Pre Gym advice!!

Vinnie K

Hey all,
Just joined total fitness in sandyford, now im new to the whole fitness culture so i was wondering a few things.
What is your routine before you go the gym as in how long before i go should i eat and so on.
Thanks in advance..
Vinnie..

t-ha

Hey cornflake,

First off nice choice of gym.

Routine's before going to the gym depend on the person involved and what you're going to be training. Personally I eat an hour before training with weights, and more like 1.5 hours for anything that involves more jumping around. Some people need more time, some need less - also the foods involved and the amount can make a difference. I keep it to protein (chicken, turkey, etc.) and carbohydrate (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes) foods before the gym and eat a decent amount of them.

Note: don't eat tuna straight before the gym - bleeuugh!

Dr4gul4

Ohh good choice of gym, twas pretty mental last nite tho.

Maybe we should do a who goes to what gym thread ?

JayRoc

What works as pre-workout food tends to differ from person to person, so it may take you a week or two to find what's suitable for you...
personally if I haven't eaten about an hour before training I feel it before the end of the session, but I know many people who are quite the opposite and feel weighed-down if they eat so close to a workout. Bodyweight tends to be something of a factor in my experience.

Basically I'd just say to keep the carbs nice and high, and the choice of foods simple- rich food pre-workout can have a decidedly deleterious effect on things!


(TF Sandyford represent!:D )

TerrorFirmer

My choice is usually a plain chicken wrap and a pint of milk.

Dr4gul4

JayRoc wrote:

(TF Sandyford represent!:D )

lol very good...we'll have a little meeting some day, we can all get smoothies

hunnymonster

My pre gym routine also depends on what I'll be doing there and what time of day I'm going. For weights early in the day I would eat more than cardio later in the day.



OT, I've heard some people say I would be better cardio'ing in the morning and lifting in the evening. What to boardsie's think? At the moment I can't as the cardio takes longer so I have to do it in the evenings, but maybe next week when me're out of term, my time will become a bit more flexible.

Cravez

hunnymonster wrote:

OT, I've heard some people say I would be better cardio'ing in the morning and lifting in the evening. What to boardsie's think? At the moment I can't as the cardio takes longer so I have to do it in the evenings, but maybe next week when me're out of term, my time will become a bit more flexible.

Depending on your current status i.e cutting or bulking. If you're cutting, morning time cardio would be a good idea as when you wake up your body has used up all its glycogen(carbohydrates stored in your muscles) storage in your body and all it has to use is your fat storage. Generally cardio would be low-medium intensity for 45mins-1 hour for fat burning. Doing High intensity (75% heart rate or more) and you will more than likely burn Muscle as energy instead of fat. You could still do weight training at around lunch time.

However if your bulking or generally more geared towards weight training its good to do it in the morning. Morning times although you may not have as much energy compared in the evening, testosterone levels are higher at morning times than later during the day. Also Generally after a weight training session you should eat alot to keep anabolic and a good excuse to eat alot of food , no point in eating alot throughout the day if you're training in the evening!

Id generally do weight training in the morning or around lunch time. You can always do weight training first, have a whey protein shake and then do cardio.

justsomebloke

hunnymonster wrote:

OT, I've heard some people say I would be better cardio'ing in the morning and lifting in the evening. What to boardsie's think? At the moment I can't as the cardio takes longer so I have to do it in the evenings, but maybe next week when me're out of term, my time will become a bit more flexible.

well how do you feel your morning weight sessions go? do you feel you would get more out of them from doing them in the evening? Also what are your goals from the resistance training (I know your main focus is on being a freak, sorry but you are, anybody who does an ultra in the snow and then wants to do the sables is a freak, but in a good way, and the thing is there are 2 of yous on the board:eek:) I know you are looking to build upper body but are you looking to maintain your current weight or are you not adverse to adding a little extra mass

t-ha

See if you're stronger lifting in the evening. Personally my lifting sucks monkeys early in the morning.

hunnymonster

jsb wrote:

well how do you feel your morning weight sessions go? do you feel you would get more out of them from doing them in the evening? Also what are your goals from the resistance training (I know your main focus is on being a freak, sorry but you are, anybody who does an ultra in the snow and then wants to do the sables is a freak, but in a good way, and the thing is there are 2 of yous on the board:eek:) I know you are looking to build upper body but are you looking to maintain your current weight or are you not adverse to adding a little extra mass

You're not the first to call me a freak. Usually there are a couple of expeltives accompanying it too.

I've not been at this lifting lark long enough to have figured out exactly what suits me best. From the cardio stuff. I'm much better off doing interval and other higher intensity stuff in the evening. Around 6 is perfect as it's long enough to have digested lunch but not so late that I'm up all night. I love the long slow stuff (bike and running) either first thing in the morning or mid-morning until lunchtime. I work in a university so half the year allows me be flexible and the other half not. My initial feeling is that evening would suit me better.

Building the upper body is to facilitate my swimming. I find my body position goes to pot after only a km because my arms/shoulders/core are not strong enough. I'm not doing the lifting for appearance but for endurance type strength. I have doubled the amount I can bench press but when I started I wasn't using much more than the bar with smallest plates on the end, so it's hardly exciting. I'm still slightly scared of squats and dead lifts. They just look like they have so much potential to go wrong.

I have no problem with extra weight if it brings extra strength. My body fat is coming down (using calipers). It was ridiculously high for an endurance athelete. This is mostly through improved diet. There is still a good way to go though.

Hanley

Do what works for you. People over think the minor details WAY too much.

As T-ha said, he's weak in the morning, but my best training sessoins come between 11.30am and 2pm. Does that mean T-ha should train tthen too? Or that I'm training too early cos it doesn't work for him??

HELL...... NO!

daveirl

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