Cycling on an empty stomach is not a small hazard

Some cyclists deliberately choose to ride bikes on an empty stomach, thinking that they can lose weight. As a result, they feel dizzy and lose energy.

When exercising on an empty stomach, blood sugar in the human body will decrease, causing headaches, weakness of the limbs, and even fainting. At the same time, it will also produce hunger, abdominal pain, inhibit the secretion of digestive juice, reduce digestive function, etc., so fasting exercise is not advisable.

The term for fasting cycling is “fasting training”, which mainly refers to the intake of a very small amount of food without carbohydrates before cycling training.

In order to prevent the occurrence of hypoglycemia, you can drink a moderate amount of concentrated sugar water or eat foods that are easy to digest and rich in sugar before exercise.

But whether to eat something before an empty stomach exercise depends on personal feelings.

Because everyone’s eating habits, exercise methods and exercise time are different, these differences can only be experienced, felt, and grasped by yourself. The important thing is to find a method that suits you.

During cycling training, the body will use two kinds of stored energy: glycogen, which is derived from the carbohydrates you take in, is the body’s priority energy consumption;

Fat-this is a fairly stable source of energy in the body. After gradually adapting to this training mode, your body will absorb energy from fat more and more efficiently while maintaining the same speed or cadence.

It is advisable to supplement food before Cycling on an empty stomach (such as morning exercises) with 1/3 to 1/2 of the normal amount of food.

In addition, pay attention to avoiding exercise after full stomach, exercise should be arranged 1.5 to 2 hours after meals; 30 to 45 minutes after the end of exercise before eating. During exercise, blood flows from the digestive system to the exercise organs in large amounts.

If you exercise after you are full, it is bound to slow down the digestion and absorption of food in the digestive tract. Over time, it can cause gastritis and indigestion.

Full stomach exercise can easily cause abdominal pain during exercise and make exercise unsustainable. Therefore, it is not advisable to exercise on an empty stomach, let alone exercise with a full stomach.

During Cycling, when glycogen is exhausted and the carbohydrates in the body are not enough to continue to provide glycogen, the body will be forced to “burn” fat to obtain energy, which can ensure efficient use of energy.

Over time, after the body gradually adapts, it will help increase the amount of glycogen storage in the body.

Dr. Asker Jeukendrup, a sports nutritionist/exercise physiologist from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, recommends fast-cycling training before eating breakfast.

Generally, 60 minutes is appropriate, and the longest should not exceed 90 minutes. When Cycling, pay attention to controlling the rhythm and be able to speak without breathing as the standard.

Eat within 30-60 minutes after the end of the ride bike, and eat carbohydrates and protein in a 4:1 ratio (such as peanut butter bread), which can effectively supplement carbohydrates. Replenishing water in time within 60-90 minutes can speed up recovery.

Fasting training requires more recovery time than regular training, and overtraining can easily hurt your body.

Dr. Asker Jeukendrup recommends that if you regularly ride long distances, fasting 1-2 times a week is almost the same.

If you are preparing for a race or high-intensity training, then stop fasting training-even the best cyclists need to consume enough carbohydrates to support high-intensity training and Cycling.