sweat smells like ammonia

[khrespass]

i notice that after about a half hour of extensive exercise, my body starts to reek of ammonia, is there something wrong with me?

[JoeBAR]

you're going catabolic, burning muscle protein for energy. have a gatorade, or reduce effort.

[gunshowbabe]

Originally Posted by JoeBAR

you're going catabolic, burning muscle protein for energy. have a gatorade, or reduce effort.

Are you serious? You know this just by the smell of B.O.? I know a person can do too much cardio but... I'm a little confused here....

[pliny_2001]

Yeah - I was talking about it a bit ago. It's when you start burning amino acids for fuel - it only happens after you burn through your glycogen and readily available carbs. Either drink a sugar drink or reduce effort so that instead of burning proteins you can metabolize fat.

In the future, just use the "search" button before asking questions - the first result (other than this new thread) is need a good cardio / toning routine , and it answers your question.

[JoeBAR]

It's a tell-tale smell. Well known and documented. Pliny mentioned it not so long ago as a mean to measure when he's done enough cardio

Personally, I never done enough cardio to reach this state, nor do I exercise without energy readily available. Even when I was jogging long distance (before weight lifting) I'd have a 1000 cal breakfast and hop on the trail 5 min later. It upset a lot of people to train with a full tummy, but it's like everything, it can be trained. Jogging for 3 or more hours requires a LOT of calories. I'd take 1l bottle with water mixed with energy powder (~400cal) and a couple cereal bars on top to eat 1/2 way