How long do you wait before exercising?

renae161
renae161 Posts: 334 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
How long after a meal or snack do you typically wait before you go do your workout?
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Replies

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,448 Member
    Depends what my "workout" is.
  • Skyblueyellow
    Skyblueyellow Posts: 225 Member
    For intense cardio or yoga I need to wait a few hours because I personally don't find the sensation comfortable. If I'm going on a moderately paced walk (3-3.5 mph) I can go pretty much immediately after.
  • Shana67
    Shana67 Posts: 680 Member
    I work out early in the morning (when I don't have a broken foot) and never, ever eat before a workout.
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
    I have no waiting period. A long after dinner walk is a nice treat.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    I usually lift or run on my lunch hour which is about 7 hours after I have last eaten. Sometimes I will have some crackers or a piece of candy before I lift if I'm feeling extra hungry.

    On weekends I end up working out about 30 minutes after I eat.
  • renae161
    renae161 Posts: 334 Member
    Shana67 wrote: »
    I work out early in the morning (when I don't have a broken foot) and never, ever eat before a workout.

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but you never eat at all before a workout? Isn't that really bad?

    https://youtu.be/cinjfb3d-Ls
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    renae161 wrote: »
    Shana67 wrote: »
    I work out early in the morning (when I don't have a broken foot) and never, ever eat before a workout.

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but you never eat at all before a workout? Isn't that really bad?

    https://youtu.be/cinjfb3d-Ls

    No. Lots of people do fasted training. You'll burn through some glycogen and fat stores. As long as you are eating adequate protein during the rest of the day you're not going to end up burning through lean mass. If you are seriously under eating that's a different story.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I work out in the morning first thing, so no food before. In the afternoon, I workout around 4:45 and my lunch is over at 1:15. Sometimes I have a snack around 3pm(like a banana or protein chips) . Much more than that, or closer to my workout, could be too much in my tummy for a high intensity cardio. A little extra before lifting might be ok.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Sometimes after a large meal I will wait 30 min to an hour.. Other times I snack between sets
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    1-2hrs otherwise I'll feel like I'm going to puke for the majority of my workout.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    edited October 2016
    On a night where I'm skating for two hours very active and boisterous I eat a good pasta dish 2 hours before and snack in the car on the way - I need the energy but not the full stomach. Anything else like treadmill or circuits I could do an hour after a light meal.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    Depends on what I ate. If it was something like whey, maybe an hour. If it was a relatively heavy meal (chicken/fish and spinach) I'll usually make it more like two hours. I have no desire to barf while midpull on a 95% deadlift set.
  • spring913
    spring913 Posts: 158 Member
    I don't eat much before getting in the pool. I don't like the feeling of swimming on a full stomach. So I'll just grab a protein bar and eat something more substantial afterwards.

    For everything else, biking and body weight exercising, I just eat normally.
  • BasicGreatGuy
    BasicGreatGuy Posts: 857 Member
    In regards to cardio, there is nothing wrong with fasted exercising (in and of itself). Depending on the intensity of the exercise (running for example) fasting before hand (in conjunction with running in heart rate zone 2) can, over time, teach the body how to utilize fat stores as the primary fuel source, versus glycogen.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited October 2016
    Fasted training for me.. I work out a.m. Even if I trained later around meal times, I would need hours before I could train..
  • frankie671
    frankie671 Posts: 51 Member
    I normally work out between 7pm-9pm. I eat lunch at about 1pm and then snack a little between 3pm and 5pm. It seems to work for me. If I can drag myself to the gym in the morning before work I don't eat before :)
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    renae161 wrote: »
    Shana67 wrote: »
    I work out early in the morning (when I don't have a broken foot) and never, ever eat before a workout.

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but you never eat at all before a workout? Isn't that really bad?

    https://youtu.be/cinjfb3d-Ls

    You can have fast carbs prior to a workout if you like.
    Let's try to not use absolutes.
  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
    1-1.5 hours
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Depends on what I'm doing.

    Typically I run fasted in the morning (mostly because I hate having food in my stomach while I'm running) but will eat something light like a banana or yogurt before going to the gym.

    On long run days I'll eat something more substantial (toast & PB or oatmeal) a couple of hours before heading out the door.

    For bike commutes I can head out within half an hour of eating without and gastrointestinal distress but if I'm riding hills or something more intense it's at least an hour after eating.

    It's a bit of trial and error for everybody.....
  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,498 Member
    edited October 2016
    My workout of choice is running.

    I used to try to avoid eating for 2 hours before running as it would be uncomfortable but could reduce that to 90 minutes if needed. Now I have an ultramarathon in my sights and knowing I'll want to eat real food during the run, I'm eating closer to workout. Last night I ate a slice of pizza about 15 minutes before my run.

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