Thread: morning cardio....need pre-post meal for it

What are your goals?

It depends on a lot of things we can't help with. Distance, traffic, shower (we can hope)?

Originally Posted by WATTS

i want to start doing cardio before school...i start school at 7am, so was woundering how early i should wake up if im ganna be doing 40 min of cardio....i also need to eat before, right? and what should i eat that will get into me really fast and not effect the fat burning process, and how long should i wait before my i can do cardio from my meal...also could somebody give me an example of a post cardio meal as well....i was thinking along the lines of cup of oats and whey protein with fat free milk but any help would be appreciated.

If you want a SOLID meal pre-workout then you want to eat something ~1 hr before you workout. If you want to sleep more - then allowing 30-40 minutes for a liquid meal will be sufficient.

What/how much you should eat will depend on what you are doing/intensity and your goals (along with your current weight/bf%). If your cardio is going to be VERY intense, then a good meal of both protein and carbs would be more beneficial. It will give you energy to perform the cardio to a greater intensity (and therefore increase it's effectiveness) and will also help to decrease lean mass loss.

If the intensity moderate, then you can get away with protein only (eg: a shake) and if it is low (eg: power walking), then fasted is fine too... Of course, this is also dependant on your degree of leanness (the leaner you are, the more likely you will lose lean mass on cardio - so you are better off eating something)....

In terms of a post-cardio meal - oats, whey and skim milk would be perfect.

here's my post workout for cardio-since it is the first meal of the day-I have this every morning even when I am in a precontest stage:
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup all bran
1 banana
7-8 strawberries or 1/2 cup of blueberries
2 scoops of whey on the side.

I makes me hungry just thinking about it.

my goal is to lose my lower stomach fat, and not risk muscle loss in the process...well i am 18, 225 pounds, and not sure exactly about my bodyfat,...can see outline of a 4 pack...that fades into fat, lol. i do low intensity cardio (power walking, or bike) for 30-40 min...so would a protein shake (in water or Fat-free milk?)be sufficient 30-40 min before my cardio be sufficient?

then post cardio meal...1 cup oats, protein shake in fat free milk, is this ok? then how long should i wait till my next meal? same as if i was doing a reg. workout(an hour or a little more)?

Originally Posted by WATTS

my goal is to lose my lower stomach fat, and not risk muscle loss in the process...well i am 18, 225 pounds, and not sure exactly about my bodyfat,...can see outline of a 4 pack...that fades into fat, lol. i do low intensity cardio (power walking, or bike) for 30-40 min...so would a protein shake (in water or Fat-free milk?)be sufficient 30-40 min before my cardio be sufficient?

If it is low intensity you could get away with just the protein. If it is REALLY low intensity you don't need anything at all really... as long as your PWO meal is sufficient.

then post cardio meal...1 cup oats, protein shake in fat free milk, is this ok? then how long should i wait till my next meal? same as if i was doing a reg. workout(an hour or a little more)?

That sounds good.

If it is low intensity cardio, then I would also just continue your day as normal - so don't bother about another meal that soon. Just eat a regular meal in 2-3hrs.

Low intensity cardio is going to preferentially burn free fatty acids, so you are not really at risk of a lot of muscle loss (even when fasted).

It also has hardly any EPOC (increase in metabolism) for after the event. So you gain no benefit from stacking your food pre/post.

I take 2 fattburners and 1 B.C.A.A. just before my (morning) cardio. After cardio I eat 100 gr. of salad with a whey shake made with water. 1 hour later I eat a normal meal with carbs and protein etc...
This works really well for me.