Alright FINAL ANSWER, when should I do HIIT cardio!!

[CobraUTAH]

I have heard both sides but I want to know the consensus at this board. When is the best time of day to do cardio or in my case HIIT cardio. I've heard in the morning on an empty stomach. This for me would be hard because of the morning thing, I'm just not a morning person. Secondly I feel that I need to have a bit of food in me or at least in the last two or three hours before I go and do a grueling physical activity which is what my HIIT cardio program is going to be. If I were doing straight distance and time type cardio I would probably be ok with running early morning empty stomach. However I have choosen to do HIIT which seems to be the best energy system for fast fat loss with minimal loss to lean mass. In this case I feel that it will be best for me to treat it as any other workout save it until after work and make sure I've had proper nutrition during the day. Any suggestions, or critiques are welcome.

 

[FatRat]

Secondly I feel that I need to have a bit of food in me or at least in the last two or three hours before I go and do a grueling physical activity

That is because you use the food for energy, and the reason for the morning workout is so that you don’t have this in your system so your body uses fat reserves instead.

I cant do morning cardio either, just not practical and I would rather sleep! I do my cardio after lifting for a similar effect (i.e. depleted muscle glycogen).

As for whether these are the optimum times for HIT, I don’t know if there is any difference. You will not have as much energy, but it should be more efficient at burning fat, which should be your goal rather than running faster sprints.

 

[casualbb]

As for whether these are the optimum times for HIT, I don’t know if there is any difference. You will not have as much energy, but it should be more efficient at burning fat, which should be your goal rather than running faster sprints.

Tru dat.

I just want to say, remember to drink whey beforehand. Has a definite muscle-sparing effect without affecting the fat-burning.

-casual

 

[jackangel]

From what I've read...definitely do NOT do HIIT (or any other cardio) first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach...unless you want to speed up muscle loss. When you wake up, cortisol levels are high, and combined with the fact that you have no recently digested food on hand to serve as fuel, if you perform such intense exercise, your body will break down too much muscle for energy. I would say, if you want to do it in the morning, have some proper nutrition, carbs and protein, as if you were going in to lift weights. Otherwise, you can do it another time during the day, and you should still get the results you want.

All of what I'm telling you, I've found in this thread at bodybuilding.com.

 

[slinky]

Before my morning HIIT sessions (jump rope), I get something in my stomach beforehand. Usually my mixture of dextrose/malto dextrin. I find that this allows me to have a fully blistering HIIT session.

My evening HIIT sessions (heavy bag, boxing), I've already eaten through out the day; so no need to fuel up. Afterwards though, I do have my dextros/malto dextrin drink for recovery purposes.

 

[bilat]

Do you think only having whey before a HIIT workout in the morning would be enough or should I also have grape juice with it?

 

[casualbb]

I'm basing that recommendation off of this:

http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=236373&highlight=whey+cardio+fasted

See the study posted by bilat -- btw thanks bilat, awesome link

I've seen other studies showing that a large carb meal right around a cardio session negates the thermogenic effect, so this study kind of supported what I already was guessing.

-casual

 

[bilat]

So you think just protein before HIIT is optimal? This is what I was thinking.

What is best to eat after HIIT? Or should you wait to eat a few hours after?

 

[jboy]

From the research I have read, HIIT type training is superior for fat reduction mainly because it stimulates the release of testosterone and GH...good for burning fat and saving muscle. Sprinting created something like a 300% increase in testosterone levels...GH response was similar. Both levels stayed elevated for several hours after the sprinting session. Cardio done at a lower intensity (jogging, biking, etc..) showed no significant increase in test and GH levels.

As for the timing question, I’ve read a couple of research articles on this subject as well. The evidence that morning cardio is superior in burning bodyfat seems to be inconclusive. The impact of doing morning cardio is probably insignificant for most people. However, some evidence seems to suggest that there might be some benefit to morning cardio if you are already quite lean and trying to lose those last stubborn pockets of fat.

I'll see if I can find links to the articles I was reading.

Hope this helps!

 

[CobraUTAH]

jboy thanks for the research. I can't site any references right now but if my memory serves me I seem to remember that morning cardio seems to best for the skinnier guy looking to strip every last once of fat and who doesn't care about preserving lean mass. On the other hand HIIT seems to be best used and timed as a lifting workout. Use it as say a leg day and treat it that way as far as nutrition and timing. This seems to be the thing to do with HIIT plus, me not being a morning person and not being good on low nutrition I'll stick with HIIT later in the day.