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2007/07/03, 11:26 AM
Here is an interesting article I just read about morning cardio - It is a Q&A in oxygen magazine, August 2007
Q: I get up at 5:40am everyday and after just a few sips of an energy drink I hop on my treadmill. After a brief warm-up I'm off and running and then i do the elliptical for a total of 45 minutes of cardio. Am I going to burn off my hard-earned muscle doing cardio on an empty stomach? Or am I burning fat? - Cara, Via email
A: First, congrats on having the discipline to rise and sweat at 5:40am every day! You must be well on your way to acheiving your fitness goals. Now, is your muscle in jeopardy if you continue to do cardio on an empty tank? Hardly. Here's what we found :"A study done by Kansas State University indicates that a kilogram of fat will be oxidized sooner when exercising in the fasted condition in the morning than when doing the same exercise in the afternoon. By measuring respiratory gas exchange, caloric expenditure and carbohydrate and fatty acid metabolism, the study's researchers showed that the mass of fat burned during aerobic exercise amounts to 67 percent of the total energy expenditure acheived when the same exercise is done later in the day or in the fed state."
Although some of our experts suggest having a light meal or even orange juice prior to workout, the overall consensus is that it doesn't really matter. Oxygen advisory board team member Craig Ballantyne says, "Fat loss is all about the big picture. What happens over the course of a 24-hour period determines your results, not what happens in a 45-minute session." he says that just as bodybuilders know that muscle doesn't grow during a workout, we also need to understand that most fat (or muscle) isn't lost during training but rather a result of what happens over the 24-hour period. If someone wnats to get lean, they'll acheiev most of their results by way of a strcit, healthy diet. So ong as you remember to apply some type of resistance training to your muscles and eat enough protein over the course of the day, you won't lose the muscle you work so hard for.
Dr. Stuart Phillips, a professor from the University of McMaster in Hamilton, canad adds "Morning cardio a risk for muscle loss? Complete bunk! Just how much will you lose? Certainly the longer you go without eating the more time you're in negative energy and protein balance and you will start to lose muscle, but it's not like it drops off in pounds - time for a reality check on this one. "
Last but not leats, Cara, you'll never truly know unless you try it for yourself for at least four weeks. ther's no better way of finding out than conducting your very own study on yourself!
So - that kind of flies in the face of what a lot of us have said for a long time! Interesting (and reassuring, since I get up and do cardio on empty most mornings)
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Here is another article I came acroos - M&F April 2007 - in an article about fat loss by Chris Aceto:
Do Cardio At The Right Time
cardio exerts two benefits - it burns calories and effects hormone levels in the body. Specifically, cardio helps raise levels of norepinephrine. Yet when you do cardio makes a big difference in how your body handles the hormonal changes. Cardio on an empty stomach allows norepinephrine to readily target fat cells, which triggers maximal fat-burning. On the flip-side, if you eat before doing cardio, and particularily if you eat carbs, the fat-blocking hormone insulin rises, making your body less effective at burning fat.
Do This:
To ensure that your body is in optimal fat-burning mode, do 30-60 minutes cardio first thing in the mroning before breakfast 4-6 days per week. feel free, however, to drink your morning coffe (without cream or sugar) and take 6-10g of mixed amino acids or a small amount of whey protein powder in water beforehand. The caffiene will help will help you burn more fat, as will the amino acids 9whther from a supplement or from whey protein), as research from Kanazawa University in japan has found. the aminos will also help prevent muscle breakdown during cardio.
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2007/07/06, 08:20 PM
So which are we to believe? Your thumbtack here and exercise before breakfast is good. Or do we believe the other thumbtack that says:
Myth 6: It's best to exercise before breakfast because you burn more fat
There is a little evidence to support this theory. However, the number one consideration for exercise is to do something within the 24 hours of most days. Although a case can be made that walking in the morning will increase metabolic rate early in the day and hence result in greater energy use over the whole day. Timing really depends on what you prefer.
From a practical perspective, mornings are best because it's done, out of the way and your exercise is done for the day.
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2007/07/07, 03:56 PM
I have been doing cardio on an empty stomach at 5am. for about a month now...its definitely made a difference..and it took some getting used to getting up earlier for a few days...now I have more energy during the day and getting leaner :)
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There is no such thing as a *set point*. Im only set on getting past this point :)
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2007/07/10, 09:43 AM
travis - I think the articles I posted in this thread are newer and maybe more relevant.
The other thing to consider is that nearly every competitor I know has always done pre-breakfast cardio when dropping fat for a show.
As with most issues, you can find articles and/or research to support either side of the arguement, you have to use your own common sense to figure out how it applies to you .
Like the Q&A above says - the best way to find out is to try it yourself.
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Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.
Thomas Carlyle
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2007/07/11, 08:02 PM
If you are a relatively lean person, this may not hold water. I know when I was competing and the times I did cardio pre breakfast, yeah, I lost at a bit faster rate, but also had unwanted results.
Key is where you are at in your hormone levels. One study of average folks cannot in any way predict what a lean person who has been dieting for a while will experience.
At low bodyfat levels, and after strenuous dieting for a while...i.e...pre contest, hormones play a huge part. I would suggest trial and error here, be careful.
I have long preached the obvious point they say in the article, it is not what you do in 45 minutes that make or break you, but what you do in the time between workouts. It is funny, the paragraph they use sounds a bit like plagerism. :)
Anyway, there is much more to the picture than what they present. About along the lines of Mens Health.
And I have to wonder, Oxygen?
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Quoting from asimmer:
travis - I think the articles I posted in this thread are newer and maybe more relevant.
The other thing to consider is that nearly every competitor I know has always done pre-breakfast cardio when dropping fat for a show.
As with most issues, you can find articles and/or research to support either side of the arguement, you have to use your own common sense to figure out how it applies to you .
Like the Q&A above says - the best way to find out is to try it yourself.
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Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer
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2007/09/17, 08:36 AM
I have heard both sides to the cardio early w/ empty stomach. I think if you are in need of losing weight and are not on the leaner side, you will definitely see results. No. 1 you committed to a healthier lifestyle...and yes what you eat and do in between the workouts and sleep...is truly a KEY to being and keeping fit. The one thing I do know is that if you eat healthy and workout at least 5 days a week, you WILL lose weight and keep fit, not on a bodybuilding level but on a healthy fit level. Good luck all. Great post
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2007/12/01, 09:46 PM
This is not rocket science here. One learns what to do in grade school to maintain his/her muscles and or fitness level. Put in the time and the results will come. I know the older I get the more the mornings seem give me my best work-outs. Its nice to have the freedom after work too:)
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"Get everthing you want--just make a little change now"
"The thing you have to realize is that you have to work for it,"
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