For some years it has been fashionable, even among cyclists, to practice what has been called 'fasting training'. But there are many myths about this practice too, we will try to clarify everything to avoid practices that can be harmful to health. Because in the end it is what it is to practice some sport: to improve health.
Now we go to the subject. Is it good to train on an empty stomach?
The answer, as in many other issues that have to do with training is depends for what. Fasting training makes our body 'learn' to burn more fat because we do not put glycogen in the tanks, which will cause us to refine a bit earlier. And, above all, that the day we want to do a hard workout, we are in a position to achieve it.
Therefore, fasting training, if we do, should be of low intensity. Why? Because in that way the fuel that our body uses to a greater extent is fat. Having not got anything, it is pulling reserves and is an 'extra' to the 'natural' fat burning of our body.
I will also insist a lot when we talk about trainings in which each body is a world. There are people who are greatly distressed by the feeling of emptiness in their stomachs, or who, on a more professional level, can feel bad training in height. It should be remembered at this point that it takes between 20 and 30 minutes to start burning fat when we exercise at low intensity. If we punish a lot, what we are doing is using glycogen more than fat, so it will not have the effect we are looking for. In very explosive sports, fasting training is not recommended.
Recapitulating: can you train on an empty stomach? Yes. But beware of the intensities, because if we pass, two things will happen: the first, which will not have served much. And the second, if this is repeated many times, is that we can see our performance affected and, most importantly, our health.