EXERCISING BEFORE EATING?

I'm hoping to start doing some hill work but as I have a 6 month old and I want to spend time with him in the morning and before I go to work.

I want to get up early and do a couple of hours walking. So, booking the time between 5 and 7 every day I'll be off out.

The question I have is should I eat something before I start the training or should I wait until I get back in and just limit the calorie intake as I need to lose a few pounds?

 

If you are in decent physical condition already and have been doing cardio work for around you can start doing HIIT. It will burn fat off you, improve your VO2 max and give you an asskicking in the process. It will only take a mazimum of 30 mins a day including warming up, cooling down. Do your research on HIIT training and enjoy the results.

 

Excuse my ignorance, whats HIIT? Im training at the moment for a 26 miles event in August, doing cardio work and getting into the hills in the weekends, any other training methods would be useful.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training

 

Quoted from an old post i replyed with to the same question.

And to eating, try to eat before and after. If you have any whey shakes shove a banana in one and drinking during your workout and after, good use of a supplement.

 

If you can throw it in a few times a week then i'd recommend doing it. I finished today after increasing the resistance another level overall and by the end of it it was like i had taking a massive beating, gotta love it.

Matty0001 pretty much explained it all. I do it on an elliptical trainer on the basis of 30:30 (30sec jog, 30 sec sprint) for 15 mins as i have a good amount left to lose (around 3 stone). If your 26 mile is the cancer walk thing, it wont be a massive benefit, its more designed for fat loss and stamina, but its well worth doing at least 2 times a week.

Forgot to mention it in my first post:

Try to leave an hour before exercise after eating if it has alot of vertical movement e.g. running. You are more likely to end up with a side stitch with the constant up and down shaking of your internal organs while digesting food. Ideally you want something easy to digest - as said above whey protein shakes with banana thrown in before and after exercise give you plenty protein, and enough carbs from the shake and your current glycogen levels to get through the morning cardio.

 

I'd get something down your neck if I where you, even if its just a glass of milk and a handful of dried fruit.

 

Depending on intensity, there's no reason why you can't eat while you're training. I regularly do 2 hours before work and have my breakfast while I'm at it. Bananas are good. However, you do need to stay below c.80% of MHR or it'll just come out of your nose.

Personally I would stay clear of 'protein shakes' in any case, but especially before exercise. Odus is mistaken; protein is not 'easy to disgest' and it is not really fuel; I think he/she means use a carb drink like PSP 22 or similar. What you need are carbs to fuel your training; protein is to aid recovery/repair and is probably best taken post exercise. I tend to eat a fair amount of fish for protein (tuna and pilchards are my favs).

So, for example, I have a race this afternoon (true); I ate pasta last night (big bowl of, no topping), and made sure I was hydrated, this morning (after 10 hours sleep) I have just eaten a large bowl of porridge oats mixed with Shreddies and drunk 4 litres of water, later this morning I will eat some plain toast (more carbs), 4-3 hours before my start time (1644 hrs) I will eat a bowl of Weetabix and 2-1 hours before a banana (I will carry a bottle of water everywhere with me (but not on the bike)). Immediately following the race I will down a large bottle of PSP 22 (carbs) and will have pilchards on toast for tea and more pasta tonight (I have another race tomorrow).

 

KK, thanks for all the replies. I think that as I am only really walking at a fast pace at the moment,l will introduce running a little more later on, I'll stick to having a piece of toast before and then some weetabix or other wheat based munchings and crunchings when I get back.

Been reading into this HIIT seems like skipping is one of the best ways to go - Checked this out on a calorie vs activity calculator and it seems it's a monster on the calorie burning.

 

It depends on what you get and what you use them for. Ideally to maintain muscle mass you want to be getting 1.2g Protein per lb of of body weight. Right now my protein shake is around 25g protein, 20g carbs, i have 2 per day right now. I am probably mistaken because i am talking mainly from weight loss experience, i understand if you are training for long runs/walks you need carbs, but if you need to lose some body fat, high protein, low carbs (as in limit to 80g per day) and eat good fats. Doing this in conjunction with HIIT & weightlifting sessions will burn through fat without eating up muscle.

If you are already lean, then by all means pack your carbs in for long cardio sessions. If you are trying to cut fat though, advice is above this paragraph or PM me.

 

Need to lose weight. I've already started cutting down on carbs, red meat and concentrating on white meats - poultry and fish. We'll see how it goes after a week of it

 

I'm not sure if your already in the regs or TA but getting used to exercising with food inside you is a good thing to do.

I'm only a stab but seems like everytime I do any phys with the army it's less than an hour after scoff sometimes just after. People who skip the meal or have a light snack tend to die on their arrse.

Also best way I've found to get a good short work out is to find a football pitch , jog one way and run back, and do 15 pressups, then repeat and do 15 sit-ups, I'm hanging out after 20 mins of that. Bloody good way for getting the top BPFA score if that's what you're after.

 

http://rapidshare.com/files/97117043/burn_the_fat__feed_the_muscle_-_tom_venuto.pdf.html

I suggest reading this book. The guy knows his stuff and isnt out to make money, his book covers pretty much everything you would want to know about losing weight and doing it right. If the link doesnt work, PM me for a new one.

 

Intense exercise requires fueling.
Not-so-intense exercise (walking for example) then the rest of your diet will suffice.

Never do performance orientated cardio without fueling. If its gentle, fat-loss cardio, then thats a different matter.

 

Delinquent,

What you are describing can and does work - its known as 'Fasted Cardio'. The theory being, by and large, that with little to no glycogen the body is 'forced' to burn some dirty fuel (aka 'Fat'), it is however ultra dependant on your nutrition. Its kind of like tricking your body into a state of Ketosis. There are a couple of big "but"'s though. One is that it is very much meant to be LISS (Low Intensity Steady-State) training - maintaining and not exceeding your maximum heart rate - 30%. There is also strong debate over the pond about the general wisdom of it.

I'd go with the fellows here who suggested either HIIT or interval training. Ultimately, like body building, weight loss is 20% activity 80% kitchen.