SHAPE_OCTOBER_2016

sweat smarter
Photo courtesy of Bigstockphotos Contributor Dirima.
Your stomach is
empty, or you just
ate a huge meal
SWEAT IT OUT Unless you
typically experience stomach
cramping, light-headedness,
or nausea when working out
on an empty or a full stomach,
exercise can actually benefit
you, says Brittany R. Allman,
a sports nutritionist at Florida
State University. “We have
enough stores of energy to last
us through a workout, even
without food in the tank,” she
says. “And running on empty
may actually help you burn
more fat.” That’s because when
you exercise, if there are no
carbs readily available for your
body to burn, it turns to its muscle
glycogen (the stored form of
carbohydrates) and its fat
stores to use as energy. (The
jury is still out on whether fasting
before a workout saps your
energy; some research says
yes, some says no.) On the flip
side, when you’re fully fueled,
exercising can improve digestion
by helping your body move
food from the stomach to the
intestines, Allman says. So if
you can deal, start burning off
that pie.
What’s optimal for workout
fuel? Having 150 to 300 calories
one to two hours before your
session. Make it a combo
of carbs for quick energy and a
little protein to help prevent
muscle breakdown. A banana
and two tablespoons of peanut
butter should do the trick.
You have a job
interview or
a presentation
in a few hours
SQUEEZE IN A WORKOUT
For people who exercise regularly,
doing it the morning
of a big task can improve your
memory and lower your stress
levels, according to research
in the journal Neuroscience.
After one month of brisk walking
or jogging four times a week
for 30 minutes, those who also
exercised the morning of a
series of mental tests performed
better than the habitual
exercisers who skipped their
a.m. workout. “Exercise can
help with cognition by increasing
the levels of brain-derived
neurotrophic factor, a protein
that supports the growth of
new brain cells,” says lead study
author David J. Bucci, Ph.D.,
a professor of psychological
and brain sciences at
Dartmouth College. And the
more aerobic, the greater the
impact.
You did CrossFit
today, but your
friend invited you to
take a boot camp
class tomorrow
morning
SKIP IT Depending on the
WOD that day, you may have
temporarily tapped out your
muscles for more heavy lifting
so soon. After a tough resistance
workout, your muscles
need 24 to 72 hours to repair
tiny micro tears and to add the
proper amount of amino acids
needed to increase your
strength, says Michele Olson,
Ph.D., a professor of exercise
science at Auburn University
at Montgomery. You may
be doing more damage to the
muscle if it hasn’t had time
to heal, and your performance
may be compromised, setting
you up for injury. Instead of
boot camp, do a moderate cardio
workout like a 30-minute
run, which will increase circulation
to your muscles while
giving them a break from doing
reps, Olson says. Keep in mind,
though, that if your CrossFit
workout hit only your upper
body, it’s fine to do a lowerbody
strength workout the
morning after, or vice versa.
You’re mentally
exhausted after
putting in long
hours at the office
LACE UP When your brain is
fatigued, your body is still physiologically
capable of working
at its maximum capacity,
according to research at the
Université de Bourgogne in
France. The caveat: “While you
can still lift the same amount
of weight and run at the same
top speed when you’re mentally
tired, the difference is
that endurance exercise will
actually feel harder, thereby
reducing your performance,”
A short
brisk walk
could have
cognitive
benefits that
help you ace
an interview
or deliver
a flawless
speech.
says researcher Benjamin
Pageaux. That’s not necessarily
a bad thing, he adds. Training
when you’re feeling burnedout
might actually toughen you
up in the long run, so you can
better resist the desire to slow
down during your next race,
Pageaux says.
You have really
bad cramps
HIT THE GYM Exercise can
minimize monthly cramps,
so much so that you may not
feel the need to pop that
OTC pain reliever, says Pinar
H. Kodaman, M.D., Ph.D.,
an assistant professor of
obstetrics, gynecology, and
reproductive services at Yale
University School of Medicine.
When you exercise, the production
of prostaglandins—
cramp-inducing inflammatory
chemicals released in the uterus
during menstruation—is
suppressed. To best net the
effect, go with cardio, like
running or cycling, she
suggests.
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