I finished Legs and Back last night then did ARX, I was feeling great, my abs are really starting to churn out the ever-desirable "six pack". However, afterwards began to smell ammonia in my nose. At first I thought was something my wife was cleaning with or something. But I did a few google searches and it turns out its due to my routines/diet.
I found this quote, which sums it up pretty well:
"Actually, this isn't terribly uncommon. During intense exercise your body can begin to burn amino acids (protein) for energy, especially if you have depleted carbohydrate stores. When your body burns amino acids, it produces a number of chemicals and compounds that have to be flushed from the body. Urea - a form of ammonia -- is one of those compounds.
Under normal circumstances, your body excretes urea via urine. However, if you are producing a lot of it (for example, during intense or long-duration exercise), your body can also excrete urea via respiration (through your lungs) or in perspiration. This can result in an ammonia scent in your clothing, sweat or even in your nostrils.
Diet can have some impact on this. If you are low on carbohydrates, this can encourage the body to turn to protein for fuel -- thus producing more urea. Also, if you don't have enough or too much dietary protein, you can experience a similar result.
Try eating a meal one hour before you work out that has plenty of complex carbohydrates (like oatmeal) as well as at least 20 grams of lean protein. Whey protein or a whole food source such as skim milk or chicken breast are all good choices.
Finally, if this persist more than a few weeks, just to be safe, see your doctor. Excessive urea excretion from perspiration and respiration can be a sign of more serious conditions, including diabetes and kidney disease."
So it seems that I am going to have to up my carb intake a bit.
KempoX tonight, then a rest day and two weeks in the bag.
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