Morning cardio workouts seem better for me on an empty stomach

[Burning_Inside]

I have been doing my cardio on an empty stomach for the past few weeks. The other day, I ate a can of tuna and a bowl of cereal about an hour before I did my workout, which consists of about a half hour or so of sprint intervals, and about a half hour or so of karate type kicking and stuff.

Well, the day that i did the cardio after eating, I didn't feel as energized as usual, and i got a cramp in my side for the first time while sprinting.

Now, some people say cardio on an empty stomach is bad, and other say it's good. Well, how can it be good if I'm not feeling up to par and getting cramps?

 

[MS]

I think that meal would have worked well for you if you had eaten it 2-3 hours before you training. Otherwise it will just give you grief. If you've been training OK on an empty stomach then no need to change it unless you're aiming to be a competitive sprinter, in which case you would probably not do your sprints first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

 

[Rockaho]

Most of the arguments that I have read on this subject were not about cardio on an empty vs. full stomach, they were on doing cardio in the morning after a 8 - 10 hour fast vs. sometime after breakfast. I try to have a 40 gr. protein shake between 2 - 3 hours prior to doing cardio, more than 3 hours causes me to feel weak less than 2 causes me to feel to full and have cramps. My scheduel prevents me from doing cardio first thing in the morning unless I want to go for a jog @ 3:00 a.m. so I don't concern myself to much with that trivia.

 

[johnny iron]

Burning_Inside, i too have had best success with cardio in the morning on an empty stomach. Although im not a big fan of cardio, when i need to get lean, i add cardio in the mornings. Right before my cardio session, i take my ECA with water. If i start to get on the chubby side (12% bf for me) i clean out my diet and use morning cardio with ECA and I get down to 9% or less in a month. For me, it's the best way to control myself and stay fairly lean when my bulking has gone too far.

 

[The_Eviscerator]

Definitely do cardio in the morning on an empty stomach. Do not eat and then do cardio.

 

[chillin408]

I recently read something about morning cardio that is contrary to what I use to believe.

I forgot the in-depths,and don't know all the other factors that may be involved so forgive me if i forgot to mention something,but I thought this was interesting...

I read that even though morning cardio uses a higher % of fat for fuel versus afternoon cardio you still burn the same amount of fat at the end of the day,and it comes down to a calorie balence.

So if one were to do morning cardio and use a higher percent of fat for fuel, the rest of the day their body will use more glycogen for fuel and it will even out.....versus....If they did afternoon cardio,they would'nt be using as high of a percent of fat for fuel,but it doesn't matter because the rest of the day their body will use more fat for fuel,then it would even out.

 

[Rudee34]

you still burn the same amount of fat at the end of the day,and it comes down to a calorie balence.

I wouldn't go as far as saying that. Other than first thing in the morning, how many periods during the day does the typical person have a depleted glycogen level? It's pretty rare, especially when some eat breakfast, most eat lunch, and most eat dinner - not including all the snacks in between. Although the insulin level is not necessarily going to be high for everyone, it's almost certain that most will have ample glycogen readily available for fuel. First thing in the morning the tables are turned in your favor, in that glycogen is low or possibly depleted, thus fat has a better chance to be used as energy.

 

[chillin408]

I just thought it was interesting so I posted it, if your interested more about this search deja.com misc.fitness.weights board.

Once I get a chance,and feel up to it,I"ll probably read more about the topic,I've just been too lazy lately. There's tons of info on that site,I just was skimming through posts and saw that,I probably left out alot of other info concerning the subject.

 

[MS]

True you will probably use more fat for fuel if you do moderate cardio with fasting insulin levels, but ultimately the major determinant of fat loss is gonna be calories in less than calories out. A low glycemic diet can assist you at burning more fat anytime of the day. In other words the impotant thing to aim for is to do SOME cardio and to eat low glycemic foods while creating a calorie deficit. But I still prefer my morning cardio (if I have to do cardio).