Concept2 Forum

How do you handle it when circumstances beyond your control force you to postpone a meal such that the time when you can eat is much closer to the start of your planned workout, and you unfortunately don't have the flexibility to delay the workout?

Do you

1) Not eat at all and row,
2) Eat just a small snack and row, or
3) Eat a "normal" meal and do a very easy row?
4) Do something else? If so, what?

(I'm assuming that most folks are like me, in that if you eat a "normal meal" quantity of food, for several hours after that you feel like your body really can't do a hard workout, and it you try you're asking for trouble.)

Ombrax wrote: ↑

November 27th, 2019, 12:50 am

How do you handle it when circumstances beyond your control force you to postpone a meal such that the time when you can eat is much closer to the start of your planned workout, and you unfortunately don't have the flexibility to delay the workout?

Do you

1) Not eat at all and row,
2) Eat just a small snack and row, or
3) Eat a "normal" meal and do a very easy row?
4) Do something else? If so, what?

(I'm assuming that most folks are like me, in that if you eat a "normal meal" quantity of food, for several hours after that you feel like your body really can't do a hard workout, and it you try you're asking for trouble.)

I try to have a normal meal 3-4h before training, if eating is closer I reduce quantity, and 1 hour before I eat nothing except an apple or a banana if I feel I need some energy. Before and during harder and longer rows I try to drink watered apple juice.

On the odd occasion that I don't row first thing in the morning, it depends on the time and effort of the session.

I have a small bowl of porridge couple of hours before I do an FM or further, or I'll leave it circa four hours before I try and do anything else especially if it's after lunchtime and a normal meal.

If it's a longish row (over 25k) early morning I'll just have a banana and maybe some carb drinks, but usually it's just a strong coffee beforehand as you have got enough carb stores to do circa 30k, assuming you aren't on a keto diet or minimising carbs

My rowing workouts tend to be longer steady state and I tend to forego the meal and row first. My workouts are in the late afternoon/early evening after work so I'm usually making the choice between rowing and eating dinner. I'm in a weight-losing mode at the moment and find that the long rows help to stave off my appetite so I eat less after.

Ombrax wrote: ↑

November 27th, 2019, 12:50 am

How do you handle it when circumstances beyond your control force you to postpone a meal such that the time when you can eat is much closer to the start of your planned workout, and you unfortunately don't have the flexibility to delay the workout?

Do you

1) Not eat at all and row,
2) Eat just a small snack and row, or
3) Eat a "normal" meal and do a very easy row?
4) Do something else? If so, what?

(I'm assuming that most folks are like me, in that if you eat a "normal meal" quantity of food, for several hours after that you feel like your body really can't do a hard workout, and it you try you're asking for trouble.)

If I don't have a few hours between a meal and rowing, then I do 1 - I row now, and eat some later, although I then don't usually feel like eating much either, just drinking.

David

I'm impressed with the dedication and autonomy set out above. I have some flexibility of course, but essentially I eat with my wife when we would normally eat and I fit what training I want to do around that as a lower priority. If like today I find I'm training on a fuller stomach than is comfortable then I just go slower...or more often I'd maybe miss the session. The problem doesn't arise often enough to worry about it.

I coincidentally came across this story on the NYT web site:

https://nyti.ms/2qOFbiv

It isn't directly related to my question, since I would assume that the vast majority of us on the forum aren't "sedentary," but it's interesting just the same.

DavidA wrote: ↑

November 27th, 2019, 5:12 pm

Ombrax wrote: ↑

November 27th, 2019, 12:50 am

How do you handle it when circumstances beyond your control force you to postpone a meal such that the time when you can eat is much closer to the start of your planned workout, and you unfortunately don't have the flexibility to delay the workout?

Do you

1) Not eat at all and row,
2) Eat just a small snack and row, or
3) Eat a "normal" meal and do a very easy row?
4) Do something else? If so, what?

(I'm assuming that most folks are like me, in that if you eat a "normal meal" quantity of food, for several hours after that you feel like your body really can't do a hard workout, and it you try you're asking for trouble.)

If I don't have a few hours between a meal and rowing, then I do 1 - I row now, and eat some later, although I then don't usually feel like eating much either, just drinking.

David

same for me. i generaly have alight breakfast around 7am then lunch anywhere between 10:30 and 12 then i wont eat until after my erg session on those days i row on. so my evening meal is anywhere from 7pm to 8pm if i eat anything at all.
i am looking at doing a extended fast for a couple of days a week so do the breakfast then not eat again until breakfast the next day (24hrs). then normal for a day or 2 then fast for a day again
alternately fast from lunch til breakfast every second day.

I guess it depends on what you eat as well as when.
I had a few health things, that I was convinced were nutrition related, so i was swapping and trying different things for a while.

I'm quite happy at the moment and am making better progress than I was.

For me I swapped to a plant based diet (vegan) combined with intermittent fasting (16/8).
basically means i only eat vegan food between 11:00 and 19:00 >5 days a week

Once you get in the rhythm, its no problem. The only thing I dont like is rowing directly after a meal.

Just for Info:
I actually think swapping to a vegan diet has made me stronger/faster...

there is an interesting doco on netflix at the moment called the game changers. which is about a MMA fighter that changed to a plant based diet and his discussions with other top athletes who are on plant based diets. to be fair it needs to be taken with a bit of salt as i think the whole doco is skewed to present the plant based diet in the best possible way. and if you do some research into the people involved you will find that they are no where near the top of there game anymore. and some of the research or comparison testing they did was a bit funny. like the blood tests they did on people on a plant based diet and those on a mixed diet. the ones on the mixed diet werent allowed to drink any water as part of there diet for the day while those on plant based were. which presented as unhealthy blood stats for the mixed diet people
however it was still interesting.
would i change to a plant based diet fully no
would i eat more plant based food... probably
my general diet rules are... eat what i want but in moderation... not always that successfull

I once did 50k about 90 min after eating half a large pizza, 3 doughnuts and 3 pints of beer... not my best work on the erg, but I have no problem rowing on a full stomach. My body doesn't seem to mind at all.

Since it came up, it so happens that I am a vegetarian (mostly vegan too), but I don't think that changes the answer to the original question.

I've read the fasting / OMAD posts here with some interest, but not enough to try any of that myself.

I sometimes row fasted, usually around noon after skipping breakfast. It feels good to kick the metabolism over to fat burning like that, I'm often a tiny bit sluggish out the gate but one I'm rolling it's all good.

If my meal pattern is off, or the only time I have to row is lunch time or something, I'll have a very small snack if I haven't been fasted all morning. For some reason, if I've eaten breakfast I'm more likely to 'bonk' if I delay lunch too long by exercising. A small snack, medium GI type thing, solves that issue nicely. I'll then eat the rest of my lunch about 30 minutes after I'm done.