Training on an Empty Tank

I recently came across a fitness magazine article that offered 10 commandments of the gym. The one that caught my eye was number #9 ‘You shall not starve yourself’. The author claimed that training on an empty stomach would not promote fat loss. Seeing that this message is still being spread to the general public as the sole truth annoyed me at first. Not because there wasn’t any truth in it but because it over-generalised the whole approach to pre-workout nutrition. It neglected the opposite approach (which personally I find more effective), and that is; having a break from eating before your workout.

I want to keep things simple and not dwell on the science too much. Machines like this digger might not run without fuel but then they aren’t human!

BestPhotos.US, US Fish & Wildlife Service

Why working out hungry works for me

We always hear new contradictory studies and claims about food x or food y that will increase metabolism, is low GI, slow release and so on. I feel that it is not necessary to over-concern yourself with all of this information. Results must be your main influence.

A few years ago, when I was engulfed by bodybuilding marketing, I remember spending lots of time and effort planning pre and post workout nutrition to maximise my muscle building potential. Thankfully, I have now learnt that things can be kept far simpler. In my own experience, I found that the body will draw on its fat stores when it is forced to do so. And for me, often the simplest and most effective way of achieving this is to train on an empty stomach. This seems too obvious to say but if I guzzle down an energy drink before exercise then my body has a batch of new calories to use instead. Put simply, this will cause my body to release insulin which will interfere with my fat loss potential for that training session. Equally, if its muscle you are worried about, I have found that training hungry will not cause you to lose any muscle! Admittedly, it may not be the optimum condition for muscle growth but I know that I feel more alert and ‘pumped’ when I train hungry. I am not undertaking serious power lifting sessions, but have found the above technique to work well with shorter, high intensity training. Right now I am marathon training so of course my workout nutrition has changed slightly. You need to think about what exercise it is that you are doing and how to use nutrition most effectively to achieve your best results from that exercise.

The benefits of a hungry workout

People often say you need to boost your energy levels before an intense workout and that you do so by consuming a ‘light snack’ one hour before exercise to stabilise your blood sugar levels. In my experience the body has its own energy boosting methods which kick in when training on an empty stomach. In fact, I find that any feeling of hunger beforehand always wears off once the intense exercise begins! I rather feel light and alert than be in a ‘food coma’ because I have overeaten heavy carbs before a workout.

Timing and Tailoring Your Pre-Workout Feast or Fast

So how long should you go without food before exercise? Well it is down to you really. There is no hard and fast rule. Lately, I have been training (like Rocky!) in the morning, so it may be a whole 10-12 hours, including sleep that I haven’t eaten. If you are training later in the day, 3-5 hours may be sufficient. It really is up to you and what you feel comfortable doing. Not everybody will work more effectively on an empty tank, and if doing so makes you feel faint or unwell, then obviously do not train like this. As already said your choice must also be dictated by the workout that follows. I know I’m comfortable running 5 miles on an empty tank but not 20 miles, so it is a matter of common sense really! Either way, I cannot see much benefit in fuelling your workout on this stuff….I’ll take a banana instead thanks!

Scott Bauer, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Where pre-workout nutrition is concerned, you must find what works best for you in light of the activity ahead. A break from eating before strenuous exercise is not for everybody. If I am doing a focussed, intense workout for 30 minutes, I tend to find that I feel more energetic if I do not eat for at least 3 hours beforehand. Obviously, if I was doing an endurance activity, that energetic feeling is bound to wear off if my energy stores are not replenished. I try to stay within my optimum zone by tailoring the timing without pre-workout food to the type of workout I am doing.

What it means for you…

All in all, if you do short (less than 1 hour) intense workouts, I would suggest not complicating the situation by looking for special pre-workout foods and most importantly, do not do it if it doesn’t feel right for you! You can tailor the timing to your life and body to find your optimum training state. But as I have already said, your personal results have to be the main driver here, bottom line!

This is a hotly debated topic in fitness with plenty of science to go with it. For an indepth discussion,I highly recommend checking out  Rusty Moore’s brilliant and controversial post on The Fitness Black Book: ‘Fasted Workouts and Fasted Cardio vs EPOC – For Fat Loss’.

Related posts:

1. Bruce Lee: Training Methods to Inspire Us All
2. 2010 Virgin London Marathon Training – PART I: Is It Good For You?
3. 2010 Virgin London Marathon Training – PART III: The Before and After
4. Cardio Fasting For Fat Loss
5. Using Bamboo in Training