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Training Early Morning - to eat or not??

days are getting a little longer here and lighter earlier

don't start work until 10am some days so thought I would get a 60 - 90min mtb ride in first thing

will wake up, take a strong coffee, get changed and then head out
should I eat something first or just go on the coffee??

i figure that anything under 2hrs should be fine on just water and no fuel
but wondering if the early morning, no eating and riding is a good idea

any help or suggestions would be much appreciated
 
JackRabbitSlims said:
days are getting a little longer here and lighter earlier

don't start work until 10am some days so thought I would get a 60 - 90min mtb ride in first thing

will wake up, take a strong coffee, get changed and then head out
should I eat something first or just go on the coffee??

i figure that anything under 2hrs should be fine on just water and no fuel
but wondering if the early morning, no eating and riding is a good idea

any help or suggestions would be much appreciated
It depends, are you training hard or just riding around? Are you trying to drop weight? If you're in a bigger block of training I'd eat something first, or at least take some food with me and eat something in the first 30mins.

If you're just riding around and not going too hard it shouldn't be a problem, just make sure you have a proper breakfast in the first 20 minutes after you finish.

The main thing is, what's worked for you so far?
 
thanks for the reply forty two

never really done the get up early and go riding thing
years ago I used to meet my road bunch at 7.30am on the weekends, so would be up at 6am and would have breakfast before hand

i need to lose 2-3 kgs before my main ride of the year in late November, but that will happen with increased training, reduced alcohol consumption and tidying up some diet things - no problem there

all my rides are training right now, i never just go out for a ride around - although I should some times:)
these early morning rides will be a mtb track ride 90% on trails - about 40 mins climbing, 15 downhill single track and 5 mins back to home.....I can tag more on to make up 90 mins.
The climb is hard work...like almost maxed out for me in some sections.
If the weather is poor or the track no good, I can do the same but on the road - lucky me.

I was thinking of maybe making a smoothie the night before, leaving it in the fridge and having that in the 30 mins before leaving - thoughts?
coffee is a must do, not leaving without that

i'm a breakfast lover
never skip that one

thanks again
 
Re:

JackRabbitSlims said:
thanks for the reply forty two

never really done the get up early and go riding thing
years ago I used to meet my road bunch at 7.30am on the weekends, so would be up at 6am and would have breakfast before hand

i need to lose 2-3 kgs before my main ride of the year in late November, but that will happen with increased training, reduced alcohol consumption and tidying up some diet things - no problem there

all my rides are training right now, i never just go out for a ride around - although I should some times:)
these early morning rides will be a mtb track ride 90% on trails - about 40 mins climbing, 15 downhill single track and 5 mins back to home.....I can tag more on to make up 90 mins.
The climb is hard work...like almost maxed out for me in some sections.
If the weather is poor or the track no good, I can do the same but on the road - lucky me.

I was thinking of maybe making a smoothie the night before, leaving it in the fridge and having that in the 30 mins before leaving - thoughts?
coffee is a must do, not leaving without that

i'm a breakfast lover
never skip that one

thanks again
The thing to consider is how are you feeling when you finish? Are you still feeling strong or hanging on for dear life? If it's the latter, then you are bringing on a hunger flat and some "just in case" food might be a good idea. For 60-90 minutes it's not essential but any longer, I'd take some for sure.

Another thing to consider - are you planning on racing? If you're training for enduro's you should be training with the food you plan on using in your race. Your gut is trainable. The more often you eat while you train, the better your stomach gets at absorbing what you eat while working. This also helps your food sit better too.

You're already doing the best thing, and that's getting a good breakfast once you're done. The main thing is to find what works for you and your riding.
 
Re: Re:

42x16ss said:
JackRabbitSlims said:
thanks for the reply forty two

never really done the get up early and go riding thing
years ago I used to meet my road bunch at 7.30am on the weekends, so would be up at 6am and would have breakfast before hand

i need to lose 2-3 kgs before my main ride of the year in late November, but that will happen with increased training, reduced alcohol consumption and tidying up some diet things - no problem there

all my rides are training right now, i never just go out for a ride around - although I should some times:)
these early morning rides will be a mtb track ride 90% on trails - about 40 mins climbing, 15 downhill single track and 5 mins back to home.....I can tag more on to make up 90 mins.
The climb is hard work...like almost maxed out for me in some sections.
If the weather is poor or the track no good, I can do the same but on the road - lucky me.

I was thinking of maybe making a smoothie the night before, leaving it in the fridge and having that in the 30 mins before leaving - thoughts?
coffee is a must do, not leaving without that

i'm a breakfast lover
never skip that one

thanks again
The thing to consider is how are you feeling when you finish? Are you still feeling strong or hanging on for dear life? If it's the latter, then you are bringing on a hunger flat and some "just in case" food might be a good idea. For 60-90 minutes it's not essential but any longer, I'd take some for sure.

Another thing to consider - are you planning on racing? If you're training for enduro's you should be training with the food you plan on using in your race. Your gut is trainable. The more often you eat while you train, the better your stomach gets at absorbing what you eat while working. This also helps your food sit better too.

You're already doing the best thing, and that's getting a good breakfast once you're done. The main thing is to find what works for you and your riding.

thanks again,

training & race day or event day nutrition has been the same for years

under 2 hrs - water
over 2 hours hammer perpetuem and water - drink on the 15, fuel on the 30 - works great
bigger rides in excess of 150kms in the last hour i go on the espresso caffeine gels to crank it home
no solids in my nutrition plan at all

trying to eat while working hard on the bike is difficult for me

i suppose my main concern is getting up and out the door on an empty stomach for a tough 60 - 90 mins
i'll try a few options and see what is most comfortable

also take a couple gels in case i knock out along the way
 
I was told a while back that you'll have about an hour to an hour and a half from the previous day's eating, so anything longer than that and you'll need to top up.
The other is that your recover begins before the ride itself, so eat before you ride.

I do one early morning 'extra long' commute each week - a 50km jaunt that will take approx 2 hrs (gets slower towards the end as the traffic increases and I encounter more traffic lights).
Before leaving, it's literally get up, dress, swig a pint of water, eat a banana, then out the door.
On the bike it's 1 water bidon with a tab of Hammer's Fizz in it, and 1 gel at around the 45min mark...
On arrival its a coffee and bacon n egg muffin from cafe next to work.
 
thanks for the reply

is that a 50km round trip or each way

I have a little more time up my sleeve
coffee & peanut butter on toast and then out the door

the actual ride is more like 1hr 50 mins in total this week and it went well

ready to eat again when I get home though
damn cold too
 
Re:

JackRabbitSlims said:
thanks for the reply

is that a 50km round trip or each way

I have a little more time up my sleeve
coffee & peanut butter on toast and then out the door

the actual ride is more like 1hr 50 mins in total this week and it went well

ready to eat again when I get home though
damn cold too
"inward" commute only
'outward' commute will be roughly 20kms on that day. Well, it's around that each way every other day...

today was 1hr47s to cover 51kms, so sounds like we're matching, although approx 500m of ascent for me - it's a fairly flat loop
 
For 'quick food' with morning coffee, I eat a few Fig Newton bars.
I would also have a 'gatorade' type carb drink in the water bottle.
Whey powder and gatorade very soon after riding (low-fat chocolate milk is an easy alternative), then shower and more food.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA
 
Depends, we have a race that starts at 8am and 2km into the course is a 7km climb. Maybe a full course meal prior to the start would not be such a good plan. If you made that choice or wanted to eat at 3am then would suggest training on a empty stomach.
 
Nov 17, 2011
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Eating beforehand is good, especially in and around training sessions when your body is metabolising. It doesn't need to be a lot, just enough to keep the digestive system active

Paul
 

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Mar 6, 2016
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While some may argue that one must eat prior to exercise (after you wake up in the morning) there are some, such as I, that dont think its necessarily that important. To a certain point.

Exercising right after one wakes up, jumps starts their metabolism. Typically the body utilizes its natural energy source so there is no need for stimulants i.e. food/coffee.

I do a 30mi ride in about 1hr40min with about 2.5k feet climbing avg spd 15-17mph.
The problem for me was food bogs me down and makes me lethargic and I often ate too much for this type of ride. I already have copious amounts of energy within me to complete this ride without food or any hang ups. Its under 2 hours and Its not overly strenuous. It gets my juices flowing and often I come home not feeling hungry. Then I eat breakfast.



I like what CoachFergie says:

CoachFergie said:
Depends, we have a race that starts at 8am and 2km into the course is a 7km climb. Maybe a full course meal prior to the start would not be such a good plan. If you made that choice or wanted to eat at 3am then would suggest training on a empty stomach.

Some people just carb load right before they go to bed then eat a small snack before the race to get the metabolism running.
 
Aug 4, 2011
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I sometimes have little spells [summer] where I get up and out at 6/6 30 am and do 2 hours.
I make sure I'm hydrated before my ride. If your going straight out then you don't need to eat.
Your body will work really efficiently and good for burning fat.
Just make sure you get enough carbs back in when you have finished.
If you are eating right then you should have no issues with get up and go rides. Sometimes it can feel odd but that is your body adjusting to the time of your exercising especially if you normally ride at a particular time.
So your performance will get better once your body adjusts.
 
Jul 17, 2009
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Tyler Hamilton tells of the days he would eat before a ride and return home to water and sleeping pills to sleep off the hunger
 
Peter Reid (Canadian Triathlete - won Kona 3 times) used to tell stories of the severe hunger and resulting crippling migraines he would endure to "make weight" before racing Kona. Incredible levels of self control and dedication....and a little whacky as well.
 
Oct 6, 2017
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In my opinion, having a cup of coffee or a glass of water will do. This is necessary for us to replenish the sweat will be having before riding around.
 

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