Jahnavi Sarma
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Written By: Jahnavi Sarma | Updated : April 22, 2020 9:02 AM IST
Burpees challenge all the muscles in your body and help you lose weight fast. @Shutterstock
Many fitness enthusiasts are often confused about whether they should eat anything before a workout. This is, in fact, a hotly debated topic. While some say that it is better to work out on an empty stomach if you want to lose weight fast, others are not so sure. But advocates of fasted cardio, or cardio workouts on an empty stomach, say that this is the best strategy to burn fat.
The fasted cardio theory was first propagated by Bill Phillips, a bodybuilder and author of Body-for-LIFE. He believed that 'fasting overnight reduces blood sugar, insulin levels and glycogen stores. Without available energy from stored carbohydrates (like glycogen), our body turns to body fat for fuel'. In fact, a study at Northumbria University says that people can burn up to 20 per cent more body fat by exercising in the morning on an empty stomach. The British Journal of Nutrition published this study. Another study in the British Journal of Nutrition says that fasted cardio mobilizes fat more effectively than that in the fed state.
According to the fasted cardio theory, you must fast for at least 6 to 7 hours before doing any exercise. Here, let us look at a few exercises that you can perform on an empty stomach to maximise weight loss. Be sure to warm up for 10 minutes before you start exercising.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your arms by your sides. Push your hips back, bend your knees and lower your body into a squat. Place your hands on the floor in front of and inside your feet. Now shift your weight onto your hands. In a jumping motion move your feet back to softly land on the balls of your feet in a plank position. Your body must be in a straight line from your head to heels. Keep your back straight and your butt pointing up. Now jump your feet back so that they land just outside of your hands. Reach your arms over your head, and explosively jump up into the air. Land and immediately lower back into a squat. Repeat 5 times.
Sit on the floor with your legs out in front of you. Now Keep your abdomen tight and bend your knees. Elongate and straighten your spine at a 45-degree angle from the floor. This will create a V shape with your torso and thighs. Reach your arms straight out in front, and interlace your fingers. Now putting pressure on your abdominals, twist to the right, then back to center and then to the left. Repeat 10 times.
Get down on all fours. Keep your shoulders in line with your wrists and hips in line with your knees. Tuck your toes, lift your knees off the floor and take your hips into the air. Now shift your weigh onto your forearms and slowly lower your body. Keep your shoulders strong and back. Now twist a little and let your right side and right hip touch t6he floor lightly. Repeat on the other side. Do this 5 times on both sides.
