Comments on: Cardio On Empty Stomach?

By: evilcyber

evilcyber — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 18:55:05 +0000

In reply to Tushar. Hey Tushar, it would be ideal if you have a bite to eat before you work out(as fuel). But if you can't do that, it's ok to do it as you described.

By: Tushar

Tushar — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 17:21:07 +0000

Hey sir!

I am 18, i am a student who goes to college Mon-Fri at 8am. My question is:
Can i wake up at 6am and workout at 6.30am in EMPTY STOMACH for 45mins. Like workout at 6.30 till 7.15am and eat my breakfast straightway after workout at 7.30am. Is it bad working out (lifting weights) in empty stomach and eating a meal straigtway. I cannot workout in evenings because i need to study. Can i workout? does it burn MUSCLE?? I have not tried it yet, but if you say is SAFE. i will do it until my class finishes (8 months left).

Thanks you!

By: evilcyber

evilcyber — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 20:58:04 +0000

In reply to kael.

Keep in mind that glucose / glyocgen reserves are rather limited, which is why, for example, endurance athletes sometimes go through a “carb-loading” regime to increase them.

Also have a look at these, which may shed some further light on the subject:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10188753
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/04/health/04real.html

By: evilcyber

evilcyber — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 20:50:38 +0000

In reply to Steve Craig. Heah Steve, thanks for this very well thought-out criticism! Let me put it like this: If a trainee's experience strays from results found in research, then he is indeed well advised to simply do what works best for him. Science gives us guidance, but in this field we cannot always talk in absolutes.

By: evilcyber

evilcyber — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 20:47:54 +0000

In reply to krachbummente. I'm glad you found it helpful! :)

By: kael

kael — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 08:43:11 +0000

I’m also going to agree with Steve. While our body may need carbs to run, our bodies can get them from other places than from the stomach. Your body has a storage of glycogen in the liver and muscles, and once needed glycogen is easily converted into glucose. Therefore you could say that your body always (unless your glycogen stores are depleted) has carbs stored and ready for use. The lack of carbs isn’t a problem for the body unless you really are running a marathon or something. I can also agree with the deal about the digestion. It may not be a one-size-fits-for-all-thingy, but I feel like exercising with an empty stomach work better for me.

By: nino

nino — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:44:49 +0000

Yup, agreeing with Steve here, even though Evil made a good point there. I feel that doing moderate intensity LISS on an empty stomach got me better performance, however, I don’t like working out without food in my stomach (I suffer from hypoglycemia very easily) which makes sense with what Evil said – at some point you just need carbs to perform well at a high intensity.

There never will be one guideline being true for everybody.

By: Steve Craig

Steve Craig — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 01:28:22 +0000

You’re very welcome, dmitry! 😉

By: dmitry

dmitry — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:30:00 +0000

evil and steve,

thanks for the insights about it.

By: Steve Craig

Steve Craig — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:02:59 +0000

Insightful video, Freddie! I wrote an article with the contrary opinion here: http://stevecraigfitness.com/?p=16 ^_^ While also looking a bit at this very same science, it’s just difficult to ignore anecdotal evidence that myself and even the likes of Tom Venuto and Bill Phillips have seen in their clients in promoting fasted cardio. Phillips states this with such confidence in “Body for Life” that it’s virtually not worth arguing with him about(the guy, I believe, busted both his legs and is still finding ways to stay ripped XD). Then when someone like Artus Shakur comes out and states with such utter confidence that it works for him, it makes it even more difficult to refute.

However, let me play devil’s advocate too. I’m clear in the article that we don’t yet know the overall, 24/7 effect of performing fasted workouts. We also know that a certain degree of carbs are needed as the kindle to the fat burning furnace. To me, it’s just a choice. I’m all for looking at the individual–individuals respond differently to certain lifting routines, certain foods, and of course certain types of cardio. For some, the extra weight in the gut during that activity is just not optimal. I remember when I played football (played in two state championships as a nose-tackle and captain), I wouldn’t even touch food within an hour of the game –I found it detrimental. You don’t want the blood in your stomach to help in digestion, the body has more than enough fuel stored up in itself. Funny story: one of my teammates learned that the hard way, throwing up all his pre-game oatmeal (no milk) throughout the course of the game and being distracted the entire time by indigestion. He, obviously, was an individual–an individual who did not respond well (and probably should’ve had that meal a little earlier)!

So for all these nutrition books on nutrient timing in the bookshelf behind me, all of that is useless if it is not applicable to the person and the person’s lifestyle. What’s more important is that a person does what works for them. Keep up the good work, Cyber!

-Steve, SteveCraigFitness.COM