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Other/Mixed Early morning training programs

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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Danielb85

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Hello,
At the moment, the only time I will be able to train is early in the morning before work.
Are there any important things to keep in mind for training S&S first thing after you wake up?
 
A lot of people have had good experiences with doing S&S first in the morning. Myself, I'm a bit wary of doing anything back heavy right after waking up. The back and spine aren't the same after a long sleep compared to how it is after some activity.
 
Welcome. I train 5-6am; last year I trained S&S in the evenings.

My current program is presses followed by swings or snatches, so that is do-able first thing in the morning (first ladder or two of 1-5 reps @ 10RM is a gentle warmup).

When I do S&S sometimes on variety days, I have to go lighter.

I would say: don’t skip the goblet squats and halos before swings if training S&S first thing, and maybe even take 2-3 sets of 10 (per arm) lighter practice swings or deadlifts too, before the working sets.
 
Hello,

@Danielb85
Welcome !

A gentle warm up with halos and goblet squats, plus some bent arm bars for instance. However, warm up can be "individual": some folks can also do Brettzels, a few Cossack squats, Hindu push ups.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
I've been doing swings and get-ups at 5:00 a.m. for the last few weeks. Do the goblet squats, bridges, and halos and plus whatever else you need and you should be fine.
 
Hello,
At the moment, the only time I will be able to train is early in the morning before work.
Are there any important things to keep in mind for training S&S first thing after you wake up?
Listen to your body.

Typically I train around 0330. I pre-warm up with some Qigong and Tai-Chi. I follow that with the S&S warm-up. Then it's straight into S&S.
 
Welcome @Danielb85. I´ve been doing S&S in the morning before going to the office and so far so good. Lately I have been doing it in fasted state, and also good results.

Practicing in the morning is a good idea. @Anna C commented a while back that she sees better consistency on her trainees that practice in the morning, compared to those in the afternoon. I wonder if there is a study about this, or some kind of guidance from any of the productivity Gurus
 
Hello,
At the moment, the only time I will be able to train is early in the morning before work.
Are there any important things to keep in mind for training S&S first thing after you wake up?

The standard S&S warmup will take care of any issues. I only train early in the morning. Have done it that way for years. You get used to it.
 
I think Stu McGill said that some people need a couple of hours after waking up before their back can handle load safely. So be sure to be extra careful the first few times - you might be one of them.
 
I think Stu McGill said that some people need a couple of hours after waking up before their back can handle load safely. So be sure to be extra careful the first few times - you might be one of them.
Is that in the context of heavy barbell work only - like deadlift and back squat - such that relatively lighter KB work would have less risk?
 
Is that in the context of heavy barbell work only - like deadlift and back squat - such that relatively lighter KB work would have less risk?

I've read him talk against good morning and sit-ups during the first hour after waking up. So not heavy barbell work only.
 
I think this article has some nice pointers for safer early morning practice and also mentions the Stu McGill part (quoted below):
Workout Routines: 6 Tips for Adjusting to Exercise in the Morning

Dr. Stuart McGill has made some fantastic observations on spine stiffness first thing in the morning. In a nutshell, when we lay down to sleep at night, our spine is decompressed, so the intervertebral discs actually collect water. This increased hydration status builds annular tension within the discs, and makes the spine stiffer overall. This isn't a good kind of stiffness, though; more stress is placed on the ligaments and discs than the soft tissue structures that typically protect them.

Simply standing upright and moving around decreases the hydration status of the discs - and, in the process, actually makes us shorter as the day goes on! While I don't know of many people that want to get shorter, the good news is that this height reduction reduces the spine stiffness and allows us to move the spine more safely and effectively. While disc hydration diminishes over the course of the entire day, the majority of it occurs in the first hour that we're awake.

Now that I think of it I remember a bit of the Tony Robbins interview on the Tim Ferriss Podcast. Tony Robbins states that he likes to start his day jumping on a trampoline for 10 minutes because the G forces would speed up lymph flow. I think it is not too far fetched to infer that this could also help with liquids in the spine - as long as you maintain a safe back position and don't go berzerk from minute one on :D
 
@Danielb85 : Welcome to the forum :)
I practice S&S in the morning right after waking up as well. Make sure you have a good warm up before tackling any heavy bells. My warm up consists of OS Reset and Indian club work, and I try to do the S&S warm up as well. Main thing is to listen to your body.
 
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