like: Monday Night: Real workout. Squat/Deadlift + press. Go home. Eat. Wednesday Morning: Eat. Body-build Upper Body + Abs. Possibly Cardio. Eat. Thursday Morning: Eat. Body-build Lower Body. Possibly Cardio. Eat. Craig's prolly thinking "too much," but I don't think you can re-train your clock on 1 day a week. Conversely, if you wanna get stronger, I think one big night workout's where it's at.
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...Josh
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rknebel
Senior Member Joined: 1/12/11 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 963 |
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I hate mornings and use them strictly for sleeping. I basically lift late at night for the exact same reasons people are talking about lifting in the morning. I want to spend time with my family so I lift after they go to bed.
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BillyMac
Newbie Joined: 10/21/14 Location: San Antonio Status: Offline Points: 39 |
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+1 on the coconut oil in the PWO(big tubs of it cheap at COSTCO). I was really surprised how much that helped my AM workout energy levels and just generally waking up. Seemed to help with that mid day lull feeling too.
I'm not lifting at your all's level, but my $0.02. I had no energy to lift after getting home from work so I moved it to the AM six years ago and it helped me out a lot. I also feel like it helps me wake up and get ready for the day too and I feel better throughout the day on the days I workout in the morning(I've put in a lot more rest days after listening to advice on here).
0430 - PWO - protein, oats, coconut oil, flax seed meal 0500 - gym nearly all to myself and enough time to absorb the PWO and wake up. After work is now totally free time, and I fall asleep with ease ~2130. Now that it's routine I couldn't imagine working out in the afternoon again(and I've seen how packed the gym is in the PM...) |
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C. Smith
Admin Group Retired Joined: 8/30/04 Location: Antarctica Status: Offline Points: 6661443 |
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I actually love this split. If I was Nate, I'd do this.
+10000000000000000000000000000000 |
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jonhereth
Senior Member Joined: 2/18/14 Status: Offline Points: 497 |
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All of this!! Great post!! |
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Daniel McKim
Postaholic World Champ - '11 Joined: 8/30/04 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1594 |
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I'm with Jake. My current job is a bit better for training, as I don't have an hour commute everyday. As long as I'm not traveling for work, my alarm still sounds at 5:30 a.m. For years ... like 10 straight, it went off sometime between 4:15 to 4:45. Even before I started throwing Highland Games, I did my training early in the morning so I wouldn't sacrifice family time.
For me, it's simple. If there's something I can sacrifice, it's sleep. I will never ... NEVER look back at my life and say, "Wow, I wish I had gotten eight hours of sleep a night when I was throwing and training heavy. Just think of the gains!" I will, however, look back and say, "Man, I had some great times with the boys. I wish I would have sacrificed more to spend even more time with them." That's just fact. You can do it. We all can. It all comes down to how bad you want it. If I can set my alarm on my phone and it says I have six hours, or close to it, until it goes off, then I know I'm golden.
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MrPeanut
Senior Member Joined: 7/04/14 Status: Offline Points: 233 |
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Nothing wrong with getting up early as long as you get to bed early and get the rest you need.
That aside, there has been a great deal of research on sleep deprivation and academic performance to the propensity for diabetes, obesity and other diseases later in life. The value of getting the sleep you need can't be underestimated, whether its training for the HG or your kids doing well in school. The older I get the more I like my bed. |
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Even a broken old man can learn to throw a hammer. I ain't dead yet!
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Shawn Baker
Postaholic Joined: 6/25/08 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2641 |
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Best thing (regardless the hour that you train) Is to set up a home gym (even if it takes several years to get what you want)- saves you a bunch of time and kids get to see you as a role model for healthy living
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Pingleton
Postaholic Highland Games' virtually straight legs Joined: 11/28/06 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 2747 |
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If you consider Dr. Stuart McGill a Bro... Having said that, once you are used to such a program, my experience is that you can be doing anything once you have been up for an hour. You do not want to be deadlifting heavy 15 minutes after you wake up though, assuming that is even possible.
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We do not stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing. - George Bernard Shaw |
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SeanUrq
Senior Member Joined: 5/13/12 Location: Cleveland, OH Status: Offline Points: 668 |
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I started early morning workouts today for a few reasons and tomorrow is a scheduled deadlift day. We shall see what happens. I don't normally make the best choices and tomorrow may be one of those days.
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Mean Well, Speak Well, Do Well
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