Training on an empty stomach?

Liam Dougherty Springer · 05-27-2008, 03:29 PM

I have tried a few WODs on an empty stomach the first was Fran and it was misserable I had been fasting about 18 hours going into it and was about a minute slower than the previouse time I did the work out. The next was 50 Burpees for time after a 18 hour fast and felt great finished in under 3 minutes and was less exhasted than i could have been. The Last was ME deadlifts 1x7 after 22 hours fasting I pulled 295 a PR by 10# and felt fine. Then I rescently did a 3x5 day with HSPU max reps inbetween each set well fed and pulled my old 1Rm PR 3x on the last set I am sure I could pull much more than 295 fed and it was only 8 days later.

I am wondering how does WO OES (working out on empty stomach) coralate with performance gains?

Are there some workouts which are better to be done only when appropriatly nourished?

It seems as though I always perform best when fed especialy in any sort of endurance capasity. However is it possible that training OES will improve my performance when working out or competeing fed?

Or will I eventually be able to actually perform better OES than fed all around?

Mike ODonnell · 05-27-2008, 04:15 PM

check out this on the whole myth of needing food before a workout for energy

Your body has enough glycogen and fat stored to get you through a normal workout. Just eat healthy pwo and you will do fine. Digestion takes a ton of energy....so hence your CNS response is greater on an empty stomach...add in some coffee/caffeine and you will be exploding out of the gates.

Garrett Smith · 05-27-2008, 05:35 PM

I feel so much better when I work out OES, both during and after, that I wouldn't go back to trying to feed before training even if it added 10% to my performance.

Evolutionary fitness-wise, it also makes more intuitive sense to me that it would be beneficial. Predators don't go hunting on a full stomach. They enjoy the rewards of their hard-earned food by relaxing and going more parasympathetic (which helps the digestive processes).

Liam Dougherty Springer · 05-27-2008, 06:56 PM

Thanx so much for your input. I am deffinatly going to continue WO OES however I will play around with setting benchmark PRs fed and after fasting and see if their is any improvement one way or another incase I feel like getting competitive.

I am so glad to have come across the wealth of insigt and educated input that this site makes availiable.

I also would be interested in any more experience regarding this issue not just for training. Pre competetive gameing or tournaments. Feed or Fast?

Darryl Shaw · 05-28-2008, 05:25 AM

There's a big difference between training on an empty stomach and training with depleted glycogen stores so how well you're able to perform following a fast largely depends on how active you've been during the fast.

Mike ODonnell · 05-28-2008, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liam Dougherty Springer

Pre competetive gameing or tournaments. Feed or Fast?

Feed up to the event...fast going into it and keep digestion light during. You want stocked glycogen stores. Of course this is too broad a question as I don't know the event...how long it lasts...what kind of effort is involved...etc.

If I wanted to play an ice hockey for 2 hours at my peak level....I need to go into it with good muscle glycogen from eating the days before and minimize training depletion. The day of I would not have food (depending on what time the game is....morning? night?) 3-4 hours prior and try to keep all foods that day light. May need liquid replenishment of water/carb/protein during the competition for 2 hours at it is at a high level....of course every sport is different in it's demands and needs...that is just one example.

Garrett Smith · 05-28-2008, 07:03 AM

Darryl makes an excellent point.

Also, you will adapt to fasting after a while, so just like in training, you'll get better at working out in a fasted state. This doesn't happen overnight, but once it does you'll be quite happy with your results, IMO.

Liam Dougherty Springer · 06-01-2008, 08:22 AM

man you guys are great! I think the biggest problem is that I have to WO after my job. So I have been fasting through the job which is fairly active in order to get to the WO. I have taken the information recived in this thread and found already my workouts are improving. Also the info on preparing for a game really helps solidify my ability to interpret a guidline for my bodies nutritional/stored energy "axis" so to speak.

Brian Shanks · 06-02-2008, 07:54 AM

I have done fine fasting before heavy days. My problem is I couldn't continue the fast very long after I worked out. I tried it for 3-4 months and finally said to heck with it.
I switched my fast days up since I usually do my heavy days on Tuesday and Friday. So i will generally fast on Monday and Wed which I just do core workouts in the morning and have found that I can maintain my fast for longer periods of time.

Cheers

Bry

Kelly Frankson · 06-03-2008, 06:56 PM

For me, I like doing crossfit metcon workout on an empty stomach, but I struggle through o-lifting session if I haven't eaten enough before hand. So I'll wait until after Crossfit sessions to break a fast, but always make sure I have atleast one big meal within a few hours of an o-lifting session.