Fasting workouts are quite common nowadays. These types of workouts are said to improve weight loss effort effects. Many trainers also recommend running workouts right after waking up without eating anything. According to scientific research, it turns out that this practice does not make much sense from a physiological point of view, and what is more it can be dangerous to your health.
Body condition in the morning
In the morning, immediately after waking up, the level of glucose in the blood is very low. If in such a condition, a person decides to exercise, due to the so-called muscle pump, up to 85% of the blood in which there is residual glucose goes to the muscles, thus cutting off the supply of glucose to the brain. The muscle pump is based on the fact that, for example, while running, most of the blood from the kidneys, liver, and other internal organs is transferred to the legs, because there it is needed the most. At that time, due to cutting off the supply of glucose to the brain, it is very easy to lose consciousness, which can have serious consequences.
It is much more reasonable to train in the morning after the intake of amino acids alone because many of them are glucogenic amino acids. They turn into glucose when our body needs it, thus protecting the nervous system. This group of amino acids includes alanine, arginine, asparagine, cysteine, glycine, glutamate, histidine, methionine, proline, serine, threonine, valine.
Glucose is the fuel for our brain
The glucose in carbohydrates provides fuel for our brain to work. When the level of glucose in the body is low, the nervous system gets energy from ketone bodies, which are formed as a result of the metabolism of fatty acids. However, when energy is taken from the metabolism of ketone bodies, the performance of our organism is significantly lower.
You could have experienced dizziness and problems with concentration when you left home without breakfast. This is the effect of hypoglycemia - too low glucose level in the blood. It's good to know that intensive mental work requires an expenditure of nearly 100kcal per hour and that a person who works mentally needs an adequate dose of carbohydrates.
