Morning Cardio on empty stomach = BAD!

[coolcolj]

http://www.testosterone.net/articles/193app.html

Q: I train early in the morning, soon after waking up. I know this isn't ideal, but it's truly the only time I have. What can I do diet-wise to maximize my efforts? What should I eat before training, if anything? What should I consume during training? After? When should I eat my first solid meal? How many times should I chew it? Help!

A: Let's put things into their proper perspective. The most important thing is that you're getting up and draggin' your glutes to the gym. Yes, my focus is nutrition, but in terms of a trainee's hierarchy of needs, find your way to the gym first and then worry about nutrition. After all, slightly sub-optimal training and nutrition is better than no training and piss poor nutrition. So keep up the good work.

Now, to take it the next step and optimize your personal situation, let's consider the nutritional needs you have when training in the AM. Since it's probably been about eight hours since you've last eaten, your liver is probably somewhat depleted of its glycogen (stored glucose). The liver giving up its glycogen in the form of glucose is one of the only ways for the body to maintain an adequate concentration of glucose in your blood, especially overnight. Without adequate blood glucose, not only will your workout suffer, that little thing you call living and breathing will also suffer.

Since there's no dietary glucose coming into the blood while you sleep, the liver must deplete itself in an attempt to supply this blood glucose. But in the morning, even with the liver's efforts, blood glucose is probably lower than it needs to be for optimal functioning, especially in the gym. So the morning is the time that one should begin to normalize blood glucose and replenish the liver glycogen with food. Although the main focus at this time should be the carbohydrate situation in the body, understand that blood amino acid content is low in the morning as well and this isn't the ideal scenario to "get your bulk on."

Since waking up and beginning your day will require significantly more calories than sleeping, and your body is already running on stored energy, the body must begin to rely even more on stored calories to function. Those calories will come from fats, carbohydrates, and protein. However, assuming you did eat within the last eight hours or so, you're not necessarily "catabolic" in terms of muscle mass (when you're doing normal morning things).

What you're simply doing is breaking down stored glucose in the liver to manage blood glucose, stored glucose in the muscle to provide for muscle contraction, and stored fat within the muscle and from adipose tissue to also provide for energy needs. Ultimately, if this "fasting" situation persists, muscle loss begins. But getting up, draining the plumbing, brushing the teeth, and waxing the moustache won't make you catabolic.

However, head to the gym and start exercising with this physiological situation and things take a turn for the worse. Since weight training uses predominantly glucose for energy, and your blood glucose and muscle and liver glycogen stores are low, your training intensity won't be statistically different from zero unless you provide some carbohydrate. In addition, even this small amount of stress on the muscles will begin to tax the protein reserves. Without adequate amino acids in the blood, say goodbye to your dreams of building those peptide chains you call muscles.

So in the end, training after an overnight fast is a mistake because strength and intensity will be lower than they should be and your efforts in the gym will slowly eat away at the muscle. So how can you remedy this situation and ensure optimum intake? Well, as I've written before:

1) Weight Trainers: Eat a protein and fat meal about two hours before training. This will provide the body with adequate calories and spare muscle glycogen for the exercise effort to come.

Endurance and Interval Trainers: Eat a carbohydrate and protein meal about two hours before training. This will help restore liver and muscle glycogen as this type of exercise is severely glycogen depleting and you may simply run out of gas if these tanks aren't "topped off."

2) All Athletes: Drink 1/2 - 1 serving of a fast-digesting protein and carbohydrate drink like Biotest Surge during training to spare muscle protein, force a positive protein balance, and to maintain blood glucose.

3) All Athletes: Drink 1/2 - 1 serving of a fast digesting protein and carbohydrate drink like Biotest Surge immediately after training to promote recovery.

4) Eat a solid food meal that's moderate to high in carbohydrate and protein with little fat about an hour or two after training. This will help promote recovery and enhance glycogen resynthesis for your next workout.

But, with your morning workouts, that doesn't work for you, does it? Well, for all those reading this who can eat two hours before training, use the above schedule. But for you guys rushing off to the gym as soon as the sun pops up (or earlier), here's what you need to do.

1) Regardless of your exercise, begin drinking a specially concocted beverage within ten minutes of beginning your workout (in the car if necessary). This beverage should contain 1/2 - 1 serving of a fast digesting protein and carbohydrate drink like Biotest Surge and an additional serving of Gatorade or other simple carbohydrate powder (an additional 33 to 40 grams of carbohydrate above that already in Surge). This will provide adequate blood glucose and help accelerate glycogen synthesis in the liver and muscle.

2) Drink 1/2 - 1 serving of a fast digesting protein and carb drink like Biotest Surge immediately after training.

3) Eat a solid food meal that's moderate to high in carbohydrate with little fat in it, about one to two hours after training.

This program, while not as complete as the first, will yield comparable results in terms of muscle mass gain. The failure to replenish glycogen completely after the overnight fast may cause your workout intensity to suffer a bit (if you're doing high intensity anaerobic interval training or aerobic training), but it won't be terribly detrimental to a normal weight trainer.

 

[Japanese machine]

true that its not for everybody, but dont believe everything you read.

 

[TheProject]

Looks to me like that's more in reference to weight training first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, not cardio.

 

[TheProject]

Found this posted over here: http://forum.lowcarber.org/t21258.html

The argument in favor of fasted early morning cardio goes something like this:

(1) WHEN YOU WAKE UP in the morning after an 8-to-12 hour overnight fast, your body's stores of gylcogen are somewhat depleted. Doing cardio in that state causes your body to mobilize more fat because of the unavailability of glycogen.

(2) EATING CAUSES A RELEASE of insulin, which interferes with the mobilization of bodyfat. Less insulin is present in the morning; therefore you burn more bodyfat when you do your cardio in the morning.

(3) THERE'S LESS CARBOHYDRATE (glucose) in your bloodstream after an overnight fast. With less glucose available, you'll burn more fat.

(4) IF YOU EAT IMMEDIATELY before a workout, you have to burn off carbs you just ate before tapping into stored bodyfat.

(5) WHEN YOU DO CARDIO IN THE MORNING, your metabolism stays elevated for a period of time after the workout is over. If you do cardio in the evening, you will benefit from it, but you fail to take advantage of teh afterburn effect because your metobolic rate drops dramatically as soon as you go to sleep.

Research supports this theory. A study performed at Kansas State University and published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise showed the subjects burned a kilogram (2.2 lbs.) of fat sooner when the exercised in a fasted state in the morining than when the did it later in the day.

The researchers measured respitory gas exchange, caloric expenditure, and carbohydrate/fatty acid metabolism and found that the amount of fat burned during aerobic exercise amounted to 67% of the total energy expenditure in the morning after a 12 hour fast. That's substantially higher than the 50% expenditure achieved when the subjects did the same exercise later in the day or after eating.

A similar study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology looked at the effects of aerobic exercise on lipid oxidation in fed vs. fasted states. The researchers conculded, "Our results support the hypothesis that endurance training enhances lipid oxidation in men after a 12-hour overnight fast."

Yet another paper, "Optimizing Exercise for Fat Loss," reports, "The ability of exercise to selectively promote fat oxidation should be optimized if exercise is done during morning fasted metabolism."

When it comes to "real world fat loss", few people have more experience than Chris Aceto (nutrition guru/advsior to many pro bodybuilders).

Aceto is a firm believer in morning cardio. He unequivocally states, "The fastest way to tap into stored bodyfat is to do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach."

Aceto believes that looking at calories only in terms of energy in vs. energy out is "limited thinking." He asserts that there are more factors involved in real-world results than just energy balance. It all comes back to the old arguement, are all calories created equal?

"Absolutely not!" Aceto declares. "A calorie in not just a calorie, and exercise physiologists freak out when they hear that."

"These guys are working from the assumption that it's just a matter of calories in vs. calories out, period," Chris continues. "With that line of reasoning, they'd be forced to say that if I consumed nothing but candy bars and Coca-Cola and took in 100 calories less than maintenance, I'd lose weight. We know it's not that simple. You have to account for ratios of carbs, protein, and fat."

"Then there's meal frequency: From real-world results we know you put on more muscle mass from five or six meals a day than from three meals a day. There are more things involved than just calories."

There are many other reasons you might want to consider making morning cardio a part of your daily routine. Landry, despite his doubts about whether the fuel source matters admits, "If I had to pick a single factor I thought was most important in a succesful weight-loss program, it would have to be exercise first thing in the morning."

Here are some of the additional benefits of doing cardio early in the morning:

- It makes you feel great all day by releasing mood-enhancing endorphins.

- It energizes you and wakes you up.

- It may help regulate your appetite for the rest of the day

- Your body's circadian rhythm adjusts to your morning routine, making it easier to wake up at the same time every day

- You'll be less likely to blow off your workout when it's out of the way early.

- You can always make time for exercise by setting your alarm earlier in the morning.

- It increases your metabolic rate for hours after the session is over.

Of all those benefits, the post exercise increase in your metabolic rate is the one most talked about. Scientists call this afterburn effect "excess postexercise oxygen consumption," or EPOC.

Looking only at the number and type of calories burned during the session doesn't give you the full picture. You also need to look at the number of calories your elevated metabolism continues to burn after the workout is over.

That's right -- work out in the morning, and you burn calories all day long.

You burn somewhere between 10 and 30 calories extra after exercise at an intensity of less than 60 to 65 percent of maximal heart rate (MHR). In other words, a casual stroll on the treadmill will do next to nothing to increase your metabolism.

EPOC does increase with the intensity (and duration) of the exercise, however. According to Willmore and Costill in Physiology of Sport and Exercise, the EPOC after moderate exercise (75 to 80 percent of MHR) will amount to apporximately .25 calories per minute, or 15 calories per hour. That would provide an additional expenditure of 75 calories. An extra 75 calories is definately no earth shattering, but it does add up over time. In a year, it would mean (in theory) that you'd burn an extra 5.2 pounds of fat from the additional calories expended after your workouts.

One way to get a significant post-exercise afterburn is high-intensity interval training (HIIT). You alternate brief periods of high intensity work (85% of maximum heart rate or more) with brief periods of lower-intensity work. Studies on the effects of HIIT have demonstrated a much higher EPOC, which can add substantially to the day's calorie expenditure.

In one study scientists from the University of Alabama compared the effects of two exercise protocalls on 24 hour energy expenditure:

- Group #1 cycled for 60 minutes at a moderate intensity.

- Group #2 performed HIIT, cycling for 2 minutes at high intensity followed by 2 minutes at low-intensity.

The group that performed HIIT (group #2) burned 160 more calories in 24 hours than the low intensity group.

That would translate to an extra 11.8 pounds of fat burned in one year if they did HIIT five days per week instead of conventional low-intensity training.

Ironically, weight training has a much higher magnitude of EPOC than aerobic training.

Studies have shown increases in metabolic rate of as much as 4-7% over a 24-hour period from resistance training.

Yes - that means bodybuilding does burn fat – albeit through an indirect mechanism. For someone with an expenditure of 2500 calories per day, that could add up to 100 - 175 extra calories burned after your weight training workout is over.

The lesson is simple: Anyone interested in losing body fat who is not lifting weights should first take up a regimen of bodybuilding, then – and only then – start thinking about the morning cardio!

A common concern about doing cardio in the fasted state, especially if it’s done with high intensity, is the possibility of losing muscle. After an overnight fast, glycogen, blood glucose and insulin are all low. As we’ve already concluded, this is an optimum environment for burning fat.

Unfortunately, it may also be an optimum environment for burning muscle because carbohydrate fuel sources are low and levels of the catabolic stress hormone cortisol are high. It sounds like morning cardio might be a double-edged sword, but there are ways to avert muscle loss.

All aerobic exercise will have some effect on building muscle, but as long as you don’t overdo it, you shouldn’t worry about losing muscle. It's a fact that muscle proteins are broken down and used for energy during aerobic exercise. But you are constantly breaking down and rebuilding muscle tissue anyway. This process is called "protein turnover" and it’s a daily fact of life. Your goal is to tip the scales slightly in favor of increasing the anabolic side and reducing the catabolic side just enough so you stay anabolic and you gain or at least maintain muscle.

How do you build up more muscle than you break down? First, avoid excessive cardio. Aceto suggests limiting your cardio on an empty stomach to 30 minutes, and then it would be "highly unlikely that amino acids will be burned as fuel." He also mentions that "a strong cup of coffee should facilitate a shifting to burn more fat and less glycogen. If you can spare glycogen, you’ll ultimately spare protein too." You might also want to consider experimenting with the thermogenic ephedrine-caffeine-aspirin stack (or it’s herbal equivalent).

Second, give your body the proper nutritional support. Losing muscle probably has more to do with inadequate nutrition than with excessive aerobics. Provide yourself with the proper nutritional support for the rest of the day, including adequate meal frequency, protein, carbohydrates and total calories, and it’s not as likely that there will be a net loss of muscle tissue over each 24-hour period.

Third, keep training with heavy weights, even during a fat loss phase. Using light weights and higher reps thinking that it will help you get more "cut" is a mistake: What put the muscle on in the first place is likely to help you keep it there.

Still petrified of losing your hard-earned muscle, but you’d like to take advantage of the fat-burning and metabolism-boosting effects of morning cardio?

One strategy many bodybuilders use is to drink a protein shake or eat a protein only meal 30-60 minutes prior to the morning session. The protein without the carbs will minimize the insulin response and allow you to mobilize fat while providing amino acids to prevent muscle breakdown.

In conclusion, it seems that morning cardio has enough indisputable benefits to motivate most people to set their alarms early. But let’s talk bottom line results here:

Does it really result in more "real world fat loss" than aerobics performed at other times of the day or after eating? I have to believe it does. Experience, common sense and research all tell me so.

Nevertheless, this will obviously continue to be an area of much debate, and clearly, more research is needed. In the meantime, while the scientists are busy in their labs measuring respiratory exchange ratios, caloric expenditures and rates of substrate utilization, I’m going to keep waking up at 6:00 AM every morning to get on my elliptical.

References

1. Aceto, Chris. Everything you need to know about fat loss. Club Creavalle, Inc. (1997).

2. Bahr, R. Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption – Magnitude, Mechanisms and Practical Implications. Acta Physiol Scand. Suppl. (1992) 605. 1-70.

3. Bergman, BC, Brooks, GA. Respiratory gas-exchange ratios during graded exercise in fed and fasted trained and untrained men. Journal of Applied Physiology. (1999) 86: 2.

4. Brehm, B.A., and Gutin, B. Recovery energy expenditure for steady state exercise in runners and non-exercisers. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. (1986) 18: 205,

5. Brybner, BW. The effects of exercise intensity on body composition, weight loss, and dietary composition in women. Journal of American College of Nutrition, (1997) 16: 68-73

6. Landry, Greg. The Metabolism System for Weight Loss. Greg Landry. (2000).

7. Maehlum, S., etc al. Magnitude and duration of post exercise oxygen consumption in healthy young subjects. Metabolism (1986) 35 (5): 425-429.

8. McCarty, MF. Optimizing Exercise for Fat Loss. Medical Hypothesis. (1995) 44: 325-330

 

[strong island]

The article is correct but the topic is wrong. The article concerns weighttraining which is anaerobic, and therefore needs glucose. It will either get this from glycogen or muscle.

Cardio...or I prefer to call it aerobics is just that ...aerobic. If it is kept moderate. Empty stomach is ideal for this. But some aminos wouldn't hurt before.

 

[BigBoy23]

I am needing to lose a lot of weight and just getting my diet together...

should i take something in the morning before cardio to prevent muscle breakdown?

 

[Ulter]

Morning cardio, there is no substitute.

 

[georgie24]

Morning cardio, there is no substitute.

i agree 100%

 

[plornive]

Morning cardio seems to work very well for me. It really has more of a fat-burning effect for me than afternoon cardio. Also, doing cardio in the afternoon messes up my lifting --- it makes me weak.

 

[highschoolsucksalot]

I've noticed that I sweat more if I do cardio in the afternoon then when I do it in the morning. What does that mean?