Why do boxers wake up at 4:30am in the morning to run?

[wesrman]

Well, I dont see why you can't just wake up at normal time and do your running before breakfast.
Same thing

Most boxers work full time and go to the boxing gym after work. So getting their roadwork in early is the best option.

It could be any time obv.

[TyBuff]

I think it has more to do with them having to go hard at the gym later. Gym work would be a lot harder coming fresh off of a 5+ mile run and the straight into the gym. If you get your run in early you can have some time for your legs to rest then get into the gym for another workout. I know I wouldnt be able to go through a couple of hours of doing bag work, focus mits, sparring, skipping rope, etc.... if I just got done running.

[ono]

Running very early in the morning, before taking in any foods forces the body into a catabolic state - eating itself.

This means at the start of training when a fighter may have a few extra pounds it is an excellent method of cutting fat.
Nearer to the fight these long early runs will be dropped in favour of short-fast carb fuelled runs.

Training in a catabolic state is a bad idea.

I'll be going into it in my other thread when i get chance.

[Chris Nagel]

Running very early in the morning, before taking in any foods forces the body into a catabolic state - eating itself.

This means at the start of training when a fighter may have a few extra pounds it is an excellent method of cutting fat.
Nearer to the fight these long early runs will be dropped in favour of short-fast carb fuelled runs.

Training in a catabolic state is a bad idea.

I'll be going into it in my other thread when i get chance.

Your body pretty much uses up most of its glucose while you're sleeping, this is the first major source of energy that you use when you go for a run. If you fresh out of glucose, then your body will start converting the protein from your muscles into energy to burn. Moreover, it takes your body takes a few hours after waking to be ready to go full throttle with any vigorous exercise. In the morning your blood is little thicker than it is later in the day, this would mean your heart rate or blood pressure be higher than it would be if you were running in the afternoon.

However, there's more to consider. If you can't run at any other time but in the morning, then the benefits of running would far outweight the any loss of muscle mass. You could also also minimize the effects of catabolism by consuming some simple carbs, protein as well as amino acids and then giving your body enough time to get it in your system before you go and run.

[ono]

Running very early in the morning, before taking in any foods forces the body into a catabolic state - eating itself.

This means at the start of training when a fighter may have a few extra pounds it is an excellent method of cutting fat.
Nearer to the fight these long early runs will be dropped in favour of short-fast carb fuelled runs.

Training in a catabolic state is a bad idea.

I'll be going into it in my other thread when i get chance.

Your body pretty much uses up most of its glucose while you're sleeping, this is the first major source of energy that you use when you go for a run. If you fresh out of glucose, then your body will start converting the protein from your muscles into energy to burn. Moreover, it takes your body takes a few hours after waking to be ready to go full throttle with any vigorous exercise. In the morning your blood is little thicker than it is later in the day, this would mean your heart rate or blood pressure be higher than it would be if you were running in the afternoon.

However, there's more to consider. If you can't run at any other time but in the morning, then the benefits of running would far outweight the any loss of muscle mass. You could also also minimize the effects of catabolism by consuming some simple carbs, protein as well as amino acids and then giving your body enough time to get it in your system before you go and run.

Pretty much said everything i was going to say.

[boxer1234]

Are you a coach Chris Nagel?

[wesrman]

Are you a coach Chris Nagel?

He prefers to be called Mr. Nail Gun.

[Chris Nagel]

Are you a coach Chris Nagel?

No.

[donnydarkoIRL]

Running very early in the morning, before taking in any foods forces the body into a catabolic state - eating itself.

This means at the start of training when a fighter may have a few extra pounds it is an excellent method of cutting fat.
Nearer to the fight these long early runs will be dropped in favour of short-fast carb fuelled runs.

Well, I dont see why you can't just wake up at normal time and do your running before breakfast.
Same thing

Not the same thing.

Above Chris Nagel has illustrated to us how the body consumes our glucose stores during the night.

Furthermore, roadwork is tiresome. The body is tired after it's completion.
Assuming that a professional boxer will train 2 or 3 times a day, periods of rest are needed between workouts - alowing sufficient time for recovery.
The simple fact that 2 hours before training is the optimum meal time portrays the time constraints on a nutritionally concious boxer.

[Trainer Monkey]

Pure masochism
No actually,alot of boxers still have jobs,you got to get a good run,get a shower,get cleaned up and punch in at the factory

[Sharla]

I know the Kenyan marathon runners always go for a jog before breakfast to help keep their weight down. These guys don't want to bulk up under any circumstances though!

I'd agree it is easier to loose weight by exercising before eating breakfast and for those of us who are not great time managers it's always less stressfult to get conditioning work done in the morning - it's done before other things can complicate your day.

One thing i'm not sure of is whether or not it's a good idea to ever do weight training in the morning?

I was reading through a mag where a heap of olympic athletes described their day and they all did their weight training at night.

Is this because more anaerobic exercise aims to build muscle/strength and muscle repair happens overnight?

I'm not sure why it would be different to recovering from aerobic exercise to be honest!

I have to admit though i can recover enough from a run to function during the day but after a hard weights session I'll be tired and want to sleep for the rest of the day if i do it in the morning!

I'd love to know why if anyone can tell me?

[donnydarkoIRL]

I know the Kenyan marathon runners always go for a jog before breakfast to help keep their weight down. These guys don't want to bulk up under any circumstances though!

I'd agree it is easier to loose weight by exercising before eating breakfast and for those of us who are not great time managers it's always less stressfult to get conditioning work done in the morning - it's done before other things can complicate your day.

One thing i'm not sure of is whether or not it's a good idea to ever do weight training in the morning?

I was reading through a mag where a heap of olympic athletes described their day and they all did their weight training at night.

Is this because more anaerobic exercise aims to build muscle/strength and muscle repair happens overnight?

I'm not sure why it would be different to recovering from aerobic exercise to be honest!

I have to admit though i can recover enough from a run to function during the day but after a hard weights session I'll be tired and want to sleep for the rest of the day if i do it in the morning!

I'd love to know why if anyone can tell me?

I can't actually answer your question on the subject Sharla but I can offer a theory.

The Irish rugby team (who flunked so spectacularly in the last world cup) always do their weight training in the morning.

I believe if weight training is done in the morning, the muscle ios more likely to wear and tear, perhaps even depreciate during later sessions that day, even if they take supplementation.

If weight trainiung is done at night, you've got a long rest period and supplements will not be consumed by anything over the night assuming they have a big glucose meal before bed.

[ono]

I know the Kenyan marathon runners always go for a jog before breakfast to help keep their weight down. These guys don't want to bulk up under any circumstances though!

I'd agree it is easier to loose weight by exercising before eating breakfast and for those of us who are not great time managers it's always less stressfult to get conditioning work done in the morning - it's done before other things can complicate your day.

One thing i'm not sure of is whether or not it's a good idea to ever do weight training in the morning?

I was reading through a mag where a heap of olympic athletes described their day and they all did their weight training at night.

Is this because more anaerobic exercise aims to build muscle/strength and muscle repair happens overnight?

I'm not sure why it would be different to recovering from aerobic exercise to be honest!

I have to admit though i can recover enough from a run to function during the day but after a hard weights session I'll be tired and want to sleep for the rest of the day if i do it in the morning!

I'd love to know why if anyone can tell me?

There are pros and cons to both really. Training first thing in the morning can be bad as the intesnity of the work out may suffer. Weight training first thing on a morning without eating beforehand is is also a bad idea....for pretty much the same reason as running is, except the aim of weight-training is presumably to build muscle. So clearly, weight-training on an empty stomach would be a bad idea.

The problem with training late at night can be the fact that you are likely to go to bed without a proper post workout nutrition plan. Glycogen stores are likely to be quite low, so if you don't have enough stored gylcogen to meet basic energy needs while you are sleeping, you will most likely sacrifice muscle as this will be broken down and used for fuel.

One of the most important components of a weight lifting programme is to have adequate pre-workout and post workout nutrition plans in place. So the best time to weight-train would ideally be around 2-3 hours after a high carbohydrate (low GI) meal, and to have the workout finished at least 3-5 hours before going to bed. The 3-5 hours are important as this gives you adequate time to replenish glycogen stores. Aim to eat around 1g carbs per kg of bodyweight, every 1-2 hours for a maximum of 5 hours.

So the average 70kg athlete would require 70g of carbs every 1-2 hours after intense training. Remember that everybody is different so it may be necessary to lower the 70g figure, if fat gain becomes a problem. However this is quite unlikely if glycogen stores are depleted quite substantially. Trial and error may be required to find out what works best for you.

I think it's about weighing up the pros and cons of the sitaution really. If weight reaining can only be fit in late at night then it's still better than not doing it all. If you weight-train in the morning, it's definitely a good idea to eat a high carbohydrate meal beforehand (with some protein).

I'm going into post-workout nutrition a bit later on today in my thread anyway for those who are interested.

[wesrman]

I have always done my weight training in the morning, but i always eat an hour and a half before. I feel like i have more energy then (as opposed to after a long day at work).

I also like it because then i have the whole day to eat, rest and recover knowing that i have done what i needed to do for the day. Then i will do some cardio later in the day.

It always makes me feel better after a morning workout, and i feel it energizes me for the rest of the day. On those days when i feel slugish or tired a good workout can really give me a boost.

[ono]

I have always done my weight training in the morning, but i always eat an hour and a half before. I feel like i have more energy then (as opposed to after a long day at work).

I also like it because then i have the whole day to eat, rest and recover knowing that i have done what i needed to do for the day. Then i will do some cardio later in the day.

It always makes me feel better after a morning workout, and i feel it energizes me for the rest of the day. On those days when i feel slugish or tired a good workout can really give me a boost.

The upside of training quite early is the fact that you have the rest of the day to work with in regards to glycogen replenishment. Definitely good idea to eat beforehand....like you do.