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The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast

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Re: The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast

#31

Post by StavrosK »

detst wrote: post #26
StavrosK wrote: post #18

I saw a comment on reddit the other day, which I don't remember exactly, but it said (paraphrasing): "In the morning (when waking up after a night's sleep), your reserves are depleted so exercising before you eat will burn fat (no, you won't burn muscle)." It seems to me that the commenter knew about this effect just fine.

This comment was also made here on HN not long ago (maybe that's where you read it). I believe someone also stated that it's not good for your back to exercise too soon after waking. I believe your " " is glycogen. The basic idea being that if you have no glycogen to burn, you'll burn fat.

I am 99% sure that they did say glycogen. It was glyco-something, anyway. It might have been on HN, although I think I remember fittit. Regardless, that's not important.

Also, it's probably true that it's not very good to exercise after waking, but nobody said you have to exercise after waking, just that you have to do it before eating breakfast :)

Re: The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast

#32

Post by DrStalker »

StavrosK wrote: post #31
detst wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment was also made here on HN not long ago (maybe that's where you read it). I believe someone also stated that it's not good for your back to exercise too soon after waking. I believe your " " is glycogen. The basic idea being that if you have no glycogen to burn, you'll burn fat.

I am 99% sure that they did say glycogen. It was glyco-something, anyway. It might have been on HN, although I think I remember fittit. Regardless, that's not important. Also, it's probably true that it's not very good to exercise after waking, but nobody said you have to exercise after waking, just that you have to do it before eating breakfast :)

glycogen is your short-term in muscle energy storage. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketosis#Metabolic_pathways explains why exertion with no glycogen burns fat.

Re: The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast

#33

Post by jamii »

dave1619 wrote: post #9

Wow, this is amazing. I'd love to try it out, but I'm not sure what I can do in the morning before breakfast. Maybe stationary bicycle. Anybody exercising before breakfast? What kind of exercise are you doing?

When I lived in London there was an outdoor pool on the route to the office. The exercise and the sunlight helped me wake up and I had a choice of 20 or so places to grab breakfast on the way. Nowadays I run in the mornings but its not the same.

Re: The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast

#34

Post by tomjen3 »

While this is interesting research, I hope they would use their time to focus on how to get these benefits without the exercise part. It's pretty clear at this point that no matter what people will not exercise, no matter how many times we hear about how smart it is.

Imagine the shear number of people that would help.

Re: The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast

#35

Post by hackermom »

This is no news, really; in fact, we were even taught this part in basic metabolism in biology class in 7th grade. In the morning, the body has depleted its reserve of "immediate energy" in the blood stream and tissue - glycogen, mostly, assuming you have a carbohydrate-rich diet - and will instead have to source energy by instantly burning your fat deposits if you call upon the body to do so by increasing your heart rate and breathing etc. (read: exercise - even a 30 minute walk will do the trick). This is called lipolysis, btw., and is a fundamental part of the human metabolical system. Remember: the human body is primarily a FAT-BURNING MACHINE.

add.: Someone sitting next to me as I wrote this asked me, "how long ago was 7th grade?", as a reference of how "re-inventive" this study was. 7th grade was 17 years ago.

Re: The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast

#36

Post by aik »

robchez wrote: post #13
bumbledraven wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How close to your workout is your eating window? I was doing 23/1 intermittent fasting and my coach told me it would interfere with my strength training. I'm also training for strength/max lifts, not endurance.

Straight after. I will train, have a shower then eat. My window is generally 4-8 hours depending how full I get. I have seen only improvement in my lifts since I started this regimen. Lost some serious bodyfat % whilst gained muscle.

Mind if I ask what your motivation is for training strictly for strength and not endurance?

Re: The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast

#37

Post by lsb »

tomjen3 wrote: post #34

While this is interesting research, I hope they would use their time to focus on how to get these benefits without the exercise part. It's pretty clear at this point that no matter what people will not exercise, no matter how many times we hear about how smart it is. Imagine the shear number of people that would help.

As hackermom said above, "exercise" doesn't have to be some boring gym workout; cycling or running to work is exercise too, and makes for a far more awesome commute (if you live within 10 miles of work).

Re: The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast

#38

Post by thesz »

aik wrote: post #36
robchez wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Straight after. I will train, have a shower then eat. My window is generally 4-8 hours depending how full I get. I have seen only improvement in my lifts since I started this regimen. Lost some serious bodyfat % whilst gained muscle.

Mind if I ask what your motivation is for training strictly for strength and not endurance?

My own reason is that training for strength stimulates your body to produce testosterone, which stimulate logical thinking, among other things.

Low level of testosterone found to be one of reasons of men's depression.

Re: The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast

#39

Post by vital101 »

chime wrote: post #20
dave1619 wrote: post #9

Wow, this is amazing. I'd love to try it out, but I'm not sure what I can do in the morning before breakfast. Maybe stationary bicycle. Anybody exercising before breakfast? What kind of exercise are you doing?

Get a good elliptical. It will work out your entire body (unlike stationary bikes) and not hurt in case you have knee problems (like treadmills). Put the elliptical in front of TV if you like and do 30-45mins every other day. I was 193lbs in August. I'm 174lbs now. Though I'd say I'm more of an exception because I gain/lose weight really fast. Nevertheless, I highly recommend a good elliptical - both my wife and I lo…

I second this. My wife and I also have an elliptical, and it's much easier to handle in the morning, rather than running. Although in the spring/summer/fall I tend to enjoy running outside in the morning over the elliptical.
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