When to do Cardio?

[blackout_]

I've been getting advice from different people about when to do cardio I'm kinda of confused on when is the best time to do cardio.

Some tell me that it's best to do cardio early in the morning before you eat anything, so you can burn fat the easiest.

Some say to do 20-25 minutes right after your done working out, because you've already fatigued your muscles for the day, and all you will be losing is fat when you do it this way.

I want to ask the same question to you guys. Which method is better for burning fat, but not losing muscle mass?

Thanks

[Volumizing]

I've been getting advice from different people about when to do cardio I'm kinda of confused on when is the best time to do cardio.

Some tell me that it's best to do cardio early in the morning before you eat anything, so you can burn fat the easiest.

Some say to do 20-25 minutes right after your done working out, because you've already fatigued your muscles for the day, and all you will be losing is fat when you do it this way.

I want to ask the same question to you guys. Which method is better for burning fat, but not losing muscle mass?

Thanks

I usually do my cardio on the off days of my split. Try to avoid cardio right after weightlifting, it can hinder muscle hypertrophy.

Monday - Back/Bi
Tuesday - Chest/Tri
Wednesday - Cardio
Thursday - Shoulder/Trap/Calves
Firday - Cardio
Saturday - Legs
Sunday - Off

[sammamo]

the best time to do cardio is first thing in the morning before eating to gain maximum results you are after ie burn fat and spare the muscle..because the stomach is empty and all food has been processed and your metabolic rate is at it's lowest..so by doing cardio at this time you are using stored fat as energy and increasing your MR a lot faster..i hope this helps
cheers

[woofman81]

I've been getting advice from different people about when to do cardio I'm kinda of confused on when is the best time to do cardio.

Some tell me that it's best to do cardio early in the morning before you eat anything, so you can burn fat the easiest.

Some say to do 20-25 minutes right after your done working out, because you've already fatigued your muscles for the day, and all you will be losing is fat when you do it this way.

I want to ask the same question to you guys. Which method is better for burning fat, but not losing muscle mass?

Thanks

Doing cardio after your workout is fine. That's when I do mine, and when I do, I do low intensity cardio. Meaning I just walk on a treadmill at 3.0-3.3 speed with a slight incline for 20-45 mins (depending on your goals).

The morning cardio (on a empty stomach) is a tough one because I've read good articles for and against it. From what I gathered, it would much more ideal for a "enhanced" bodybuilder since they wouldn't risk losing as much muscle tissue.

Layne Norton, one of the most respected natural bodybuilders out there is against morning cardio.

[laxer32]

Try to avoid cardio right after weightlifting, it can hinder muscle hypertrophy

20 min of LISS after lifting isn't going to hinder muscle gains.

also, do HIIT on off days.

[Volumizing]

20 min of LISS after lifting isn't going to hinder muscle gains.

also, do HIIT on off days.

LISS isn't my ideal cardio. I usually do 25 minutes of grappling/Boxing on my off days.

[lauhpurush]

Try to avoid cardio right after weightlifting, it can hinder muscle hypertrophy.

no , it doesn't

[Volumizing]

Well, if youre going to just walk on a treadmill or jog for a few minutes, it won't harm. HIIT on off days is the way I go.

[laxer32]

LISS isn't my ideal cardio. I usually do 25 minutes of grappling/Boxing on my off days.

i don't like it either. i don't even do it. just the hiit.

[blackout_]

Thanks everyone for all the replies. It made things a lot clearer.

[ironrat42]

Ok, if you are going to do HIIT on off days, what would you eat/drink before after(besides lots of water)? Would you still have a PWO shake or just go about eating like normal every 3 or so hours?

[allan882]

Well, if youre going to just walk on a treadmill or jog for a few minutes, it won't harm. HIIT on off days is the way I go.

Same here. I'd rather get my cardio done quicker instead of an hour of jogging.

[Volumizing]

Ok, if you are going to do HIIT on off days, what would you eat/drink before after(besides lots of water)? Would you still have a PWO shake or just go about eating like normal every 3 or so hours?

Eat and drink the same as you would on weightlifting days. Drink your Pre-WO (if you have one) as you would regularly also. I don't take as much protein in my shake as I would after a weightlifting day.

[musicianman]

I usually do my cardio on the off days of my split. Try to avoid cardio right after weightlifting, it can hinder muscle hypertrophy.

I'm sorry, but this sounds like broscience to me. Kind of like how people freak out when they don't have their protein shake within the "thirty minute post-workout anabolic window." Bull****. Show me a shred of scientific evidence to support this, and I'll withdraw my statement.

the best time to do cardio is first thing in the morning before eating to gain maximum results you are after ie burn fat and spare the muscle..because the stomach is empty and all food has been processed and your metabolic rate is at it's lowest..so by doing cardio at this time you are using stored fat as energy and increasing your MR a lot faster..i hope this helps
cheers

Though Men's Health has advertised this theory quite a bit, I have doubts about the efficacy of cardio on an empty stomach. The slow twitch fibers that you use during sustained cardio cannot use glycogen for energy. They can only run off lipids, which, unless I am mistaken, are triglycerides in their free form in the blood.

Also, even if you are attempting higher intensity cardio (which does use more glycogen for energy), I can't see how your glycogen stores are going to be lower in the morning than they would be after an intense lifting session.

[Volumizing]

I really don't care what you THINK. Years of weightlifting has shown me that when I do heavy cardio or HIIT after weightlifting, my muscle growth slows. I realized this, changed my ways and saw a drastic increase in muscle growth when I split my cardio and weightlifting days.

Also, drinking protein while your blood is pumping and your muscles are at their highest anabolic potential IS best. The quicker your body utilizes the protein, the better.

Here's an article.
http://www.fitnessatlantic.com/anabolic-window.htm

[musicianman]

I really don't care what you THINK. Years of weightlifting has shown me that when I do heavy cardio or HIIT after weightlifting, my muscle growth slows. I realized this, changed my ways and saw a drastic increase in muscle growth when I split my cardio and weightlifting days.

Also, drinking protein while your blood is pumping and your muscles are at their highest anabolic potential IS best. The quicker your body utilizes the protein, the better.

Best? Maybe. So significant that not doing so within fifteen to thirty minutes will cause you to shrink and not make gains? No.

If your diet is good, you should have circulating energy. By the way, check out this article from tnation:

Comparing research that used drinks consumed immediately after a workout (Tipton et al., 2001) versus those ingested an hour after training (Rasmussen et al., 2000), the results are surprising: it seems that post workout meal ingestion actually results in 30% lower protein synthesis rates than when we wait! So every time we thought that we were badass for drinking "as soon as the weight hit the floor, we were actually short changing ourselves.

Here's an article.
http://www.fitnessatlantic.com/anabolic-window.htm

Interesting.

[Volumizing]

Actually, Whey protein shakes are predigested.. Which means they go virtually straight to your muscles. Maybe undigested meals aren't as effective, but whey shakes after working out are more effective.

[musicianman]

Actually, Whey protein shakes are predigested.. Which means they go virtually straight to your muscles. Maybe undigested meals aren't as effective, but whey shakes after working out are more effective.

I'm not sure what you're contradicting here. Check out the article I linked; it's my main reason for thinking what I do.

[baseketballer26]

yup i do it in the morning aswell

[blackout_]

What about swimming? I've recently started swimming 10-20 mintues after working out. I'm not sure if swimming is HIIT or LIS. I'm guessing it varies on if I'm swimming for conditioning or just doing a couple slow laps...

[chaser1712]

I've been getting advice from different people about when to do cardio I'm kinda of confused on when is the best time to do cardio.

Some tell me that it's best to do cardio early in the morning before you eat anything, so you can burn fat the easiest.

Some say to do 20-25 minutes right after your done working out, because you've already fatigued your muscles for the day, and all you will be losing is fat when you do it this way.

I want to ask the same question to you guys. Which method is better for burning fat, but not losing muscle mass?

Thanks

NEVER....

j/k. It seems to me that doing cardio after a hard workout is going to mess with my recovery. During a bulk I only do cardio once a week (low-low-moderate intensity) on a non lifting day. Just for health reasons, not for calorie burning. Even on a cut, I only do 2 or so per week

[Rap_Rocky]

Honestly, everybody's so stuck on when to do it, how to do it, etc...my opinion? Just do cardio, at the end of the day, a calorie is a calorie and the main purpose of doing cardio in the first place (at least for most people/scenarios), is to expend cals. As long as you're consistent with your weightlifting/resistance training and have balanced meals proportionate to your goals, you'll do fine. This "before or after" thing isn't going to get you results any, or even significantly faster.

So I say, the important thing is that you're doing cardio at all, so do it when feel like it.

[lauhpurush]

Actually, Whey protein shakes are predigested.. Which means they go virtually straight to your muscles. Maybe undigested meals aren't as effective, but whey shakes after working out are more effective.

whey shakes PWO are definitely effective, but the "30 minute anabolic window" and " feeding your muscles throughout the workout" stuff is crap..

all that matters is the net intake of protein ( and other macros as well) at the end of the day...

and yes if you have a solid prewo meal , you dont need that "fast digesting shake" soon after your workout...

NEVER....

j/k. It seems to me that doing cardio after a hard workout is going to mess with my recovery. During a bulk I only do cardio once a week (low-low-moderate intensity) on a non lifting day. Just for health reasons, not for calorie burning. Even on a cut, I only do 2 or so per week

doing 15-20 mins moderate- high intensity cardio would in stead help you recover...its helps in cooling down your system, and helping the sore muscles to soothe down after lifting...

avoid cardio on legs day though ( treadmill and elliptical )...

Honestly, everybody's so stuck on when to do it, how to do it, etc...my opinion? Just do cardio, at the end of the day, a calorie is a calorie and the main purpose of doing cardio in the first place (at least for most people/scenarios), is to expend cals. As long as you're consistent with your weightlifting/resistance training and have balanced meals proportionate to your goals, you'll do fine. This "before or after" thing isn't going to get you results any, or even significantly faster.

So I say, the important thing is that you're doing cardio at all, so do it when feel like it.

i agree to most of the part but you can undoubtedly expedite the fat burning process if cardio is done soon after your workout since your heart rate is nearabout in the fat burning zone ( 140-150) soon after you have finished working out...

if it takes me 45 minutes to burn 500 calories in the morning on an empty stomach , it takes 20-30 minutes to burn the same amount of calories just after a workout..

[JOSEF RAKICH]

LISS cardio post workout is a good time as glycogen stores are low and can be depleted quickly enabling you to dip into your fat stores for energy, HIIT cardio is also good but i only recomend doing this on OFF days.

[snizzle77]

LISS cardio post workout is a good time as glycogen stores are low and can be depleted quickly enabling you to dip into your fat stores for energy, HIIT cardio is also good but i only recomend doing this on OFF days.

^^This. Many people say not to do it post workout, but it makes the most sense and has worked well for me.

[chazzy1864]

Actually, Whey protein shakes are predigested.. Which means they go virtually straight to your muscles. Maybe undigested meals aren't as effective, but whey shakes after working out are more effective.

The protein still has to be broken down to amino acids and utilized. There is a reason there is a market for BCAAs and EAAs.


People overthink this stuff. To let you know, it is also best to have a whey & casein shake when you get done working out, as the anabolic effects are higher than whey alone.

You can get the same anabolic effects with a BCAA mix instead of a protein mix, which is beneficial if you are on a cut.

The PWO window is over thought. Just get some nutrients in you, when you can. Immediately after, great. 15 minutes later? Fantastic. 45 minutes later? Sure thing. It varies from person to person.

Rap_Rocky has the best advice. Just keep it simple. Yes, there are optimal times and methods. but we don't live in a perfect world. Not everything works out just that way.

[Jade-gladiator]

the best time to do cardio is first thing in the morning before eating to gain maximum results you are after ie burn fat and spare the muscle..because the stomach is empty and all food has been processed and your metabolic rate is at it's lowest..so by doing cardio at this time you are using stored fat as energy and increasing your MR a lot faster..i hope this helps
cheers

I will second this post......Jade approved.

[KellysBody90]

Honestly, everybody's so stuck on when to do it, how to do it, etc...my opinion? Just do cardio, at the end of the day, a calorie is a calorie and the main purpose of doing cardio in the first place (at least for most people/scenarios), is to expend cals. As long as you're consistent with your weightlifting/resistance training and have balanced meals proportionate to your goals, you'll do fine. This "before or after" thing isn't going to get you results any, or even significantly faster.

So I say, the important thing is that you're doing cardio at all, so do it when feel like it.

Well it's not just to get rid of calories. It also increases your aerobic cardio training and will get you in better "shape" in the long run.

But I agree, just do it when you feel like it. I don't think there's necessary any best time to do cardio.

[Rap_Rocky]

whey shakes PWO are definitely effective, but the "30 minute anabolic window" and " feeding your muscles throughout the workout" stuff is crap..

all that matters is the net intake of protein ( and other macros as well) at the end of the day...

and yes if you have a solid prewo meal , you dont need that "fast digesting shake" soon after your workout...



doing 15-20 mins moderate- high intensity cardio would in stead help you recover...its helps in cooling down your system, and helping the sore muscles to soothe down after lifting...

avoid cardio on legs day though ( treadmill and elliptical )...



i agree to most of the part but you can undoubtedly expedite the fat burning process if cardio is done soon after your workout since your heart rate is nearabout in the fat burning zone ( 140-150) soon after you have finished working out...

if it takes me 45 minutes to burn 500 calories in the morning on an empty stomach , it takes 20-30 minutes to burn the same amount of calories just after a workout..

A lot of people assume they're in the "fat burning zone" immediately after their resistance training, but maximal fat oxidation can occur during various rates in your heart rate, regardless of the exercise or when it's done, as long as that level is kept at a certain rate. I'd would love to know where you got that last sentence from though.

[Mr.Fuhrer]

Fasted Cardio = sub-optimal performance and energy levels.

Post-lifting low-intensity cardio for fat loss, sure.
Off-day cardio(both HIT/Sustained) for endurance gains, increased neural efficiency, fat loss. sure.

Diet, adherence to a program that challenges you, and determination. These are the things that will promote fat loss, not gimmicky strategies that are based on rhetoric.