Going to the gym after eating?

locombia

Is it worth your while going to the gym after eating??I mean I would wait about an hour and a half/two to digest my food and go but just wondering is this the right thing to do?

D-A-V-E

from what iv heard its better to wait until you are almost hungary after a meal because your body will be trying to break down the food you ate and try to build up and grow your muscles and it cant do both at the same time...well..it can but the results will be less effective

The_Kew_Tour

someone might expand on what I say but I did hear that its best to go to the gym in mornings as it looses Fat rather then food ya have eaten during day etc if thats when you go to gym.

I have say when I was off for month i tried doing morning sessions and found results were much better.

mdc5065

I was taking one of those "on an empty stomach" pre-workouts for a bit... not going to lie now that I'm not and I'm eating breakfast a little while before going to the gym, I'm feeling much more comfortable, solid, and stronger during the workout.

Makes sense why that is. You gave your body energy that it needs after 8 hours or whatever of sleeping.

I have frequently heard that doing cardio (i assume LIT as opposed to HIIT) on an empty stomach is effective for people who are trying to lose weight and I'm sure it is as you're burning fat straight off the bat as opposed to energy from the food you consumed, however, I think in the long run, it would be safe to say that just monitoring your calorific intake and following the golden rule (if you want to lose weight, than burn more calories than you consume) is probably a safer bet all round.

Consistency is the hardest part of anything.

breadbin

yeah i'd defo recommend going after breakfast, not too soon but never on an empty stomach. i remember reading an article about the fat burning zone before and it turns out it doesn't matter where you take the energy from i.e. fat stores or blood it all levels out during the day anyway when you eat.

the sugar in your blood is regulated to be at a certain level all the time. if it falls too low then you convert some from the fat stores to be used in the muscles. if its too high it goes back on the fat stores so its all to do with calories in vs calories out. can't remember where i read that article it was very interesting but to do with cycling in particular:)

actually just reading up on it and supopse it depends on the person. doesn't seem to be any harm to it but obviously depends on the workout and the energy levels from the day before. confused:)

Blazer

I always understood it was better to eat afterwards as your metabolism was higher after a workout.
Myself I always go on a empty stomach but more probably because I always go early in the morning.

Can someone explain to me the whole blood/sugar level thing ? I've been led to believe that sugar is a useless carbohydrate that our body simply does not need as it can do nothing with it.

kaji

So it would be better to try to create an insulin spike after your workout with a whey protein shake? What should you eat with it, a banana or something?

ih8northsiders

the running on an empty stomach is stupid because you're less likely to actually be able for it. if you do the activity at any time of the day you will see results. i do cardio after weights session and if i had better genetics i would look great, im sure if someone did my routine they would look awesome after a while.

ragg

Yes, eat. Complex carbs - i generally have a chicken sandwich on granary bread about an hour before training.
Working out on an empty stomach is counter productive and quite frankly, its ****ing horrible

ragg

if i had better genetics i would look great

Genetics my balls - if your not getting results, your diet is wrong - end of story.

Also unless your training is full of heavy compounds - its probably ****e

ragg

ragg wrote: »

Also unless your training is full of heavy compounds - its probably ****e

Surely it depends on the goals of the user ?

corkcomp

Deleted User wrote: »

Surely it depends on the goals of the user ?

I would have thought so too ! obviously heavy compounds are great but NOT essential ...

squod

Going to the gym after eating? I can remember going to the pub after gyming. Sign of the times I guess.

metamorphosis

I find myself drained for the day if i do cardio on empty in the morning ... but i can push myself just as hard than if i had ate something beforehand like a ryvita and peanut butter or some nuts and cottage cheese. If i do eat i am much less drained form the rest of the day. If you can go to the gym after eating then go. Won't make a HUGE difference longterm imo and you will probably be able to push slightly harder. Trial and error for some though