Empty Stomach Workout: Merits and Demerits

Empty Stomach Workout: Merits and Demerits
Merits and Demerits of Empty Stomach Workout
Empty Stomach Workout: Merits and Demerits
Merits and Demerits of Empty Stomach Workout

Nowadays, each one of us, desires to be in a great shape. All we wish is to have an impressive personality, with a good body language. To maintain that kind of physical and social appearance, most of us usually practice regular exercises and workout sessions. Today, this write up will clarify all your doubts related to empty stomach workouts, which is a hot topic of debate between the fitness trainers and nutritionists. After viewing each and every angle from both sides of the debate, we decided to enumerate both the merits as well as the demerits of empty stomach workouts.

Merits of Empty Stomach Workout are:

1. Helps to Burn Fat at Faster Rate

The reason why most of us prefer empty stomach workouts is because such workouts double up the fat burning process in our body, especially during the training session. Consequently, these workouts also encourage weight loss in our body. Some studies state that our body is a storehouse of fat, and while you workout, your body will help you to metabolize the stored fat and convert it into energy fuel for you. In fact, each one of us is dependent on carbohydrates and glycogen stored in our body, in order to perform a vigorous workout. But if your body is running low on stored glycogen, at this state your body will increase the rate of fat burning.

2. Encourages Digestion

Having a meal before you workout can lead to indigestion. You should not worry if you are training hard at the gym, that too empty stomach. With the right intake of nutrients, your body will store sufficient amount of nutrition, which will further help you to get energy. Fasting before training decreases your digestion related problems, especially during workouts. It will also help you to get rid of stomach cramps; otherwise you will get the feeling of being weighed down if you perform these workouts after having a complete meal.

3. Boosts Training Adaptations

Empty stomach workouts help in building and enhancing endurance, by instructing the body to burn fat at a faster rate. Exercising during fasting state will train your body to adapt lower blood levels by burning fat. Also, empty stomach workouts will raise the quantity of oxygen which usually gets utilized during training. This will also help you to perform better during workout.

4. Sharpens Your Mind

Workouts without eating usually lower down the level of glucose in your blood, which can interfere in the functioning of the brain. Whenever you eat something, glucose levels in your circulating blood rise and get ready to be transported to your multiple muscle cells. Moreover, glucose is also present in the form of glycogen, which is stored in muscles. So, if you workout before eating, blood glucose and glycogen deplete quickly. This leads to hypoglycemia as glucose is the only fuel that can be used by your brain directly. Also, the low level of glucose in your blood can causes light headedness, muscle fatigue , nausea and poor exercise performance. Other than this, regular ongoing training will help to enhance the capacity of muscles to store glycogen.

Demerits of Empty Stomach Workouts are:

1. Lowers the Workout Performance

Exercising in a state of fasting and run-out glycogen level lowers down one’s capability to build strength during workouts. In this situation, your body has no other choice except fat burning, in order to receive the energy. Here, performance gets compromised. As a result, the person gets exhausted very quickly. That is why it is said that ‘food is fuel’. Working out in conditions like this will not only make you tired but also increase the chances of harming yourself in the process of shedding weight.

2. Reduces Muscle Mass

The muscles which you have built up after putting so much effort and hard work are more likely to be reduced, if you continue your training on an empty stomach. Exercising on empty stomach raises the creation of Cortisol (stress hormone), which may further lead to burning of amino acids, and may hamper the building blocks of protein, which is essentially required for the energy building process. All of this will lead to a degraded muscle tissue, and will effect the overall muscle mass. To prevent this breakdown of muscle, it is highly recommended to intake protein, that too in the form of a shake, at least half an hour prior to the workout.

3. Reduced Afterburn

Working out, in a fasting state, will help you to burn more fat. But you must understand that this fasting training will not increase the process of fat burning in general within 24 hours, because of its afterburn outcome. ‘Afterburn’ is something which is usually associated with the exerted energy and calories that automatically burn after the workout sessions. As per some research studies, the effect of afterburn reduces, especially when you are working out in a fasting state. Moreover, consumption of carbs prior to exercise can actually help you to escalate the afterburn effect.

Hence, before going to the gym on an empty stomach this time, you must ensure that you know beforehand the pros and cons of such an exercise.