Comments on: Cardio In The Morning On An Empty Stomach?

By: Mike Huber

Mike Huber — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 19:20:38 +0000

I keep hard boiled eggs and cooked bacon (Turkey) in the fridge at all times…. Well, actually my wife does for me!!! A great pre-workout snack that doesn’t make me feel full, but gives me energy. Tuna fish and a slice of 2% american cheese also does the trick……….Did I mention how much I love my Wife!!! Ha,Ha!! But seriously, listen to Mark and get something in your belly.

By: Marco

Marco — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 08:04:44 +0000

Thanks for this. I’ve been into Intermittent Fasting, and thus doing my training after ingesting 10g BCAA.
There has also been mention of the only moment you should do slow cardio is, after getting up and before eating. (Mike Chang, sixpacksecret) So go for a sturdy stroll before eating since then the only fuel in your body is the fat you want to burn. But if you eat first, then the sugars you ate will be used for fuel. I guess this might give best results when combined with IF, since your stomach will be most empty then.

BTW I noticed increased size + definition in my upper arms + upper legs after 10 weeks of your THT4, thanks for that! I’ll try to improve the rest of my body as well, for some reason that lagged behind a bit, I’ll get to that soon.

By: AK

AK — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 02:20:43 +0000

I’m a big believer in science. I’m also a big believer in doing something and seeing how your body responds. Studies like this may scare you off from doing morning cardio. But until you try it, how can you be sure what effect it’ll have? Here’s something else to consider. Many people don’t have the option of working out during their lunch hour or in the evenings. For those people, the morning is their only option. Sure, they could eat a meal, wait a half hour, work out, and then have another meal. But again, who has that much time in the morning. Fasted morning cardio is sometimes a person’s only option. My personal experience with morning cardio has been that I’d lose a great deal of fat. As far as muscle was concerned, whether I lost any had more to do with my diet and whether I was training with heavy weights.

By: Mark McManus

Mark McManus — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:29:10 +0000

@Kris. Yes or at the very least take at least 10g BCAAs if you can’t get any food before the workout. But a shake with P/C/F combo will work if you have time. Do any cardio AFTER weight training, not before.

By: cédric

cédric — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:42:43 +0000

I think it’s more complicated. Unfortunatly I don’t have scientific argument but only my own experience. I know that when it’s cold outside (around 0 Celsius degree or less) I love to do a short run (15-25 minutes) when I get up without eating any food and I am not bothered by the cold and my articulation feel great (I had some articulation issues in the past). It’s like that that I have the best result (performance, blood flow and I think as a consequence higher calories consumptions).

By: Sean

Sean — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 14:28:59 +0000

That’s what I do Kris………….If I have to train first thing in the morning, I’ll ingest a scoop of protein about thirty minutes before I actually hit the weights.

By: Roy

Roy — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 14:05:22 +0000

Good article – to confirm when to do cardio – but coming from medline – a study with only 8 participants is hardly considered a significant study.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 14:03:18 +0000

Just wondering…maybe it burns the same, but i’ve read something saying that if you eat before cardio you burn that food(calories/fat). So in my view point if you are burning the food you ate you are spiining in the same place.

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:44:07 +0000

Would love to hear an answer to Kris’s question

By: Darien

Darien — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:29:58 +0000

Notice it says moderate exercise though. Its better to be on an empty stomach if your doing high intensity cardio exercises.

By: Kris

Kris — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:24:11 +0000

Be that as it may, some of us can only work out early in the a.m. before breakfast and work. What would you advise? Would eating a small piece of food or protein shake be enough to qualify for the fed state?

By: Kerry Lambert

Kerry Lambert — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 10:09:23 +0000

Interesting article but is this not a case of “whatever works best for the individual”? I’ve gone through many phases of trying different types of cardio. I find tabata to work better than any. Next would be fasted, morning cardio and least effective has been doing cardio in the evening after a meal. I don’t do a lot of cardio anymore, anyway after reading TSPA but this is my experience with it.