Some swear by it, others think it's nonsensical or even counterproductive: exercising sober. We tell you what it really brings and whether it's worth doing sports on an empty stomach.
Wake up, get out of bed, slip into your workout clothes, and go for the bacon. "That's crazy!" you think to yourself now?
But surely you have also heard that you can lose weight better without breakfast before exercise.
Because those who exercise on an empty stomach supposedly burn more fat. And let's face it, we all want to lose weight faster.
Your body needs energy to perform at its best during workouts. But what's really behind the diet secret of working out on an empty stomach?
Should you really do without breakfast or eat something beforehand? Whether exercise without breakfast really helps you lose weight or is even unhealthy, we have found out for you here.
Table of contents
- What does "train sober" even mean?
- What does energy provision have to do with sober training?
- What happens when you work out without breakfast?
- Can you lose weight faster if you exercise on an empty stomach?
- Why is working out sober a muscle killer?
- Advantages and disadvantages of exercising on an empty stomach
- The best tips to train effectively sober
What does "train sober" even mean?
Working out sober is self-explanatory. You start your workout right after you get up. Even before you have eaten anything.
Or right after work, where you last had lunch.
Depending on how strict you see it, this can mean total abstinence from food and beverages.
However, fasting can also mean that you only had a cup of coffee or a snack like a banana before your workout. In any case, you did not have a real breakfast, lunch or dinner.
You're not completely hungry, but could definitely use something if you weren't working out.
What does energy provision have to do with sober training?
To make it easier for you to understand what's going on in your body while you're exercising sober, you should first learn about energy provision.
No matter whether young or old, woman or man, fat or thin. The provision of energy works the same in every body. The only difference is that the processing of food energy does not work equally effectively in everyone.
As soon as you exercise, your body uses different energy stores to perform:
- Phosphate storage
- Glycogen stores
- Fat storage
- Protein
Phosphate storage: When you start into a workout, your body's phosphate stores are available first.
However, the stores are very small and quickly used up. This memory is important for sprinters and strength athletes who need to immediately provide maximum power.
Glycogen storage: Glycogen is the stored form of carbohydrates. When the carbohydrates are converted into energy, it is called glycolysis. Glycogen stores is available to the body about 10 seconds before they are exhausted.
However, this produces lactate, which can lead to overacidification of the muscle. You might know this from sprints, where you're finished after 200 meters. Slow cardio sessions like cycling have a lower intensity, you can last longer.
Fat storageThe fat stores need a comparatively long time to be used. In return, they can provide energy for a long time and consistently. No energy can be obtained from pure fat, the body needs additional carbohydrates for this.
It is only during sustained activities lasting longer than 20 minutes that fat becomes an effective source of energy.
Protein: When all energy stores are depleted, your body turns to proteins. Your body uses the existing muscle mass to gain energy again. Thus you lose muscle mass.
How many calories do you burn while sleeping?
What happens when you work out without breakfast?
When you start to exercise, the body starts to work on the 3 energy stores. They all become active at the same time. However, they need different lengths of time to actually be used.
To keep blood glucose levels at the required level overnight, the body empties its own carbohydrate stores from muscle and liver glycogen.
If you don't eat anything in the morning before training, the body has hardly any glycogen stores left. It has to draw the necessary energy from the fat reserves. The combustion apparatus therefore runs at full speed.
In order for your body to metabolize fats, it needs carbohydrates. Since the glycogen stores are empty, it takes protein from the muscles as a substitute.
Your body therefore breaks down muscle. At the same time, it learns to use the free fatty acids in your muscles.
It's hard to say if your glycogen stores are really completely depleted when you exercise early in the morning on an empty stomach. It also depends on what you ate the day and night before.
Attention: Circulation!
Exercising without breakfast can lead to massive drops in performance. Especially if you suffer from circulatory problems anyway.
The low blood glucose level can cause malaise and attacks of weakness. Heart palpitations, tremors, headaches, speech and vision disorders can also be consequences of hypoglycemia.
If these symptoms occur, stop exercising and give your body some carbohydrates and protein quickly.
If your body is hypoglycemic, you can't do performance-enhancing workouts either.
You don't want to miss out on these Pre Workout Meals!
Can you lose weight faster if you exercise on an empty stomach?
Motivating yourself to work out in the morning can be a real hassle. And if you're ever going to get yourself up, it should be worth it. Right?
But can you really lose weight faster by exercising sober? Is the effort worth it?
In fact, this method helps you lose weight. However, it is not the most effective way to lose fat pads.
When the body has emptied its glycogen stores during the night, it has to get at the fat. Sounds good to me!
But if you eat more calories during the day than you consume, losing weight will not happen. Focus on a healthy and balanced diet and combine it with exercise.
You can schedule a workout session once or twice a week on an empty stomach. To lose weight faster.
But the most important thing is to watch your calorie intake.
From life-threatening zero diets we strongly advise against it!
Why is working out sober a muscle killer?
If you want to lose weight, exercising on an empty stomach is certainly a way to lose weight faster. Provided you also reduce your calorie intake.
On the other hand, if you want to build muscle, be sure to eat something before your workout.
As mentioned earlier, when the glycogen store is empty, the body takes its energy from the fat deposits. To metabolize the fat, it needs carbohydrates.
Since there are none left, it takes them from the protein of your muscles. This is how you lose muscle.
To prevent this from happening, you need to provide your body with an optimal supply of carbohydrates, protein and fat. Only then can you build muscle or keep the mass constant.
Also, you can't perform at your maximum capacity on an empty stomach. This makes it difficult to keep up the training.
Sober training is more suitable for endurance training. For strength training you should better rely on a balanced breakfast.
Lose weight and build muscle: is it possible at the same time?
Advantages and disadvantages of exercising on an empty stomach
Of course, working out on an empty stomach has its pros and cons, which we don't want to deprive you of.
Advantages
- Improvement of fat metabolism: If your body cannot rely on carbohydrates, you automatically train at low intensity and thus optimize your fat metabolism and basic endurance. This is especially beneficial for higher loads such as longer runs or HIIT.
- Improvement of the blood count: Studies have shown that subjects who exercise regularly on a fasting basis have better blood counts than those who exercised after a meal.
- Effective weight loss - When exercising on an empty stomach, fat reserves are attacked. This can help you lose weight.
Disadvantages
- No maximum power possible: since you are not supplying your body with energy through food, you will not be able to perform at your maximum capacity.
- Increased risk of injury: Due to low blood flow, your ligaments, tendons and muscles are not yet properly warm. You can quickly injure yourself. If you warm up properly, you can of course prevent this.
- Stress for the body: The body has to fight for its energy and that means double stress for it. This is anything but healthy.
- Increased susceptibility to infections: The body uses all possibilities to gain energy. In doing so, it tries to draw power from every scrap of food. This also weakens your immune system.
The best tips to train effectively sober
If you do decide to work out on an empty stomach, we have a few tips to help keep your workout running smoothly.
1. give your body some more time
Out of bed and straight into your sports shoes? That's not such a good idea. Allow yourself at least 15 minutes to wake up properly. That way you can concentrate better during your workout.
2. warm up even better
If you start your workout right away in the morning, your body needs longer to get up to operating temperature. To avoid injuries and overloads, warm up even better than usual.
3. take liquid before the sport
Drink a cup of coffee or a glass of water before exercise. Coffee inhibits appetite and supports the release of free fatty acids. This in turn can help you lose weight.
4. do not try too hard
If you go jogging in the morning, keep the pace easy and stay in the aerobic zone. If you exercise too intensively, the blood flow to the fatty tissue is reduced and lactate is produced. This causes fat to lose its ability to provide energy.
If you are training for the first time on an empty stomach, do not train for longer than 30 minutes. Only when you are used to training on an empty stomach, you can increase the training duration.
5. eat something after training
A meal after a workout is very important anyway. But even more so if you haven't eaten anything before the workout. Whether you want to lose weight or build muscle.
After exercise, your body's energy store needs to be replenished. This allows it to recover and build new muscle tissue.
6. set on enough sleep
If you want to train sober, you should go to bed early enough. This way you are really well rested and able to perform. But not, only if you train with an empty stomach, sufficient sleep is important.
Our conclusion
Listen to your body and find out what works for it. If you're a morning person and you're full of energy when you get up, a sober workout probably won't be a problem.
However, don't work out every day without breakfast, but put in a fasting workout no more than once or twice a week.
Jogging on an empty stomach helps your body get used to longer runs and increases energy production from the fat reserves you already have. If you use this technique consistently, your body will learn the necessary balance between supplying glycogen and burning fat for fuel.
However, this does not automatically ensure that the fat pads will automatically become less. When in doubt, it doesn't hurt to eat a little something to get the body going. A banana is ideal to get strength for the workout.
Have fun with your workout!
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