Group: General Fitness & Exercise

Created: 2011/12/31, Members: 382, Messages: 54581

Various general exercise related discussions. Find out what it takes to reach your fitness goals through daily effective exercise. With so many options we try to find out what works best.

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Weight Training On An Empty Stomach?

SpiritOfThings
SpiritOfThings
Posts: 58
Joined: 2007/01/18
United States
2008/03/17, 03:20 PM
Well, I've seen posts that deal with lifting on an empty stomach, but couldn't find an answer for someone with a "bunch of fat to spare"! :laugh:

So, should a 6 ft. 1 guy (210 lbs) and roughly 18-20% BF lift on an empty stomach or not? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

rkahl
rkahl
Posts: 84
Joined: 2002/11/21
United States
2008/03/17, 03:50 PM
If you eat according to what you will be doing in the next 2 or 3 hours instead of what you have done, you will have the fuel to do it and not put on fat. Many people reward themselves after working out with huge meals that have no chance of being fully metabolized before storing the excess as fat. It takes a little planning and forsight. I personally would not lift much on an empty stomach. All you are doing is grabbing glycogen and protein. You will not be grabbing fat at that time because fat is slower to break down to be available for energy.
SpiritOfThings
SpiritOfThings
Posts: 58
Joined: 2007/01/18
United States
2008/03/17, 04:04 PM
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Thanks, rkahl. That's probably good for me, since my only free time is in the evening. Then how long would you wait after you eat dinner to lift, in your opinion? (And other opinions are welcome, obviously).
rkahl
rkahl
Posts: 84
Joined: 2002/11/21
United States
2008/03/17, 04:12 PM
45 minutes minimum but it also depends on the size of the meal. Remember the old swimming thing, if you go swimming before an hour after eating you might get a cramp and drown. It takes energy and blood for our body to digest food. You don't want to compete for blood and energy used for digestion while putting a big load on muscles also demanding the same.
SpiritOfThings
SpiritOfThings
Posts: 58
Joined: 2007/01/18
United States
2008/03/17, 04:13 PM
Ah, yes. Thanks for refreshing my memory. I appreciate the quick responses.
bb1fit
bb1fit
Posts: 11,105
Joined: 2001/06/30
United States
2008/03/17, 04:15 PM
I am sure what you are referring to is my post stating that 'if you have alot to spare'. Simply put, this means it is not critical in this type of case. With plenty of fat to spare, this means your body will utilize fat stores freely, with no issue on lean tissue sparing. this comes into play when one starts getting on the leaner side, then the body wants to keep the fat stores and would gladly give up lean tissue instead.

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Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer

SpiritOfThings
SpiritOfThings
Posts: 58
Joined: 2007/01/18
United States
2008/03/17, 04:25 PM
Thanks, bb1fit. So since I have a lot of BF, I'm good either way until I shed it? THEN be sure to lift with some food in the stomach?