Thread: Cardio????

The best time to do cardio for fat loss purposes is when glycogen and blood sugar are low. This would be first thing in the morning on an empty stomach or right after lifting weights. I try to do it first thing, but if thats not possible, it will be right after training.

I find I get my best results with cardio when I do it first thing in the morning. Post workout I am so drained from lifting that there is no way I want to be doing cardio, so in the morning I may be groggy but it wakes me I feel more energetic all day and then you are allowed to be in and out for your workout later that day.

Originally posted by gopro
The best time to do cardio for fat loss purposes is when glycogen and blood sugar are low. This would be first thing in the morning on an empty stomach or right after lifting weights. I try to do it first thing, but if thats not possible, it will be right after training.

So if you do cardio after weights, how long are you at the gym on those days? Is it ok to go over an hour if your doing both?

Originally posted by rock4832
So if you do cardio after weights, how long are you at the gym on those days? Is it ok to go over an hour if your doing both?

My weight workouts last about 60-70 min. After workout cardio is high intensity and only lasts 15 minutes.

Good to know, thanks for the reply GoPro!

wow thanks for all the replies.

Now if I were to go in the morning how long should I go for? Currently the few days I have time for after lifting I go for 15-20 mins. And how often should I do it, every day I train?

Also, what should I eat after the cardio? I currently eat before I go to class in the morning, 2 full eggs 3 whites, 1/2 cup oatmeal and a protien shake.

Thanks

I would look to gopro but or some of the others around here but when I go post workout I go for appx 20-30 min max, because you are already in prime burning mode since you have burned through all your muscle glycogen stores while lifting, in the morning I would start at say 30 min and then after a few week reasses and then see if you need to adjust your diet or adjust cardio, adjust one or the other but preferably I would lok to your diet then to cardio. Also, Start at say 3 days a week then reasses at after at least a few weeks. It is all a matter of seeing what works for you and your bodym but cardio can not replace a good diet.

i just started doing my cardio in the morning on an empty stomach and so far i love it... i've never felt so awake going into work at 9 AM... sometimes i feel guilty because my boss and co-workers still look like they just rolled out of bed and i'm bouncin' off the walls strikin' up conversations left, right and center

i was thinking of doing it for 20-30 min 5 days a week (mon-fri) for 2 weeks... would this be a good idea? or would i be over doing myself?

Yea the only problem with me is I need to leave my house at 7am, and I currently wake up at about 5:30 am. So I was thinking of maybe waking up running to the gym for 20 mins of cardio then coming home showering eating and school. But if it takes to long to do the cardio and such in the morning I can't afford to get up earlier then I am now. Thanks for all the posts so far.

I agree with GOPRO.

Depends what your goals are though. If you want maximum fat loss, 1st thing in the morning is best.

If you want to build greater cardiovascular endurance then it would be better to do it an hour or so after a meal where you will be able to push harder.

Ultimately, only you can decide what the best time is for you. The important thing is to be consistent. Analyze your goals and then tweak the frequency and duration until you find what works best for you.

Maybe you could start your weight workouts with around 10 minutes of cardio as a warm up ( don't do too much or you will be too tired to lift) and then on (rest days) when you're not lifting, maybe you could do longer and more intense cardio sessions.

Just a suggestion.

Originally posted by vanity
I agree with GOPRO.

Depends what your goals are though. If you want maximum fat loss, 1st thing in the morning is best.

before breakfast or after?

i could easily do both

i'm aiming for maximum fat loss

peace

Go pro said

My weight workouts last about 60-70 min. After workout cardio is high intensity and only lasts 15 minutes.

Is this interval style training, 1 minute on 2 minutes off or just 15 hard minutes non stop.

Also do you take your Swole V2/v12/plasma expander after youve finished cardio or can u take it before.

I disagree about doing cardio on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.

First off the advantage of cardio is not what you burn during the session, the amount of fat you burn during cardio is very minimal. What cardio does is raise your metabolism for the hours following cardio. In other words you are burning more calories throught the day.

Doing cardio on an empty stomach first thing in the morning is risky for losing muscle. You have just gone 8-10 hours without eating anything and now you are going to do a high intensity cardio session?

If you are going to do it in the morning I would reccomend a shake before hand of whey and a small amount of carbs. I personally bracket my cardio workouts with these shakes, before and after.

I disagree and think empty stomach or cardio before brekfast is great.

I did 12 weeks of dieting over the summer (naturally) and only did empty stomach morning cardio every day for around 45 mins at a moderate intensity, along with 4 x weighttraining workouts. i went from 199lb 16% to 175lb 7%. My condition totally changed and i put most of it down to good nutrition. But empty stomach cardio was a staple of my plan.

If i was to do it again i would use glutamine, bcca's or whey isolate before hand, but i would never not do morning cardio before breakfast.

Originally posted by naturalguy
I disagree about doing cardio on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.

First off the advantage of cardio is not what you burn during the session, the amount of fat you burn during cardio is very minimal. What cardio does is raise your metabolism for the hours following cardio. In other words you are burning more calories throught the day.

Doing cardio on an empty stomach first thing in the morning is risky for losing muscle. You have just gone 8-10 hours without eating anything and now you are going to do a high intensity cardio session?

If you are going to do it in the morning I would reccomend a shake before hand of whey and a small amount of carbs. I personally bracket my cardio workouts with these shakes, before and after.

So do you also disagree with doing cardio right after weights? Or is that different?

Originally posted by bigbrownbear
I disagree and think empty stomach or cardio before brekfast is great.

I did 12 weeks of dieting over the summer (naturally) and only did empty stomach morning cardio every day for around 45 mins at a moderate intensity, along with 4 x weighttraining workouts. i went from 199lb 16% to 175lb 7%. My condition totally changed and i put most of it down to good nutrition. But empty stomach cardio was a staple of my plan.

If i was to do it again i would use glutamine, bcca's or whey isolate before hand, but i would never not do morning cardio before breakfast.

Here is the problem with your cardio on an empty stomach, keep in mind there are many factors so it may not be this one thing but:

You started at 199 - 16%, which means your lean mass was 167 lbs.

You finished at 175 - 7%, which means your lean mass was 162 lbs.

You lost 5 lbs. of muscle, yes you lost 25 lbs. overall and must look much better however I wouldn't give up 5 lbs. of muscle. If you were to have a small shake before the cardio this would protect some or all of that muscle loss.

Originally posted by rock4832
So do you also disagree with doing cardio right after weights? Or is that different?

Ideally it's best if you can keep your cardio and lifting sessions separate however I know in todays hectic busy world, time is tight. If you have to because of your schedule then do it after training however I like to separate the 2. The only thing I like to do after lifting is down my post workout shake.

i know i lost 5lbs of muscle, and thats why i would use the supp's listed or a little whey isolate before hand. i learned something there fore sure. And i use this approach when i do a.m cardio now whilst adding LBM.


As stated though i would always do cardio before breakfast. I also would never have carbs before hand and if I really wanted to get lean not have any carbs after either - just p/f

To answer some questions above:

-My post workout cardio is a down and dirty 15 killer minutes...no intervals, just 15 ugly minutes of sweat

-You can easily prevent the loss of muscle from morning cardio through the use of BCAAs, glutamine, and a little fat...you can even throw in phosphatidylserine for cortisol blunting...alternatively, have a small whey shake...I prefer using the supps

-The "afterburn" for cardio is not that long...maybe 6 hrs. The afterburn from weight training can last 24!

Gopro, are you saying that you can use BCAA's, glutamine, and fat OR you can use a whey Shake. One or the other? And am I correct in assuming you should consume this PWO?

I do cardio in the morning an hour after drinking my protein Shake(with water) Amino Acids and BCAA's during cardio & weight training
In the evenings I will do them after weight training for 25 mins. or so.

So if I were to start at like 6 am when my gym opens would 20 mins of cardio be ok to start with? I have currently been doing 15-20 mins after lifting so I know I can handle that.

And would it be better to take a small amount of whey before cardio then a full meal w/ glutimine afterwords or jsut go in on an empty stomach? Sorry what are BCAA's?

Originally posted by DeadBolt
So if I were to start at like 6 am when my gym opens would 20 mins of cardio be ok to start with? I have currently been doing 15-20 mins after lifting so I know I can handle that.

And would it be better to take a small amount of whey before cardio then a full meal w/ glutimine afterwords or jsut go in on an empty stomach? Sorry what are BCAA's?

20 mins. is fine however just make sure that you do it with enough intensity.

You should have a shake before hand, I would reccomend a whey shake with a small amount of carbs. If you do it on an empty stomach, you are more than likely going to lose muscle.

BCAA's are Branch Chain Amino Acids.

These will help protect muscle loss however you don't need to take an extra BCAA supplement if you are taking a good quality whey protein. The whey I use is 30% BCAA's.

I use optimum whey protein, do you know if that is good enough or should I suplement with bcaa's

OK ive thought about this and the perfect scenario would be wake up and down one or combination of both 10g of BCCA's and glutamine, along with 5g of fish oil, 10-20 mins later your doing 45 mins low intensity cardio. and no muscle should be lost.


However having gopro advise 15 mins of hardcore cardio after a gruelling weights session sounds interesting to me..........crazy too.......but i love crazy.........i wonder can u do this to stay lean when building lean mass, or would this detract from muscle gain too much???????

GOPRO??????

Originally posted by bigbrownbear
OK ive thought about this and the perfect scenario would be wake up and down one or combination of both 10g of BCCA's and glutamine, along with 5g of fish oil, 10-20 mins later your doing 45 mins low intensity cardio. and no muscle should be lost.

I don't know about perfect. You really don't want fat at this time as it takes a long time to break down. Also you are better off with a scoop of whey protein rather than taking a BCAA supplement as you will get more BCAA's in the whey plus all the other amino's. You would also ideally have a small amount of carbs at this time as well.

Originally posted by rock4832
I use optimum whey protein, do you know if that is good enough or should I suplement with bcaa's

Optimum is very high in BCAA content, no need for a separate BCAA supplement.