# Cardio First Thing In The Morning???



## alwaysbelieve1 (Jan 18, 2007)

1. What are your theories and what do you guys think?  

2. Is it better on an empty stomach no matter if you are performing intense intervals or steady state cardio?

3. Does it truly & ultimately matter if it is performed first thing or before bed or anytime at all as long as it is done?

Any other thoughts, ideas, theories, and concepts are very welcome.

Thanx


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## Focus (Jan 18, 2007)

alwaysbelieve1 said:


> 1. What are your theories and what do you guys think?
> 
> 2. Is it better on an empty stomach no matter if you are performing intense intervals or steady state cardio?
> 
> ...




Despite having little to no knowledge on this, with regard to science, I still would not run on an empty stomach (2). I also do not believe there is much impact on which time of the day you choose to run (3).

I know in the mornings your cortisol levels are at their highest, unless of course you exercise that day for hours. On an empty stomach, after you body has not had anything to digest for 7+ hours, the enviroment is catabolic. Sure fat will be burned quicker through oxidative sources, as there are no carbs there to burn, but the hard earned muscle you have worked for will deteriorate nearly at the same rate. You will also likely feel like shit. At least IMO. Exercising without fuel is like trying to study after staying awake for 2 days straight...

I would think that running in the AM/PM doesn't really madder. Once you begin at a certain time of the day, you tend to get used to it.. at least I do. Depending on your lifestyle, you might like the AM better. After work, you could be exhausted and ready for a nap. Not a good running mood!


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## katt (Jan 18, 2007)

I really don't think it matters what time you do your cardio, as long as you're consistant.  

I for one, do my cardio in the evenings after work, because the only time I can workout with my weight partner is in the mornings. 

It seems to work for me.


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## Cold Iron (Jan 18, 2007)

I would say cardio in the morning is the best, as your metabolism is jacked for a while afterwards, which would be negated if you worked out at night. 
In regards to going in the morning on an empty stomach, I would say there isn't much of a difference. To be on the safe side maybe taking down some BCAA's or a small shake a while beforehand would probably be best to avoid muscle loss/fainting


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## MCx2 (Jan 18, 2007)

In regards to this discussion I think the only thing people generally agree on is doing cardio and resistance training in 2 separate sessions. Otherwise I don't think it matters when ya do it. There is no way in hell I'm waking up at 5:30AM to do cardio so there's my answer.


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## Cold Iron (Jan 18, 2007)

katt said:


> I really don't think it matters what time you do your cardio, as long as you're consistant.
> 
> I for one, do my cardio in the evenings after work, because the only time I can workout with my weight partner is in the mornings.
> 
> It seems to work for me.



Ultimately I don't think it matters too much as long as youre doing cardio on a consistant basis, following a calorie restricted diet....and doing HIIT 

edit- just realized i reiterated what u said..lol....so basically, i agree )


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## Freighter (Jan 18, 2007)

I do not think it matters in terms of caloric balance.  However, there may be an advantage do doing cardio first thing in the morning before breakfast if another lifting session will follow later on in the day.  The reason is that most of the calories burned from pre-breakfast cardio will be mostly from stored fat and also from stored glycogen rather than most of them coming from a previously ingested meal.  This will reserve more of the calories you will receive from food to be used for your upcoming lifting session.

For example, suppose I do a pre-breakfast cardio session where I manage to burn 600 total calories with 400 of them coming from stored fat and 200 from glycogen.  If I then eat a 500 calorie breakfast immediately following the cardio session, 200 calories will replace the burned glycogen and 300 will remain to be used later in the day.  The remaining 300 will likely be stored as extra glycogen rather than fat due to the same principle athletes use to carb
up before a competition.

Now suppose that I eat 500 calories for breakfast and then do the same 600 calorie cardio session with 200 coming from stored fat and 400 coming from my meal and stored glycogen.  Now, only 100 calories of breakfast remain for use later in the day.

Therefore, if I do cardio before breakfast, I will have additional glycogen stores with which to perform my afternoon or evening lifting session.  This will allow me to possibly generate greater intensity during my weight training session.

The above situation is assuredly more complex than I made it out to be, but I think the concept is valid.

Concerning cardio intensity, from my personal experience, I have little trouble burning 600 calories during a 45 minute pre-breakfast cardio session (I weigh 185lb).  It is hard work, but it is still hard work even after breakfast.

Concerning burning up all your hard earned muscle, I don't notice any muscle loss doing cardio before breakfast.  This is even with HIT cardio with a max heart rate of 170 bpm.  (That does not mean it does not happen in small amounts though).  Muscle is the body's least preferred source of energy, and even if you begin burning muscle, the rate that your body can draw energy from stored muscle is quite slow.  If a significant amount of energy is coming from muscle, it will be extrememly difficult doing any type of cardio session.


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## P-funk (Jan 18, 2007)

I don't think the time matters as far as evening or morning goes.  I am not a fan of cardio on an empty stomach at all.  I have posted on it many times.  There was just a pretty long thread about it.  Maybe it is like a page or two back.  Let me see if I can find it.


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## P-funk (Jan 18, 2007)

Here is is.


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## alwaysbelieve1 (Jan 18, 2007)

Thanks everyone for all your help.  I agree with everything stated here.  I just wanted to make sure I was on the same page as the group.


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## CowPimp (Jan 18, 2007)

alwaysbelieve1 said:


> 1. What are your theories and what do you guys think?
> 
> 2. Is it better on an empty stomach no matter if you are performing intense intervals or steady state cardio?
> 
> ...



1. I am not a fan of fasted cardio, though I see nothing wrong with doing your cardio earlier in the day.

2. I would never ever perform intense cardio in a fasted state due to the risk of muscle breakdown to fulfill anaerobic energy needs.  As well, I have yet to see the evidence that performing lower intensity cardio in a fasted state is beneficial.  It doesn't make sense to me that you should exercise in a catabolic state.

3. I think whatever the time you enjoy doing it the most is the time you should pick.  A lot of people like to start their day exercising.  I could never stick to that long-term.  I just can't give it the focus required early in the morning.  I think any benefits either way seem to be negligible.


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## Jodi (Jan 18, 2007)

Here is my take on it:

Cortisol is higher in the morning.  Everytime you exercise it raises your cortisol to help with the physical stress.  The downfall of that is that the higher the cortisol the more catabolic you are.  So given that, if you do cardio on an empty stomach you are increasing and already increased cortisol level and in turn, burn more muscle than fat.


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## Freighter (Jan 18, 2007)

So, how large does a pre-cardio meal have to be in order to bring the body out of an overly catabolic state in order to prevent muscle loss?  Will 30g of protein suffice?  Or, does the meal also have to contain carbs and/or fats?


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## Focus (Jan 18, 2007)

Freighter said:


> So, how large does a pre-cardio meal have to be in order to bring the body out of an overly catabolic state in order to prevent muscle loss?  Will 30g of protein suffice?  Or, does the meal also have to contain carbs and/or fats?



Not a bad idea to mix in everything - or what you feel best doing pre-workout.
I would first recommend having the same meal you do before your weight lifting sessions... some good complex carbs, maybe some healthy fats, and 10-40 grams of protein.
Do whatever you feel comfortable doing... you want some good fuel to burn before you run, but at the same time you may feel bloated and out of it and you eat too much. Finding that balance will boost performance and feeling.


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## Freighter (Jan 18, 2007)

I am comfortable having 30g of whey protein before my cardio sessions.  It is small enough where I can drink it right before heading to the gym (about 20 minutes before getting on the stairmaster) without waiting for a complete meal to digest.

Obviously, eating a larger balanced pre-workout meal will optimize performance, but even on just a protein shake I can perform 45 min. of moderately high intensity cardio (heart rate averaging about 160 bpm) without too much trouble.  This allows me to burn 600+ calories, according to the stairmaster, per session which is significant enough to give me good results.  So, optimizing my performance with a better meal, I could ramp up the intensity a little more, but I will also need to wait for it to digest, and it can be hard to make it to work on time as it is.

As I said above, I do not notice a loss of LBM doing cardio this way, but it may happen too gradually to notice with my crude measuring methods.  This brings me back to my original question.  How large does the meal have to be to prevent muscle loss?  To limit some of the variables, lets say the cardio session is about 45 min. at moderate to moderately high intensity.


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