Is it good to do sports on an empty stomach? Discover the myths and truths

EThere is a tendency to exercise on an empty stomach, that is, to play sports without having previously eaten breakfast. Many believe that in this way they burn much more fat. But does this carry health risks? Is it really effective?

Several studies have shown that fasting can be beneficial for professional athletes doing endurance tests. In sports of low intensity and long duration, doing them without having taken anything previously can improve the marks.

In these cases, fasting could have results. The body would be in conditions similar to those of a competition and not having breakfast would improve performance.

For highly demanding sports it is not recommended

On the other hand, fasting is not recommended for the general population. It is preferable to have breakfast before going to the gym or running frequently. Nor would it be indicated for strength or resistance sports, such as crossfit, short races or directed activities such as body pump.

In training with a high aerobic work It depends on the glycogen stored in our body. And having breakfast helps your reserves a lot. Training on an empty stomach increases the consumption of tissue and muscle mass, this causes a drop in performance due to lack of substrate. What can induce a sudden drop in blood glucose.

Even so, one of the possibilities to do sports ‘with a light stomach’ would be to falsify the fast. Can be done a pre-workout meal without carbohydrates, but with proteins and monounsaturated fats, such as scrambled eggs with mushrooms, avocado with ham or fresh cheese with almonds. It is also very important Hydrate before and during exercise.

ETraining fasting is not synonymous with losing weightand the benefits that it can have for training performance are less than the risks that are assumed by fasting. It is recommended that you eat before exercisebut you can always choose what to eat to perform better and have enough energy during physical activity.

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