I’ve read Body for Life and know that Bill Phillips recommends that cardio be performed on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, and nothing be eaten for one hour afterwards, in order to get the most out of the effort on the treadmill (for example). I’ve also read an article in which Alwyn basically says that pre-fasted cardio is a bunch of BS and it doesn’t make any difference when you do the cardio and when you eat afterwards (immediately or 60 minutes later). Then there are some folks who preach pre-fasted cardio, but recommend that you eat immediately afterwards since your body is supposed to be primed and ready to absorb nutrients. Yet one more suggestion was to wait at least 2-3 hours since your last meal, do you cardio and then eat nothing until the following morning.
So my questions for you fine folks are: 1) Does it really matter when you do your cardio, as long as you just get it done? 2) Is pre-fasted cardio really the best way to go? Why/why not? 3) Should I wait an hour or so to eat after doing my cardio, or should I eat right away? Why/why not?
Thanks so much for the help everyone. I appreciate it.
S.
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No, it doesn't matter. Doing it on an empty stomach doesn't burn any more fat than any other time. If you are doing HIIT, you will probably still want to consume a PWO shake (2:1 carbs to protein) afterward.
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I agree, timing is very overrated. I'm with Alwyn thinking that fasted cardio will actually hinder your fat loss because it is EXTREMELY catabolic if done with any intensity. And it's been well documented that higher intensity cardio burns more total calories (fat) through the day through EPOC and increased resting metabolic rate, even though it may not burn as many calories DURING a session as low intensity. High intensity cardio (intervals) and increased muscle mass are the best way to burn fat, cause they increase your resting metabolism and the amount of calories you can burn in the 23 hours outside of the gym dwarfs what you can burn in the gym. And for god sakes, eat (or drink) right after high intensity exercise, your body needs the nutrients and it won't hinder your fat loss.
And to be blunt, Bill Phillips is an idiot.
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The thought process is that if you're fasted, you'll be tapping into fat stores more quickly because glucose won't be available as a fuel source. The type of fuel used, though, is meaningles in the grand scheme of things. If you're doing cardio to lose weight/fat, you're hoping that your cardio will put you in a caloric deficit. With that said, it doesn't mean a thing if you put 200 calories in your body before that session or 200 calories in your body after that session...so, do what works for you. I know folks who can't run with too much in their stomach. If that were me, I couldn't do anything without food in my stomach. Stick with intervals, anyhow, they're far superior if you're able to do them (beginners should stick with the basics and get that down, meaning just start exercising regularly)
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Just want to agree with the posts above. Nice to have you posting Chris!
Jason, don't be so very, very hard on Bill Phillips, lol. His motivational stuff introduced a whole lot of people to weight lifting. I agree that his book is no longer the cutting edge of training, but if you can get past a lot of his other issues, his motivational and behavioral stuff was and still can be helpful to many people. I have this soft spot for Bill Phillips because his magazine introduced me to lots of information that I had never heard before at that time.
It also depends on the person. Some people feel sick if they eat before. I use to do weights in the am and didn't eat before doing them, because I would get shaky and weak about 1/2 way through if I did eat before. I do some cardio when I get up and go straight down on the exercise bike. I mostly do it to get the blood moving in my body. I usually add some body weight stuff with it. I feel more awake during the day and less sleepy when I get up early and do some exercise. Either way it can't hurt the fat loss as you are doing exercise.
1. Nope
2. Doesn't matter
3. Doesn't matter. Probablly shouldn't go that long without food.
In terms of fat loss, what matters is the amount of calories burned. (I should also mention that you don't have to do cardio to lose fat.)
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Theres only 1 way to find out how you will respond to each method. Just give it a shot for 3 weeks minimum. Same with pretty much any exercise method or nutrition plan.
when i first started to workout i did it in the morning on an empty stomach, in retrospect that was probably a bad idea but it fit my schedule at the time.
now though i eat a solid meal about 2-1.5 hrs before my workout which usually is 30-40 minutes of lifting then cardio. if i try to lift or do cardio though on an empty stomach (ie, its been more than 3 hrs since I last ate) I'll be worthless halfway through the routine.
This thought process is really for those utilizing drugs. They can do a tremendous amount of work without having to worry about catabolism (duh), so they can do an hour of pre-breakfast cardio or whatever and maintain muscle/drop fat.
Of course, everyone reads in Flex that so-and-so pro does 32 hours of cardio a day in addition to his 50-set workouts and stays huge and lean.
There's a "contest guru" in my area who trains a lot of women for figure and fitness shows. It's a riot (in a train wreck sort of way) to watch him work with natural women. He'll start their prep with 40g of carbs a day (16 weeks out), no cheats, and at least 1 hour of treadmill walking per day. When they run into trouble, which is soon, the answer is: More cardio! and "You must be cheating!".
Eventually some other "help" is brought into the mix and they lean up.
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Course, unless I am misreading it, Lou says that the fat loss workouts in NROL are intended to encourage catabolising muscle, albeit to be followed by building it back up.
So maybe some muscle loss during cardio is good for those trying to lose fat? At least, as long as they are also on a good lifting program.
Тhe only difference I've seen is that when people do "cardio" on an empty stomach it makes them feel like they are doing the right thing, finally taking a step towards being more advanced about their fat loss. This helps them be more consistent with their diet, it makes them have more faith and eventually be more successful. It's a mental tune up that works for some, but outside of that I don't see any benefits.
Keep it simple why over complicate something like cardio? Are you going into a competition or training for an event? If not don't over think the matter.
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I think it depends really. One of my workout buddy runs early in the morning without taking food, just caffeine tablets and he's had great progress. I, having been a guinea pig for this fasted cardio thing many years back, found myself to be performing at less than peak and for a short of a better word felt so anemic that I had to stop prematurely many times. I think nutrient timing takes precedence over cardio timing.
The time I do my cardio is usually when I feel like I can complete my cardio goals for the session and more importantly, able to fit it into my schedule. Based on these criterias, you should be able to infer that I never liked cardio.
BTW, I agree with Lisa and I don't think Bill Phillips is an idiot. He's one proud SOB who happens to be very good at marketing. One may hate his guts but the fact is that his work also introduced weight training to the mainstream for many people. There are many excellent trainers across the country who are more knowledgeable than him but still remain in obscurity because this guy knows how to market and position himself. There is a business lesson to be learnt from that.
I'll admit that I have a psycholigical problem on cardio-only days. I can't just do the cardio without eating something. But, I'm also starving afterwards, so have to eat again. When I realize that the numbers of one outweigh the other, it convinces me to do HIIT and skip the steady-state. With HIIT, I could care less about the numbers of now, I know the numbers of later will take care of everything. Plus, I can eat twice.
This is really only an issue for morning workouts. The rest of the day, I can just time my workouts so that I've eaten an hour or two before the workout.
Downside? My brain gets in my way. Upside? More HIIT, less steady state.
Cardio timing - how critical is it? Why?
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