early morning workouts

Juice!

Apple or pineapple. Enough carbs and next to no fat to get you through your workout.
Works a treat for me.

Whole wheat bagel w/peanut butter, nice & easy, carbs/fats/proteins. Can't beat it.

caffinated gu.

PB Crackers.  Portable.  Fast.  Perfect.  There came a point where I decided I couldn't possibly remember how to swim if I didn't have PB crackers first.

Thanks so much for all your ideas! I'll give it a try.

You can also try a protein shake. It's terribly easy...dump a packet of power into a mixing container, add cold water, a couple of ice cubes, shake and drink [all in the same container]. I started using shakes as my 3.30 pm snack at work because I was needing more calories.

DH and I drink some Gu2O... raspberry is yummy.

I always have a banana and some water.  For some reason a banana just sits well in my stomach before working out.

I can't stomach too much early in the morning (I'm up no later than 4am) before my workouts. When I get up I take in a GU and 4 oz of water and head out the door. If I am doing a long run in the morning (10k or more) then I will take my hydration belt that has eload in it. By the time I begin to drink this my body is awake enough to take in some calories. Any activity less than 45 min it is GU only.

Milo (do you guys have that?), bananas, protein drinks?

Bananas are good because they're easily digested and have all sorts of good nutrients like potassium, etc.

Thanks again everyone. I'm working my way through the list - so far, so good!

Another note on bananas......a training FYI
Ripe/brownish bananas have already turned themselves into sugar, so they give your body instant energy.
Not so ripe/greenish bananas have yet to turn themselves into sugar, so your body has to do that and they provide a longer, sustained energy source.

i don't mean to go off topic...but, i have often wanted to swap a few evening workouts for the mornings, but when it comes to hydration, how can i get enough, to where i'm not feeling bloated immediately before a run? in the evenings, i've been hydrating all day long at work...so by the time i get home...i drink a small cup of water, eat some protein...and then take 16 oz of more fluids with me on the run. but -- how do some of you manage that for a morning workout..not becoming dehydrated?

Bananas, oatmeal and honey, or PB&J sandwich tend to work for me before early AM workouts.

Chris Carmichael suggests in his book "Food for Fitness" that if you just aren't a breakfast or eat before your early morning workout type of person, to drink 12 oz of a sports drink 1 hour before exercise. Then make sure that you continue this during your workout depending on the duration. I've experimented with a bunch of stuff over the years and for me I eat a banana 30 minutes before and drink down some Gatorade. If I feel like I can't eat then I skip the banana but never the sports drink. Sometimes I'll eat a tablespoon of natural strawberry preserves. The sugar boost is killer!

I must be an alien or something. I've been doing early am work outs for a couple of years - 5 am start. Now with the tri stuff, I'm getting up a tad earlier to get in more. So I'm up by 435, out the door by 445/450 for 1 - 1/2 work outs.
I've never even wanted food. I may suck down some water..but that's it. And then when I get home and dressed... I suck down some coffee and diet pepsi (major caffeine hound) as I get my kid up and fed/dressed, etc... It's not til about an hour at work that I eat.
So I eat at like 9 am - usually a bowl of cereal/banana or a bagel. Sometimes if I'm particularly hungry I'll chomp down the banana by 830.

When I did my race last weekend, I had to force myself to eat beforehand. Banana and a granola bar. But that was like 1 1/2 before start time.
I think if I ate right before I worked out, I'd get cramps or feel nauseous.

I also eat nothing in the morning before workouts, since most things I'm doing right now seem to wrap up in an hour or a little less and I figure I have enough stored energy for that. I've never felt a lack of energy due to this practice as compared to a work out later in the day. I also generally don't eat until more than 1.5 to 2 hours after a morning workout, either. Not sure if that is ideal, but that is about when my tummy tells me to eat something.

I've been wondering, however, if this would change once my workouts get more intense. I'm waiting to see how that goes.

Fig newtons!!

Orange juice before (my stomach says no to solid food before early am workouts), bagel with paenut butter afterward.

If your not racing or doing a long intense workout then you can go with eating nothing. Working out after fasting is a good way to teach your body to burn fat for fuel. Then eat right after to replenish the worked muscles.

Cheers.

Rice.

I know I'm late but I just found this thread.

I trained my body to eat before my morning workouts. I'm sometimes out the door by 4:45-5:00 am. I have a bowl of smart start cereal with soy milk every single morning without fail. Now I couldn't get through my day without it. Sometimes for a long run I also have a peanut butter and honey sandwich on whole grain bread.

sometimes i eat nothing, sometimes i eat Clif Nectar bars just to get something in there