Personal Trainer NYC | Free Fitness Blogs

Let’s take a look at two common myths about working out in the morning on an empty stomach…

1. Glycogen is depleted = More fat burned

This is what most people use to support this position. Anyone with weight training experience has more muscle than is needed. The body has one purpose in life, and that is survival. Fat is a much more efficient source of energy for survival because it is not energy costly - it does not require calories to maintain. Muscle requires calories to maintain itself.

Just because glycogen stores are depleted upon waking doesn’t mean the body will just go straight to fat stores for energy. When glycogen is depleted, so is ATP. ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is what makes your muscles contract

Weight training and working out depletes glycogen and ATP with each contraction. ATP also plays a large role in protein synthesis and muscle repair. After weight training ATP and glycogen are depleted and time is needed for glycogen stores to replenish. This can take up to 3 days. If you deplete more glycogen than is necessary you are putting your body through unnecessary stress, which will inhibit your bodies ability to build muscle!

So why does this matter ? Working out in the morning on an empty stomach means a workout with little glycogen, and, little ATP. The body also uses protein when carbs and/or fat energy are not available. I’m sure you heard that fat is the preferred energy source during cardio-based exercise. This is completely true for those who do not have any “excess” muscle sitting on their bones.

Weight training, however creates an environment in which the body is forced to synthesize new proteins in order to protect itself from stress. The body will not breakdown protein it doesn’t need. This matters because cardio exercise requires three things in going about meeting the energy requirements. It can…

a. Use stored glycogen.

b. Use stored fat.

c. Use stored muscle.

In the morning, after your 6-10 hours with no energy (food) liver glycogen will be just about depleted, blood glycogen will have been burned for energy, and muscle glycogen will have been severely depleted.

Having a light meal or protein shake before any activity will prevent this. The body will have immediate energy, and you wont use muscle as fuel. More effort going into your workout equals more benefits coming out of it.

2. Increased Metabolism = More Energy Throughout The Day

This is completely sensible. The amount of food and the amount or glycogen you posses have no effect on this. Workouts in the morning are NOT a bad thing; workouts in the morning on an empty stomach is the bad thing.

So the rule is have a little something before hand and give your muscle room to do it’s job burning fat :)