Quote Originally Posted by hitmandonny View Post
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.
Most people think they shouldnt eat before exercise because they will burn more fat and calories that way. While this is somewhat true, and can be usefull when trying to cut weight fast (like donny said), it can also force your body into a catabolic state (again like donny said). Besides, you dont burn that much fat/calories during an hour or two of exercise. You lose fat because the exercise causes a boost in your metabolism. Which causes the body to burn calories faster, and use food as fuel much better for hours after exercise. This way there is much less catabolizing of your hard earned muscle.

I personally like to eat a solid meal about an hour and a half before a workout, but i know a lot of people that like to have a small meal of quick carbs (gateorade, fruit or juice) and fast protein (whey) about half hour before a workout.

This is especially true for anyone trying to add muscle.