Pre/Post work out on cardio days

[Myztek]

On days that I do cardio, should I still be intaking the same foods as if I were lifting weights before and after the cardio? I usually try to wait about an hour or two before doing cardio to avoid possible cramping, and then eat right afterwards; but I'm not too sure what to do.

 

[Jodi]

Depends........IMO if you are doing regular cardio then no. If you are doing HIIT then yes, you should eat pre and post.

 

[Thunder]

On days that I do cardio, should I still be intaking the same foods as if I were lifting weights before and after the cardio? I usually try to wait about an hour or two before doing cardio to avoid possible cramping, and then eat right afterwards; but I'm not too sure what to do.

If you're doing HIIT you could still have a PWO meal. However, with my clients if they're not lifting that day, their diet is different, regardless of what form of cardio they're doing.

 

[Emma-Leigh]

On days that I do cardio, should I still be intaking the same foods as if I were lifting weights before and after the cardio? I usually try to wait about an hour or two before doing cardio to avoid possible cramping, and then eat right afterwards; but I'm not too sure what to do.

I think it is going to also depend on what you are doing the cardio for.

If you are training for an event in which you need to perform eg: marathon, then your nutrition is going to be vastly different to if you are doing it for fat loss...

Similarly, you may choose to eat differently depending on if you are going for fat loss or if you are just keeping up your cardiovascular health whilst on a bulk cycle...

It all depends...

Personally, I am not a fan of fasted cardio for the majority of people (well... low intensity is ok, but anything else I usually suggest some form of pre-workout food - even if it is a normal meal taken 1-2 hrs proir).

PWO - if the cardio is low-moderate intensity, I don't feel a PWO shake is required but just having a normal meal is fine (usually with less/minimal fats though)...

If it is very high intensity or if it is very long in duration (> about 90 minutes) then I usually feel something more liquidy/instant may be required for glycogen restoration and anti-catabolic effects... But even then I don't usually suggest the full PWO shake level unless it was a hugely draining session... So you may find that something around 0.5-0.66% of your normal PWO shake is all that is required.

 

[cpush]

PWO - if the cardio is low-moderate intensity, I don't feel a PWO shake is required but just having a normal meal is fine (usually with less/minimal fats though)...

So if someone was doing moderate cardio (for fat loss) how long after the cardio would you suggest taking a meal? Would waiting an hour be ok?

 

[Emma-Leigh]

So if someone was doing moderate cardio (for fat loss) how long after the cardio would you suggest taking a meal? Would waiting an hour be ok?

An hour would be fine.... Especially if pre-workout meal was adequate.