Exercise Truth or Lie?

Desiderata

I recently read on a fitness site that if you exercise in the morning before you eat, about 10 to 15 minutes into your cardio session, you'll burn all of your glucose you have left from the night before, thus forcing your body to use stored fat as energy for the rest of your workout.

is this at all true? what are some alternate benefits to morning exercise%Pr

SugarHi

I do think this is true for the majority of people... but becuase our bodies work the same and yet so different this probably varies... or the time it takes to hit that point. You should try it for a week and let us know how that works for you. I generally do my morning work out around 4am...

aippolito1

I've heard this too. Another benefit: ENERGY!!!! I feel so much more energized when I work out during the day, then I can relax at night. Unfortunately, I go to work anywhere from 8-9 everyday and don't have the will power to wake up 6-7 to work out.

l_slade

I'd like to hear the answers to this

shanerylee

Im am hopeful that the answer is yes. That would be great.

trainguy917

I've read that too, but then I've also read it's a simple matter of calories in and calories out. I tend to believe the calories in/out idea more, because I used to exercise on an empty stomach and have changed to working out in the afternoon and notice no difference in weight loss.

Karna6e

The time I tried it I "bonked".

Since then, I've read people say they usually have a small snack like a handful of almonds or a banana with a cup of coffee to at least get enough energy through the workout.

I'm going to attempt to try it again with the small snack sometime soon.

DrBorkBork

I've heard this too, but as a diabetic, I'm afraid to go to the gym on an empty stomach. The last thing I want is to hurt myself from low blood sugar.

simona1972

I read that too. And on one of my aerobic DVDs it says the exact opposite.

I do exercise in the mornings just because that's when I have the most energy and time. I dont start work until noon so I have the luxury of getting up at a decent hour and doing my exercise before I have to get to work.

I will be adding exercise before I go to sleep this week - I really want to boost how much exercise I do. Ive been lazy long enough I wonder if that'll make a difference....

lt_mrcook

Unless you are highly trained and have been loading your stores for several days, you will burn through your glucose stores somewhere between 15-30 minutes. If you're better trained and have loaded, you might get to 45-60 minutes. At any rate, your body will start to convert other energy sources. Just do the time...you already did the crime...:)

stroutman81

A buddy of mine has an excellent article up on his site about this:

http://www.alanaragon.com/myths-under-the-microscope-part-2-false-hopes-for-fasted-cardio.html

Azdak

A buddy of mine has an excellent article up on his site about this:

http://www.alanaragon.com/myths-under-the-microscope-part-2-false-hopes-for-fasted-cardio.html

That's a pretty good series of articles. He summarizes actual research and places it in context, which is a rarity.

HonestOmnivore

I do my aerobic exercise on an empty stomach because I seem to hit that vomit mode pretty easily otherwise. I'm going to add additional aerobic exercise next week and what I've been wanting to know is if having a break between my elliptical work and swimming (which I'm adding) with a small amount of food would be helpful? My rough plan is do spend between 30 - 45 minutes (including warm-up cool-down) on the elliptical, stretch out then drive to the pool when it opens (at 6am) to swim - this would leave a 30 - 45 minute gap between the elliptical and swimming.

Would it help if I ate an apple or banana during this break? Or can I just push through both and eat after I've cooled showered and changed after the swim? My usual breakfast is cottage cheese w/ fruit or Greek yogurt w/ 1tbs maple syrup & fiber cereal.

My exercise times are limited by my hour commute to work and my other obligations. 5-7:30 AM is pretty much it - although I do get my push-ups and crunches in at night. I'm hoping to alternate (by days) swimming and biking and when it's lighter out at 5 am (soon!) running outside and elliptical.

stroutman81

That's a pretty good series of articles. He summarizes actual research and places it in context, which is a rarity.

Agreed. Alan's a good buddy of mine and he's very objective and thorough in his research. He's worth paying attention to.