Kettlebell How long of a gap would you recommend between a meal and S&S practice?

[Smith88]

I am about to jump back into S&S training after about a year off. My whole routine and life has changed completely since I was last practicing and now the only time I can set aside to practice is in the evening after dinner. Does anyone have any recommendations on the minimum time one should leave between eating a meal and practicing? I know in some yoga practices etc there are some strict guidelines around when one should practice after eating, I know Pavel mentions in Simple and Sinister that one can practice anytime, just looking for general recommendations, thoughts etc.
Thanks

 

[John K]

I am about to jump back into S&S training after about a year off. My whole routine and life has changed completely since I was last practicing and now the only time I can set aside to practice is in the evening after dinner. Does anyone have any recommendations on the minimum time one should leave between eating a meal and practicing? I know in some yoga practices etc there are some strict guidelines around when one should practice after eating, I know Pavel mentions in Simple and Sinister that one can practice anytime, just looking for general recommendations, thoughts etc.
Thanks

Welcome back! I find it depends on the person and the meal. There are some meals I can eat and train immediately after, there are others I need to wait 1-2 hours, and sometimes it is size dependent. If you have a light dinner, you may be fine training immediately after; if you have a large heavy dinner, you may need to wait several hours. After a while of doing it, you'll start to learn how you feel and what works for you.

 

[Steve Freides]

What @John K said.

I wouldn't be able to practice swings after dinner, but getups might work for me. If you can do something like set aside 20 minutes right before dinner for your swings then do your getups afterwards, perhaps that's better. Because I don't eat many full meals, usually just one, every day, that one meal can be pretty big and I don't think I'd ever be able to train after that. I love a walk after dinner, but that's a whole other things than doing swings and getups.

-S-

 

[silveraw]

There isn't really a reason not to train after eating other than if it makes you feel sick.

A lifting story to illustrate this from a couple people famous in the nutrition and lifting space.

Dr Layne Norton and Dr Dom D'Agostino were headed to the gym for a heavy deadlift day. Layne made them stop at a pizza place to pick up a few slices before going, Dom meanwhile was on the tail end of a 5 day fast. At the gym both of them killed it (This is Dom's famous 500lbs deadlift after 5 days of fasting thing). Afterwards Layne talked about how miserable he would be if he tried to lift fasted, meanwhile Dom talked about how miserable he would be if he ate pizza before a training session.

 

[watchnerd]

I prefer to train mildly hungry, as it makes me more aggressive.

 

[Jim Hooper]

Giant meal? Wait a while. Normal to smallish meal? Train away. Unless it is a "pre workout shake," in which case your can and must train withing 22 minutes . . . .You did not evolve to become helpless within an hour of eating some food. Of course, never swim after eating because you will drown. Or so my grandma insisted.