Fast breakfast advice

james22b2
james22b2 Posts: 132
Hi
Most days at the moment I get up at about 07:00 and head pretty fast out of the door for a quick ride (1 to 1.5hrs). I am probably on my bike within half an hour of waking up and just take a small milky coffee and around 0,75l of water before I go. When I get back I have a banana, some milk and normally some muesli.
Should I be eating something before I go out - in which case what sort of thing?
Also, is it better to avoid caffeine? It just feels so hard dragging myself out without it :-/
Thanks in advance,

Comments

  • diy
    diy Posts: 6,473
    google bonk training - that is pretty much what you are doing. Unless you are struggling to get round or having cramps, i'd say carry on.. I do a fair amount of training on empty and anything under 2 hours is fine. I found it massively increased my endurance.
  • kinioo
    kinioo Posts: 776
    Well,

    This is similar to what I do.

    I get up @ 5:40, quick breakfast and off to the gym @ about 6-6:30.

    Usually I eat: oats, with Greek yogurt, fruits, and proteins, nuts etc.

    or omelette with oats, fruits, raisins etc.

    or a protein shake.

    The good thing is the oats / raisins etc will give you some fuel for whole morning,

    the bad thing is eating 20-30min before exercise is that the stomach will not have enough time to digest.

    I have also done some exercises 'on empty' stomach - usually when I want to lose some weight.

    Chris
  • JodyP
    JodyP Posts: 193
    anything under 2 hours is fine. I found it massively increased my endurance.

    This for me also. Although its only a couple of times a week I tend to do up to 2 hrs in a morning without breakfast.
  • james22b2
    james22b2 Posts: 132
    google bonk training - that is pretty much what you are doing. Unless you are struggling to get round or having cramps, i'd say carry on.. I do a fair amount of training on empty and anything under 2 hours is fine. I found it massively increased my endurance.

    Thanks everyone. I don´t get cramps, but maybe after an hour or so I can occasionally find myself drifting and losing mental concentration/motivation, without realising it straight away. I also find myself very hungry for the rest of the day, even after a late breakfast. I have only being doing this for a few weeks so I guess this might all change.

    So if I decide to continue riding on for more than two hours, is it a good idea to bring/find something to eat ( mid-ride), and if so what would be a good recommend ?

    Cheers
  • diy
    diy Posts: 6,473
    What are your goals? How fat are you?

    Unless you have low body fat (<10% for a man) are a body builder, have other fitness activities/sports which require high growth factor, there really isn't any need to fuel yourself for the sake of it, unless you find yourself running out of steam on Training rides. Events, competitions etc. are a different story.

    It takes about 3 months of doing this regularly before you get the benefit. If you need something then personally I'd add something to the water or take a flapjack or something. To get the benefit of any energy consumed, it needs to be taken about 10 mins before you need it via drink and about 20 mins for food.

    On events - you want little and often, as you don't want the digestive hormones triggering additional load on your heart, which you'd rather focus on pumping oxygen rich blood to your muscles.
  • smarthawk
    smarthawk Posts: 3
    edited June 2015

    Usually I eat: oats, with Greek yogurt, fruits, and proteins, nuts etc.

    or a protein shake.

    I have also done some exercises 'on empty' stomach - usually when I want to lose some weight.

    Chris

    Looks like I've just found some useful tips for my nerdy life, so thank you! :D