Opinions differ when it comes to cardiovascular training!
I’ve read multiple studies on cardio!
We all agree that cardio after your weight lifting workout is best since you are using carbohydrates (or glycogen ) as fuel while you are working with weights.
The first 20 min of cardiovascular training uses mostely carbohydrates or glycogen before entering any kind of fat burn.
That means that if you are doing cardio right before lifting you are not as strong as you were if you would be doing cardio after your lifting workout!
Pretty much you are running out of fuel ( as I like to say), or glycogen!
You are also more likely to burn muscle since there is no glycogen left for lifting = body turns muscle into glycogen!
What about cardio on an empty stomach?
Well, you should not eat right before your cardiovascular session…
Wait at least 60-90 min before cardio!
However I do not agree with cardio on an empty stomach first thing in the morning!
Studies (researched by accredited scientists not body builders) have shown that even though you are burning a small fraction more body fat while doing cardio on an empty stomach, you are burning much more muscle !!!
It is rather logic if you think…
You are coming out of a 6-8 hour hunger period ( our body loses muscle while we sleep due to not food intake, that’s why body builders get up at night and eat), and instead of feeding that muscle you are using empty glycogen stores to burn more muscle!!!
What about if you are using amino acids or BCAA’s?
Yes, they are designed to protect the muscle fiber , but it’s not enough!
BCAA’s don’t have glycogen!
The theory of cardio on an empty stomach first thing in the morning comes from professional body builders taking testosteron supplementation!
This prevents muscle breakdown and increases fat loss!
We Ladies and Gentelmen are in over the counter supplements and food!
My opinion?
For people that need a dramatic weight loss quickly, overweight clients, someone to get that excess weight of to make a certain date it is completely appropriate to do cardio on an empty stomach!
For someone that needs to build muscle, or needs to hold on to their muscle this will be a NO NO!
Each of us is completely different!
What works for one person may not work for another…
For me? I work very hard to gain muscle…
There is no way I will sacrifice my hard earned muscle and burn it!!!
I eat breakfast at 4:30am so I can do cardio at 6am!
Or I eat breakfast at 5am so I can do cardio at 7:30am, depending on my day 🙂
You can do your own research!
Don’t get your research from muscle magazines and body building subscriptions!
The IDEA has done some amazing studies on this and other subjects!