I know via search/googling your general recommendation is to NOT train fasted and to try and get a light meal in.
Can you point me towards any literature/reasoning as to why the preworkout meal is so critical?
If I have to train first thing AM (which I need to do from time to time) I don’t even like having a protein shake. I notice no performance difference training on an empty stomach vs training with a whey shake+banana… in fact in some cases I find the digestion process negatively impacts my training. I usually train in the afternoon after 2hours of digestion so this is no issue, but when I train first thing in the AM I just prefer to roll out of bed smash a coffee and get to work.
What are the negative consequences of training first thing AM fasted? Have you guys changed your stance on this at all?
That’s fine. Personal preference here trumps nearly everything here.
Performance tends to be reduced fasted due to reduced glycogen stores, but the research isn’t iron clad…owing to the inter-individual differences. That said, pre and intraworkout carbohydrates tend to improve performance in fasted individuals by a little bit if the person tolerates it without GI distress. There’s relatively little (read : none) data on resistance training in the fasted vs fed condition on acute workout performance. Most of the data has to do with endurance exercise, team sports, and intermittent exercise.