Morning Cardio
For the last couple of weeks I have been incorporating early morning cardio into my weekly routine and doing it on an empty stomach. It's hard! You girls who routinely drag yourselves out of bed and exercise deserve a huge pat on the back, a standing ovation, and any other kudos I can throw your way.
When I wake up the first thing that crosses my mind is, "What am I eating for breakfast?" I usually scroll through the forums for late night posts, check email, have a cup of hot tea, and then make my big bowl of oatmeal before getting my son and I ready for the day.
Well, this empty stomach cardio thing is a task. I would never ever do strength on an empty stomach but a lot of people say the best time to do cardio is first thing on a fasted stomach. Supposedly it burns more fat. So, I went out and researched the topic and here's PNP's down and dirty opinion. No science here; you can Google just as well I as I can. I'm just giving you one woman's opinion.
1. Fasted cardio is only as important as your goals. If you are trying to lose weight and get fit then it's not worth disrupting your schedule over. I have found too many arguments pro and con so it's a coin flip if it truly will burn up fat.
2. It's worth trying if you are competing or an athlete. For these people, yes, you might want to do it to truly cut down. Why is it OK for them and not your typical housemom? They will be doing fasted cardio with the proper supplementation of BCAAs, glutamine, and carnitine to name a few. They will also be watching their heart rate like a hawk (65-75%) and performing 45-75 min. of a.m. cardio a day for their FIRST workout.
3. If you do early morning cardio or strength, drink 1/2 a low carb protein shake before working out. This will not only wake you up but it will keep you from wasting muscle tissue. My readers want to maintain muscle tissue at all costs because your goal is to lose fat and look like somebody when you are done. We aren't chasing the dream of standing on stage; we just want to stand in front of the mirror with pride.
Corinne, what is the best time to do cardio???
That's easy, my friend. The best time to do cardio is when you can do it and enjoy it. First thing in the morning, after your strength workout, non-strength day, or late at night...the best time to do it is when you will do it and when you will do it with gusto.
I will keep doing the early cardio but only because of fitting it into my busy schedule and not because of fat burning effects. I will also be adding that protein shake in along with my cup of hot tea.
Stay tuned tomorrow...I'm throwing out a bonus cardio routine you can do in your home without a piece of machinery!!! This is for all my cold weather girls!