Alternative to early morning cardio on an empty stomach?

[yaymelissa]

Does anybody have an alternative that works just as well?

I am going to do cardio before and after my weights (20 mins before and 20 mins after) and I know I am supposed to do it in the morning for 40 minutes but if there is an alternative that gets just as good results then please let me know!

[in10city]

Cardio doesn't need to be fasted to be effective. Structure [read: effort] is more important than timing.

[ectoBgone]

The point of doing fasted cardio is to perform it when your glycogen stores are low. Another time that this is the case is post-workout, so I would suggest you try 40 minutes of cardio after your workout instead of 20 before and 20 after.

[DavisForman]

Originally Posted by in10city

Cardio doesn't need to be fasted to be effective. Structure [read: effort] is more important than timing.

x2. I get sick if I run on empty. I don't think it will slow your progress by having some food before hand.

[LightCrow]

Originally Posted by ectoBgone

The point of doing fasted cardio is to perform it when your glycogen stores are low. Another time that this is the case is post-workout, so I would suggest you try 40 minutes of cardio after your workout instead of 20 before and 20 after.

Burning 300 calories from cardio doing it fasted in the morning, or in the evening after you have eaten all the day and not following a workout.... please explain how the deficit is more effective in the morning.

[yaymelissa]

is there anything i can have that wont affect my glycogen stores in the morning?

say if i had lemon water or sugar free tang? (its this powdery drink )

[Kahuna-McAuley]

Is it just that you dont like/find it difficult to run on an empty stomach in the morning or that you dont have the time to do ot in the morning?

IMO it would depend on what your trying to achieve, I believe the rationale for the empty stomach is that glycogen stores are low due to fasting during the night so if you run in the morning fat will be utilised for energy. In order to burn fat though the aerobic exercise has to be of a low intensity.

Therefore if it was your cardiovascular fitness you were looking to improve maybe you would be better off eating to give you the energy to fuel a good woork out.

[yaymelissa]

here's my situation

I'm trying to get lean

I have time to do the cardio in the morning but I find that I am usually so hungry when I wake up that I always try and find excuses not to go

These are the excuses I give myself. Can somebody abuse me and yell at me for being so lazy!

a) the gym is a 5 minute drive away so I could go there but by the time I get ready for the gym (make myself look a bit respectable, I don't want to crawl out of bed and go straight there) and drive home will it have been too long after I wake up before I eat?

b) It's really hot where I live and being on the treadmill in the heat isn't very appealing

c) I could go outside but I don't want to have to put on zinc and sunscreen, also the too hot factor.

Ok

Abuse time...

GO

[mtb8d]

Originally Posted by yaymelissa

here's my situation

I'm trying to get lean

I have time to do the cardio in the morning but I find that I am usually so hungry when I wake up that I always try and find excuses not to go

These are the excuses I give myself. Can somebody abuse me and yell at me for being so lazy!

a) the gym is a 5 minute drive away so I could go there but by the time I get ready for the gym (make myself look a bit respectable, I don't want to crawl out of bed and go straight there) and drive home will it have been too long after I wake up before I eat?

b) It's really hot where I live and being on the treadmill in the heat isn't very appealing

c) I could go outside but I don't want to have to put on zinc and sunscreen, also the too hot factor.

Ok

Abuse time...

GO

I live/work out in Arizona in the summer so I understand how you have to work out around the heat. Last summer I would do my cardio as early in the morning as I could so that it was relatively cool out still and wear long sleeves so that I didn't have to go all out with the sunscreen (maybe wear a hat and/or spandex in your case cause the Aussie sun is brutal?). I'll also compenstate for the heat, e.g. would only go about 80 - 85% of a typical workout that would occur in better conditions.

Hope this helps

[Casey Butt]

Originally Posted by yaymelissa

here's my situation
I have time to do the cardio in the morning but I find that I am usually so hungry when I wake up that I always try and find excuses not to go

There is absolutely no research data to support the idea that early morning cardio on an empty stomach promotes fat loss any faster than cardio done at any other time of the day on a full or empty stomach. In fact, the studies that did look into this found that there is no statistical difference between the effectiveness of cardio performed on an empty stomach or if you eat. So DON'T get hung up on the idea that you MUST do cardio on an empty stomach.

The theory behind fasted cardio (i.e. on an empty stomach) is that if there's no food in your stomach then your body will be forced to burn fat. The reality is that if you do cardio in a fed state then, yes, you will burn proportionally more glucose and less fat than if you did it on an empty stomach ...but then for the rest of the day your body will burn more fat because your glycogen stores are lower. There are theoretical arguments as to the nutrient partitioning effects of both approaches (cardio when fasted vs. fed), but the research doesn't indicate any difference between the two. If anything, I believe a stronger argument could be made for cardio after eating (more energy, less muscle loss, etc). But in the end, the research indicates that it MAKES NO DIFFERENCE with regards to weight loss whether you do cardio after eating or not. What counts is how many total calories you burn versus how many you eat during the day. THAT'S IT.

Some people prefer cardio on an empty stomach, some people prefer to eat a light breakfast first. It's a matter of preference and practicality, not of weight loss results.

[ectoBgone]

Originally Posted by LightCrow

Burning 300 calories from cardio doing it fasted in the morning, or in the evening after you have eaten all the day and not following a workout.... please explain how the deficit is more effective in the morning.

There is no difference in calories, it's the type of fuel used to burn them - glycogen or fat.

[LightCrow]

Originally Posted by Kahuna-McAuley

IMO it would depend on what your trying to achieve, I believe the rationale for the empty stomach is that glycogen stores are low due to fasting during the night so if you run in the morning fat will be utilised for energy. In order to burn fat though the aerobic exercise has to be of a low intensity.

Might want to read up on some Alan Aragon and Lyle McDonald articles. This has all been disproven. It's just more "bro science".

A deficit is a deficit whether it's created on an empty stomach in the morning, or later in the day after a few meals have been eaten. Also I thought we put the low intensity exercise being more effective than moderate or high to bed long ago.

[DavisForman]

Originally Posted by Casey Butt

There is absolutely no research data to support the idea that early morning cardio on an empty stomach promotes fat loss any faster than cardio done at any other time of the day on a full or empty stomach. In fact, the studies that did look into this found that there is no statistical difference between the effectiveness of cardio performed on an empty stomach or if you eat. So DON'T get hung up on the idea that you MUST do cardio on an empty stomach.

The theory behind fasted cardio (i.e. on an empty stomach) is that if there's no food in your stomach then your body will be forced to burn fat. The reality is that if you do cardio in a fed state then, yes, you will burn proportionally more glucose and less fat than if you did it on an empty stomach ...but then for the rest of the day your body will burn more fat because your glycogen stores are lower. There are theoretical arguments as to the nutrient partitioning effects of both approaches (cardio when fasted vs. fed), but the research doesn't indicate any difference between the two. If anything, I believe a stronger argument could be made for cardio after eating (more energy, less muscle loss, etc). But in the end, the research indicates that it MAKES NO DIFFERENCE with regards to weight loss whether you do cardio after eating or not. What counts is how many total calories you burn versus how many you eat during the day. THAT'S IT.

Some people prefer cardio on an empty stomach, some people prefer to eat a light breakfast first. It's a matter of preference and practicality, not of weight loss results.

x2.

[yaymelissa]

YAY thanks so much! I've just read about it so much that I believed it. I'm going to take some of the advice given here and do cardio after my weights thanks again everyone

[LightCrow]

Originally Posted by ectoBgone

There is no difference in calories, it's the type of fuel used to burn them - glycogen or fat.

Using your "logic" that means there is just 300 calories less of glycogen to turn to fat that day. Again it doesn't matter. Read Casey Butt's response above he goes into this in more detail than anyone on here will probably listen to because it doesn't follow accepted "bro science".

[Kane Fan]

well to look at you you dont need to drop any other weight just maintain, you look fantastic

but I used to do my cardio as jogging in the evenings and it worked fine
if you are consistant basically anything can work