Cycling Workout for Fat Burning on an Empty Stomach

Cycling is a great way to improve your cardiovascular health, increase muscle mass and shed excess fat. Since weight loss is attributed to burning more calories than you consume, the thought of burning calories before you've consumed anything is appealing to those who'd like to maximize their fat-burning potential.

  1. Empty Stomach Workouts

    • A moderate performance level when cycling does burn more fat when on an empty stomach, but that's only during your workout. Your calorie-burning potential postworkout decreases when you haven't fueled your body. High-intensity cardio should never be performed on an empty stomach; you'll just burn yourself out long before you're able to achieve a significant burn anyway. Personal trainer Kevin Deeth agrees that an exerciser should "always choose energy and sustainability over anything else."

    Cycling With Micro Intervals

    • Incorporating intervals to your cycling workout will increase your fat and calorie burn whether you've eaten beforehand or not. If you're fasting, or biking before breakfast, you'll want to perform those intense intervals in less time than if you had a full stomach; a full 30-second burst may feel like too much. Start out with a slow warm-up, increase to a moderate pace for a few minutes, then do a 20-second interval at full throttle before recovery.

    Increase Your Burn

    • You can burn up to 600 calories per hour biking on uneven terrain. Take your bike for a little off-road action so you can get a full-body, muscle-building workout against the resistance of things like rocks, roots and sticks. Going uphill also blasts calories at a quicker rate than traditional road biking. Sculpt strong triceps, shoulders and core muscles by alternating between standing and sitting as you pedal.

    Considerations

    • While fat-burning potential increases when you train on an empty stomach, there are some drawbacks. You can't train as hard, as fast or for as long as you can when you've eaten; 20 minutes before breakfast is the most you should be doing. Training and fasting is not something you can do every day, because you may increase your risks of illness or injury. You also need to consider how your speed and strength development will be affected. If you want to fast and train, stick to that method only two days a week.