Maximise your workout with fed-state training: why exercising after eating might be better than fasted training

woman eating cereal in workout clothes and on yoga mat fed-state training

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Strong Women


Maximise your workout with fed-state training: why exercising after eating might be better than fasted training

By Anna Bartter

Updated 2 years ago

4 min read

Move over fasted training, fed-state training is set to become your fitness go-to – and with good reason. Here, we explore the benefits of fuelling your body pre-workout. 

Fasted training, or working out on an empty stomach (typically four to eight hours after your last meal), has long been popular with gym-goers and trainers alike, mainly because it is thought to enhance the body’s ability to use fat stores as energy, rather than glycogen – preserving muscle strength and endurance.

More recently, however, there’s been a shift towards fed-state training, which is the exact opposite – eating a small meal or snack before working out. If you’re firmly in camp fasted, you may take some convincing that fed-state training is the way to go – and, of course, it’s not one size fits all. Here, we look at the benefits of fed-state training, so you can make up your own mind about how or whether to fuel your next session. 

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