Thread: morning cardio

It is better in the morning, you speed up your metabolism, I am against cardio on an empty stomach though.

personally I prefer Sprinting or HIIT as a means of cardio, which IMO is by far superior to steady state cardio lengthy cardio sessions.
I also don't feel that with doing this sort of cardio there's a need for it to be done on an empty stomach. Your still going to increase your overall metabolism and burn overall calories (moreso with intervals)... I truly don't believe much in the "fat burning" mode. thats just me though

Tom Venuto and Chris Aceto, 2 very successful reputable guys are for it. Other people like the guys over at Bodybuilding.com and avant are against it - for good reasons. Even venuto admits its risky but effective. hey...diet's the key...

For how long should I do HIIT to loose fat

20-30 mins....build up. 5 minute warm up. 1 min sprint 1 min recovery... 5 minute cool down

Originally Posted by mayte

For how long should I do HIIT to loose fat

20-30mins(depending on warmup time). 30mins would be included with a warmup.

Here`s an article I wrote for atozfitness and ironlife.com with my opinion on the subject!

My Approach To Doing Cardio For Optimal Results by Tim Wescott

Most bodybuilder`s, fitness enthusiasts, and personal trainer`s, will tell you that the best time to do cardio is early in the morning, on an empy stomach. For some reason, which most of them don`t know the answer to, they will tell you this is the perfect time to facilitate fat burning. I`m here to say they are off base in this approach to losing bodyfat, and I will tell you why. As bodybuilder`s, most of us endeavor to eat 5-6 meals a day, spaced out over three hour intervals.This helps to keep blood sugar levels stable, keeps us in an anabolic state, by maintaining a positive nitrogen balance, aids in better digestion and assimilation, and also helps to keep the waistline smaller, as most of the meals should not be big meals, per se`!

After sleeping all night for 6-8 hours, or whatever amount is required for you personally, the body, upon arising in the morning, is in a very catabolic state.This means a state of negative nitrogen balance,something no bodybuilder wants. To perform cardio at this time, on an empty stomach, creates a further state of catabolism, thus resulting in muscle breakdown, and muscle tissue loss.The exact opposite of what bodybuilding is all about! It`s true that blood sugar levels are low in the morning, but so are amino acids,the building blocks of protein. If you must do cardio in the morning.... no big deal, just make sure to have a protein drink, or a light protein meal, 45-60 minutes before the aerobic session. Your first priority in the morning, after fasting all night during sleep, should be to feed the body protein and carbs, thus restoring the body to an anabolic state once again. You always want to remain in this anabolic state, if possible, thats why we eat every three hours or so.

In my opinion, the best time to do cardio is after you workout with the iron. Performing your cardio workout after training with the weights, is the most ideal time to burn fat. The reasoning behind this thinking is that during your weight training workout you are using glucose, and stored glycogen, as fuel for energy. Glucose and glycogen are sugars, and sugars are carbs. You want to use carbs as fuel for your training ideally,to sustain you throughout the workout. After you are done training, your glucose and glycogen levels are obviously depleted, thus making this the perfect time to perform your cardio, and to use stored fat as fuel. At this time, if you are on a high protein diet, as most bodybuilder`s are, or should be, the body will burn fat as fuel, to help get you through the cardio session.



Keep the cardio intense and brief, or the body will once again go into a catabolic state and use protein for fuel literally eating your hard earned muscle tissue alive.Doinf too much cardio is detrimental. The type of cardio that you perform is up to you, but I would recommend doing 15-20 minutes of "High Intensity Interval Training". Hereafter known as HIIT !! HIIT cardio involves an all out burst of effort for about a minute, followed by a cool down pace, also for a minute or so, or until the heartrate slows down substantionally. As I stated above, 15-20 minutes of HIIT is great and usually enough for most people. I personally wouldn`t go over 30 minutes tops.

One of the advantages of performing HIIT cardio is that it accomplishes more in a shorter time period. Another more important benefit, is that it raises the heart rate and the metabolism. Your metabolism stays elevated long after your cardio session is done.This enables the body to keep on burning more fat just by going through your normal daily routine! I call this effect the "Afterburn" !!



I use an Eliptical Trainer most of the time, and I find by using this particular apparatus, I burn over twice as many calories using HIIT, over more traditional methods I have employed in the past.The Eliptical Trainer also has virtually no impact on the feet, hips, or knees. So there it is, my take on doing AM cardio, and why I think it should not be done on an empty stomach. Try it out and lose some of that excess bodyfat, while retaining your hard earned muscle, you`ll be glad you did !!

TRAIN HARD !!!

My Website:

http://www.geocities.com/timbuktuweights/

My Forum:

http://timwescott.proboards18.com/index.cgi

Do you think HITT cardio is the best form of cardio when trying to cut down for a show?

Originally Posted by Gena Marie

Do you think HITT cardio is the best form of cardio when trying to cut down for a show?

are you questioning me again?

Originally Posted by Gena Marie

Do you think HITT cardio is the best form of cardio when trying to cut down for a show?

Yes I do ,definately.
I do HIIT exclusively except for the day following a leg traiining workout where I do no cardio.
I typicall get down between 3-5 % bodyfat for a contest using HIIT and a pre-contest eating regimen.

Originally Posted by Robert DiMaggio

are you questioning me again?

No silly, just trying to get a womans point of view. What works for you, may not be the best for me. In order to do my best, I need to learn as much as I can and get as much info. as I can. I would never question you. You are the all knowing My main and best data source.

Originally Posted by Gena Marie

No silly, just trying to get a womans point of view. What works for you, may not be the best for me. In order to do my best, I need to learn as much as I can and get as much info. as I can. I would never question you. You are the all knowing My main and best data source.

in this instance male or female is not really relevant.

True. I am not around a lot of serious and dedicated people, aside form you, therefore I like to ask what works best for others.

Originally Posted by mayte

Does it really make a diferece to do cardio first thing in the morning?, for how long?

I don't like this idea because your body is more likely to use your muscle as a source of energy since your body is in a catabolic state upon waking up in the morning. The idea is to burn fat, not muscle. Although some people can get away with doing this and losing minimal muscle, others cannot. I think it's too risky, and I am not willing to lose all the muscle I have worked so hard to build.

If you are going to use this method, then you should at least drink a protein shake and take some branch chain amino acids before the session. I have heard this will reduce the likeliness of your body devouring its muscle and turning to fat instead.

The real benefit of cardio is that it raises your basal metabolism. Therefore, it is my opinion that you should get in a good meal 30-40 minutes before you jog, and then eat a nice post workout meal immediately after finishing. Your basal metabolism will still rise, but you are much less likely to go into a catabolic state. This has worked well for me thus far. I have been able to add muscle while remaining at a reasonable level of bodyfat (15%).

Also, I have just recently started playing basketball to replace my cardio. I think it is excellent. It is a nice mix of jogging, sprinting, and walking. As well you do some jumping, sidestepping, jogging backwards, etc. I eat, drive to the courts, do a little warmup, play for about an hour, strech, and drive home and eat some more.

I like am cardio on an empty tummy. Been doing it for 15 weeks and have not lost any size or muscle. (maybe 1 lb. in LBM). I also like HIIT as well.

if I am going to workout in the am, I have my protein and carb source, wait an hour, then workout followed by cardio. Majority of my workouts are in the evening, followed by even more friggen cardio.

I personally eat my breakfast, wait two hours and get in to do some cardio. First thing in the morning cardio is IMO highly catabolic.

Peace.

i love mornin cardio, wake up ride the bike to the beach and catch some waves