Everyday Systems

I would like to know what is considered best, to exercise before breakfast on an empty stomach, or after breakfast?

As with all exercise ideas there are multiple views supporting or discrediting each of those times. You'll never get it "right" according to everyone so just do it when it suits you. The fact that you do exercise is much more important than when you choose to do it.

You're right, we have to go with what is the right fit for ourselves, as one size does not fit all. Thanks for your reply.

A good compromise I saw suggested once was to have a snack before (like an apple or something like that), and then a proper breakfast after.

But, yeah - just do what works for you. ^_-

Afternoons work for me also. I find I am at my best physically between 3:30pm and 5:30pm. Science seems to back this up also and has shown strength peaks about 4pm give or take 30mins.

Of course, like I said before, it doesn't really matter when. I know a lot of people train well first thing in the morning whereas I would die if I even turned my brain on in the first hour of waking up.

A lot of factors go into this, also. If it's a matter of you having a really active lifestyle and needing to do it when you have energy still, then that's one thing. If your daily workout is the only exercise you get in an otherwise largely sedentary lifestyle, that's something else altogether. Personally, I try to pack my exercise each day in between dinner and bedtime. Most of the fitness literature I've seen seems to indicate that the primary reason for not eating late in the evening is that you're ingesting this food and then laying down and sleeping on top of it, giving it maximum opportunity to turn into fat and be stored because your body shuts down right after intake. I try to turn that around and eat an early dinner every day (around 5) and then do all my exercise afterwards (my 14 minutes of shugg and about 1-1.5 hours of cardio usually). Then I know I'm giving myself maximum opportunity to burn off all my food for the day.

I've done both. I can't say I've noticed much of a difference.

I think the most important consideration is, which of the two is better for compliance? If after breakfast is better for "performance" but you feel less like doing it then, the "performance" boost isn't worth it.

If you prefer the feeling of having something in your stomach, but find it inconvenient to eat first, have a swig of fruit juice to energize you a bit.

In any case, doing it at all is the important thing -- don't let fine tuning distract you from that.

"Premature optimization is the root of all evil." -- Computer science proverb (Donald Knuth)

Reinhard

I agree with all the "do what feels best to you" statements.

I really don't like to exercise on an empty stomach, especially first thing in the morning. I play roller hockey on Sunday mornings, and you'd better believe I get a Luna bar and a glass of milk before I hit the rink. (OK, we *are* talking about 2 hours' worth of exercise usually, so ... yeah. Food is good.)

Other people I know don't like to eat before they play, and claim it weighs them down and they don't feel good. I can respect that. (Also, that seems to be the case for me if I eat a meal with too much fat or protein before I play.)

So yeah -- what does your body want? If it wants breakfast, get breakfast. And then work out. (:

Thanks for all the replies. For me, I require a little breakfast before working out. I have heard from some, that exercising on an empty stomach burns more fat, but exercising on an empty stomach is not for me.