There is a huge division on this subject- either you eat or you don’t. And, I’ve found people are pretty adamant on the subject. Because I have been both a marathon runner, bike racer, yoga goer, and now cross fitter, I can honestly tell you that on ALL occasions, I do not ever EAT before a workout. My general rule of thumb is 2+ hours is the minimum amount of time that needs to be between me and my sweat. Hammer Nutrition’s site says three hours prior to a workout. On marathon day, yes, I ate oatmeal prior to the race, but, still I stayed within my two hour window.
I will give you two main reasons:
1. The Puke Factor. Most of my workouts lately are completed within one hour and the intensity is HIGH. I do not want to puke my breakfast at the end of a hard workout. Period.
2. Burping. Nor, do I wish to taste my food again while out swinging a kettlebell, running, rowing …whatever. No, thank you.
3. Timing. All of my workouts are in the early morning. I wake up, drink my required half cup of coffee and off I go! I have no time to eat, nor am I even remotely hungry at 5am.
What if I get hungry during a workout?
1. If I feel any tummy rumbling, I will take a Hammer Gel. Or, there will be HEED in my bottle. While at cross fit, I am generally not hungry during those workouts, but, I’ve found that I do on most occassions need a little something to get me throught the whole hour. Hammer’s Heed is my first choice.
2. If the workout is two hours or longer, I will have both a Hammer Gel and HEED mixed with Perpetuem in my bottles.
Where do you stand on the food + workout issue?
Questions/Comments, please share!
You can read more on this subject on Hammer’s site. The Pre-Race Meal & The Pre-Race Meal expanded.
5 responses so far ↓
1 trifitmom // Jan 11, 2010 at 7:48 pm
oh i must have my oatmeal before working out. I think without food I would feel faint, however it has happened where i have skipped and I don’t faint, but you know it is in my head.
.-= trifitmom´s last blog ..I knew getting hubby involved would benefit me =-.
2 RunToTheFinish // Jan 11, 2010 at 11:09 pm
I can wake up grab a slice of bread and PB, then head out and not have any tummy issues. So I usually do.
.-= RunToTheFinish´s last blog ..Challenge 5: Day 21 -28 =-.
3 Tiffany // Jan 11, 2010 at 11:33 pm
I always eat something before I go – maybe a half hour or so and what works great for me is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. If I get hungry I normally cannot focus on the workout and I should carry some gel’s with me but I don’t.
4 Laura // Jan 18, 2010 at 8:24 pm
I wish I was the type to not eat… I do eat. ALWAYS.. and often too much before heading out. On the days that I have to cram a workout in somewhere and it doesn’t work out for me to eat beforehand it’s definitely better. I try to eat at least an hour before a big workout.
5 Ed // Feb 3, 2011 at 3:38 am
Absolutely agree with you. Hammer HEED all the way. If you’re eating well, your body doesn’t really need food for an hour workout. (electrolytes, yes). 2 plus, yes, I agree, Perpetuem works. (I’ve switched over to the Perpetuem Solids). Love them. As a matter of fact, keeping the calories limited early on also gets your body used to relying on the calories already stored in your body, rather than the calories sitting in your stomach.
IMHO, eating before a workout is all psychological. Not really good for you unless it’s 3 hour prior to that work out.
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