Smelling ammonia when I workout??

Brain5ick

Well-known member
Ok so I know I’ve been posting a lot but hear me out lol. I noticed a few weeks ago on heavy leg press drop sets that I could smell ammonia and it kind of freaked me out but I brushed it off. I kept noticing it every workout though and once just while I was driving. Tonight I hit the locker room and WHOA, it hit me hard. Like smelling salts hard! To the point where I said, “ok I don’t think I should keep shrugging this off, I can smell straight ammonia/cat piss when I breathe and it stings” I’m currently trying to just relax here at the gym and wait it out like usual but it hit me so hard that it’s almost dizzying this time. I’m not doing keto or low carb high protein, high carb/protein low fats right now. I’m not freaking out really, and I’m going to ask my doctor ASAP, but it’s the weirdest thing. What can you make of this? I almost thought this was attributed to the alcohol or something in my test but that was WAY too strong and too far away from my shot to be that.
 
Are you training fasted? I’ve noticed this smell from longer, prolonged high intensity cardio workouts when training fasted. I’ve read it’s usually a sign of your body breaking down protein for energy, which probably isn’t a good thing.

In for other info though.
 
I have some pretty intense workouts but I wouldn’t think I’d produce ketones, but I guess that’s a good thing when cutting right?
 
jrock645 said:
Are you training fasted? I’ve noticed this smell from longer, prolonged high intensity cardio workouts when training fasted. I’ve read it’s usually a sign of your body breaking down protein for energy, which probably isn’t a good thing.

In for other info though.
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I don’t train fasted, light meal beforehand with usually 50g protein and 50-75g carbs. I train in a hoodie right now and my hoodie/clothes don’t smell like ammonia.
 
I read somewhere that ammonia smell arises when your body uses protein for fuel -or amino acids. Indicator that you should up carbs -or fat in your diet.
 
Brain5ick said:
I have some pretty intense workouts but I wouldn’t think I’d produce ketones, but I guess that’s a good thing when cutting right?
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Ketosis Breath*Causes. ... Most describe*ketosis breath*as fruity and even*smelling of*acetone. Some also notice an*ammonia*type*of smell*on their*breath. Keto*breath*is also often accompanied by a metallic taste in the mouth.

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Once you burn through glycogen, the liver will produce ketones as fuel. It will do that OVER turning your muscle into fuel. If you are cutting, it makes sense.
 
hairygrandpa said:
I read somewhere that ammonia smell arises when your body uses protein for fuel -or amino acids. Indicator that you should up carbs -or fat in your diet.
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I was already doing 215g carbs a day haha. Less today so I can drop some water. Guess you can burn through anything with enough work.
 
Brain5ick said:
I was already doing 215g carbs a day haha. Less today so I can drop some water. Guess you can burn through anything with enough work.
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Pretty sure the muscle can hold more carbs than 215. So yeah, you can burn through that pretty quick with a good session.
 
hairygrandpa said:
Its only a good thing when you cut, right?
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Not necessarily. I am in ketosis, and slow bulking. So I am producing ketones. If one is diabetic, and not trying to produce ketones, and they eat carbs throughout the day; they probably have a bad issue; ketoacidosis. Basically diabetes complications.
 
ValiantThor08 said:
Not necessarily. I am in ketosis, and slow bulking. So I am producing ketones. If one is diabetic, and not trying to produce ketones, and they eat carbs throughout the day; they probably have a bad issue; ketoacidosis. Basically diabetes complications.
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That talk caught me totally off guard. I always thought its almost impossible to build lean mass in ketosis. You learn something new every day.
Also, the ammonia smell I always thought to be detrimental, because you burn protein as fuel....

A quick check with google actually confirms this... but hey, I'm absolutely no expert in nutrition.
 
hairygrandpa said:
That talk caught me totally off guard. I always thought its almost impossible to build lean mass in ketosis. You learn something new every day.
Also, the ammonia smell I always thought to be detrimental, because you burn protein as fuel....

A quick check with google actually confirms this... but hey, I'm absolutely no expert in nutrition.
Click to expand...
The body will revert to burning fat for fuel, converting it to ketones before eating lean mass. Gluconeogensis is the process where lean mass is converted to glucose. The body may do that very minimally as it is demand base, but the main. Alternate fuel is ketones. When out of glycogen, it switches to diesel, mean ketones. You can build muscle in ketosis, it is anabolic regardless of what some think. I personally do a variation where I incorporate carbs because I like the taste of carbs
 
ValiantThor08 said:
The body will revert to burning fat for fuel, converting it to ketones before eating lean mass. Gluconeogensis is the process where lean mass is converted to glucose. The body may do that very minimally as it is demand base, but the main. Alternate fuel is ketones. When out of glycogen, it switches to diesel, mean ketones. You can build muscle in ketosis, it is anabolic regardless of what some think. I personally do a variation where I incorporate carbs because I like the taste of carbs
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So you think Brain5ick is with 215gr carbs/d in ketosis? Always thought under 100gr of carbs (more like 30-40) is needed to guarantee ketosis. See? I'm completely misinformed, I guess. Thinking about it, that can not be generalized, as it would depend on activity level (cardio), right?
 
hairygrandpa said:
So you think Brain5ick is with 215gr carbs/d in ketosis? Always thought under 100gr of carbs (more like 30-40) is needed to guarantee ketosis. See? I'm completely misinformed, I guess. Thinking about it, that can not be generalized, as it would depend on activity level (cardio), right?
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That itself sounds kind of odd to me. Like I said my workouts are very intense but to burn off 215g carbs (I think around 175g during workout time) so I’d have to burn off around 700cal. Actually after my math with my workouts and cardio I could actually see it. 15m cardio pre workout and 10m cardio afterwards at my intensity is around 250cal. Lifting is heavy weight lat pulldowns for 15 superset with tricep pushdowns for 15 and I do that for 5 sets with about 20-30 second breaks in between. Plate loaded rows going up in weight 12x4. Cable rows 140lbs 15x3. Bent over barbell rows 155lbs 15/12/10/10/8. Dumbbell pullover 8x3 superset with skull crushers til failure. Barbell shrugs 225lbs 25x3-4 superset with Romanian deadlifts 8/8/8. Underhand grip lat pulldown 180lbs 12x4 or until failure. Heavy T bar rows 12/10/10/8. End with 10 minutes on the stair stepper on level 8 (at least that’s what it says on my machine, I know they vary).
Oh! Almost forgot, I did abs too haha. Machine crunches 20x4 superset with ab coaster for 20 “reps”, then hanging leg raises 10x2 superset with windmills x8. So that was everything I did tonight, I guess I could see that burning off 700 calories.
 
Brain5ick said:
That itself sounds kind of odd to me. Like I said my workouts are very intense but to burn off 215g carbs (I think around 175g during workout time) so I’d have to burn off around 700cal. Actually after my math with my workouts and cardio I could actually see it. 15m cardio pre workout and 10m cardio afterwards at my intensity is around 250cal. Lifting is heavy weight lat pulldowns for 15 superset with tricep pushdowns for 15 and I do that for 5 sets with about 20-30 second breaks in between. Plate loaded rows going up in weight 12x4. Cable rows 140lbs 15x3. Bent over barbell rows 155lbs 15/12/10/10/8. Dumbbell pullover 8x3 superset with skull crushers til failure. Barbell shrugs 225lbs 25x3-4 superset with Romanian deadlifts 8/8/8. Underhand grip lat pulldown 180lbs 12x4 or until failure. Heavy T bar rows 12/10/10/8. End with 10 minutes on the stair stepper on level 8 (at least that’s what it says on my machine, I know they vary).
Oh! Almost forgot, I did abs too haha. Machine crunches 20x4 superset with ab coaster for 20 “reps”, then hanging leg raises 10x2 superset with windmills x8. So that was everything I did tonight, I guess I could see that burning off 700 calories.
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How heavy are your T-bar rows? Just checking... ;)
 
I notice this also ... I am on keto diet and man depends if I do cardio then I reek or atleast smell that ****.
 
hairygrandpa
Also, the ammonia smell I always thought to be detrimental, because you burn protein as fuel....

A quick check with google actually confirms this..
Click to expand...

This^^^ keto or not, this is not a good thing to smell ammonia when working out, it is counter productive of trying to build muscle
 
EMPIREMIND said:
hairygrandpa

This^^^ keto or not, this is not a good thing to smell ammonia when working out, it is counter productive of trying to build muscle
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If you’re burning off your amino content then either glycogen is being heavily stored or there isn’t any to store or burn. Seems like that would be a good thing in some cases, and the only thing if on keto. Because that’s keto.
 
hairygrandpa said:
So you think Brain5ick is with 215gr carbs/d in ketosis? Always thought under 100gr of carbs (more like 30-40) is needed to guarantee ketosis. See? I'm completely misinformed, I guess. Thinking about it, that can not be generalized, as it would depend on activity level (cardio), right?
Click to expand...
To be in a constant state of ketosis all day, one should consume typically less than 50g carbs throughout the day, and that would include fiber. Now someone that eats lower carb, like OP, he is not producing ketones all day, but when he works out, and expends the glucose/glycogen that he has stored, he will be in ketosis temporarily. Once he eats again, he will be out of it.
 
A normal functioning body is not going to turn to muscle protein as the main source of fuel after glycogen is expent, that is error. There may be very minimal amount of gluconeogensis, but it WILL switch to fat burning for fuel.
 
Old Witch said:
If you’re burning off your amino content then either glycogen is being heavily stored or there isn’t any to store or burn. Seems like that would be a good thing in some cases, and the only thing if on keto. Because that’s keto.
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But OP consumes 200+gr/d carbs. Not willingly doing keto. IMHO, he should implement something like karbolyn intra workout -or just eat a carb meal before workouts.
 
hairygrandpa said:
But OP consumes 200+gr/d carbs. Not willingly doing keto. IMHO, he should implement something like karbolyn intra workout -or just eat a carb meal before workouts.
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Right, even so, it won't negatively impact him to be in ketosis after a workout temporarily. His insulin sensitivity will be heightened, and when he does consume carbs after his workout, they should slurp up into his muscle readily.
 
ValiantThor08 said:
Right, even so, it won't negatively impact him to be in ketosis after a workout temporarily. His insulin sensitivity will be heightened, and when he does consume carbs after his workout, they should slurp up into his muscle readily.
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You mean, if he likes the smell, to keep doing what he does? :)

I had that ammonia problem once. The stink would not get out of the clothing even after repeated washing. The smell might keep you alert and awake though. Hehe!
 
On second thought, if you truly smell like ammonia, and it is coming off of your sweat, it could be a sign of liver or kidney damage. Worse case scenario. Or just consuming too much protein. Watch the short video.
 
ValiantThor08 said:
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ValiantThor08 said:
On second thought, if you truly smell like ammonia, and it is coming off of your sweat, it could be a sign of liver or kidney damage. Worse case scenario. Or just consuming too much protein. Watch the short video.
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Good info here! For OP, who is not on a ketogenic diet, it means:

-as long as he does not have a liver -and/or kidney problem, no worry
-his protein intake maybe too high -and/or his carb intake may be too low
-eat more veggies

He can:
-keep stinking
-or take in more carbs

Correct?
 
hairygrandpa said:
Good info here! For OP, who is not on a ketogenic diet, it means:

-as long as he does not have a liver -and/or kidney problem, no worry
-his protein intake maybe too high -and/or his carb intake may be too low
-eat more veggies

He can:
-keep stinking
-or take in more carbs

Correct?
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Correct, and lower protein.

What is protein intake at OP?
 
hairygrandpa said:
If his protein is on point (we don't know how much he consumes daily),
maybe lowering protein before workouts and loading it after gym.
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Have to find out his intake amount and timing. I know that my breath has been keto breath when in ketosis, but I have never smelled bodily like ammonia. My sweet doesn't have a smell to it. I take at most 1g of protein per lb of body weight.
 
I take in 215g of protein as well. Like I said the ammonia smell isn’t on my clothes or anything. It’s odd.
 
Old Witch said:
If you’re burning off your amino content then either glycogen is being heavily stored or there isn’t any to store or burn. Seems like that would be a good thing in some cases, and the only thing if on keto. Because that’s keto.
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I guess my experiences are different. I have done quite a few bouts of Keto in the past and have done so on some pretty agressive cuts. I have not noticed ammonia from this, I would describe it as something almost like a metallic taste but I haven’t experienced it in a while and don’t remember exactly, so maybe I’m wrong in a sense.
None the less I think if you are lifting weights it is more than likely to gain muscle, or maintain what you have, and you don’t want to be burning amino acids as fuel regardless. Something is off there so maybe some bloodwork is due, because he is apparently eating a sufficient amount of carbs and shouldn’t be in keto at all...
 
Well I brought my ketone test strips with me tonight. Gonna hit legs and if I smell ammonia I’ll hit the strip.
 
I’m pretty over trained, not gonna lie. It’s hard to workout to the intensity I usually do tonight, but I kind of want to smell the ammonia so I can try the strips haha. Nothing yet though.
 
Brain5ick said:
I’m pretty over trained, not gonna lie. It’s hard to workout to the intensity I usually do tonight, but I kind of want to smell the ammonia so I can try the strips haha. Nothing yet though.
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At the end, do a mix of sprint, jump rope, and mountain climbers... you will be out of glycogen.
 
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