Cardio before or after I eat?

[jmoore919]

I workout at least 5 times a week. I used to be kind of pudgy, I was getting close to 190lbs and my weight was climbing. When I was 19 I started walking three miles a couple times a week and did crunches and pushups at home. Then I bumped it up to running in increments and then started lifting weights. I'm 22 now and I'm at a gym. I've made moderate progress and I'm pleased with how far I've come. I have more broad shoulders, my chest is starting to get more defined, but my main problem area is my hips and my stomach. I never have a concrete schedule so my body doesn't conform to a routine. I heard the best way to burn body fat is cardio. Should I eat and wait an hour before I run? Or should I run before I eat and that way I'm not dealing with cramps? What other fat burning methods are there I can use to get my abs to really show?

[BenAFit]

I workout at least 5 times a week. I used to be kind of pudgy, I was getting close to 190lbs and my weight was climbing. When I was 19 I started walking three miles a couple times a week and did crunches and pushups at home. Then I bumped it up to running in increments and then started lifting weights. I'm 22 now and I'm at a gym. I've made moderate progress and I'm pleased with how far I've come. I have more broad shoulders, my chest is starting to get more defined, but my main problem area is my hips and my stomach. I never have a concrete schedule so my body doesn't conform to a routine. I heard the best way to burn body fat is cardio. Should I eat and wait an hour before I run? Or should I run before I eat and that way I'm not dealing with cramps? What other fat burning methods are there I can use to get my abs to really show?

I would suggest running first before eating. It will boost your metabolism which will help burn the food you eat faster. Whereas if you eat then run, your body will burn slower and also burn the food you just ate.

I would also suggest running after working out. After your glycogen stores have been used from lifting, you will burn more in the fat area. Then down a protein shake.

And cardio is the only true way to get your abs to show. Ab work is great but cardio will get them out there for all to see.

[namack2]

I would suggest running first before eating. It will boost your metabolism which will help burn the food you eat faster. Whereas if you eat then run, your body will burn slower and also burn the food you just ate.

I would also suggest running after working out. After your glycogen stores have been used from lifting, you will burn more in the fat area. Then down a protein shake.

And cardio is the only true way to get your abs to show. Ab work is great but cardio will get them out there for all to see.

It's hard to get a great workout without eating something. I always have a scoop of Whey protein and some carbs (oatmeal) before hitting the gym. Also, you don't need to concentrate on cardio like running, cycling, etc to get thin. I would recommend you up you weight training by decreasing your breaks in between to 30-45 seconds, do reps between 8-12, and to continually switch up your workout. Look up the FITT workout rountine. I seem to lose a lot of body fat when doing this.

[vansciver]

I agree with namack2...I was using a program that include 3 separate sessions of HIT cardio (85-90% HR) for 7-10 minutes. This shredded the fat. I ate small prior to - oatmeal only and then a post-workout meal heavy on protein and some carbs to get my day going since I work out in the early mornings.

[Spottydog]

Depends. If I don't do high intensity cardio fasted, I either feel too heavy to go intense or feel like puking or shatting myself, usually a combo of the two. If this is you, then fasted. If you are like namack, then by all means eat some protein and low glycemic carb (studies show swimmers who ate Low GI instead of high GI burned more fat instead of glycogen pre-traing). For LISS, you have much less chance of tapping into muscles while in the "fat burning" zone, which is why competitors often employ this. This is preferable fasted IMO, as you'll burn off more bodyfat instead of food yo just ate.

In any case, I suggest taking bcaas/eaas prior/during training, to preserve muscle and improve energy turnover.

[engineerMD]

keep HR at 120-130.

do cardio first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything with calories in it.

maybe have a cup of coffee (caffeine helps stimulate lipolysis)

keep the cardio to 30-45min. You should be able to burn 400-500cal. On an empty stomach after fasting 10 hrs overnight, your liver will be low on glycogen and the muscles will prefer to use triglycerides aka fat as a fuel.

I just recently started doing this a couple days ago. Supposedly it works and it makes sense biochemically.

[FightThroughIt]

i would eat after. your body will be using the food you just put in your body for energy vs using stored fat for energy on a empty stomach

[Iechine]

keep HR at 120-130.

do cardio first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything with calories in it.

maybe have a cup of coffee (caffeine helps stimulate lipolysis)

keep the cardio to 30-45min. You should be able to burn 400-500cal. On an empty stomach after fasting 10 hrs overnight, your liver will be low on glycogen and the muscles will prefer to use triglycerides aka fat as a fuel.

I just recently started doing this a couple days ago. Supposedly it works and it makes sense biochemically.

I don't quite agree with this. Maybe you can coast on depleted glycogen stores at such a low heart rate, but if fat loss is the object I think it'd be better to have an elevated heart rate with some form of carbohydrate before. I prefer to run first thing but I always have half a bagel or banana or some form of sugar...I run more this way, and besides we all know what matters is the calories burned after the workout, not during. Cardio depleted just sounds like a recipe for reaching your lactic threshold sooner and thus feeling the pain/getting sluggish.