[jonny21]

Originally Posted by B5150

What are your thoughts on post empty stomach AM cardio. I am thinking that I would consume a high protein low/mod carb/fat solid food breakfast meal (egg whites/FiberOne/skim).

I am so used to going liquid at 3:30am pre/post and not having a solid meal until I am at work. Starting the day with solid food....

I like what you are planning.

Something that has been working well for me lately has been the addition of BCAA's (XTEND) to my pre-, during, post-workout nutrition. I am a total cynic so the whole placebo thing is usually lost on me because I assume things won't work, but I have noticed a difference in recovery time when I include them.

[MadMas]

Originally Posted by excalibur

I think its not a good idea!....

I always use a protein shake 20-30 min before I do morningcardio that to prevent muscle catabolism..

That is dead on. No carbs tho. Buuuuurn fat burn!

[Fastflight]

Why not spare blood aminos acid-pool and burn even more fat, by adding some carbs, by generating more energy at the sama pulse?

[jmh80]

Mas - those aminos will be converted to glucose if taking for pre-breakfast cardio.

Better to just eat carbs if you want to eat anything.

Read Bobo's posts on pages 1 through 3.

[1ad man]

best way to burn calories in the morning your low in carbs and high in energy burn the fat easily . i have a friend that get up at 6am and puts a garbage bag on his body and runs tell he sweats and he has lost 15pds than again he is fitness freak.

[delta314]

I drink a glass of NO Explode at 4:30am and do my cardio at 5:00. I usually do an hour on the eliptical, and can lose 2-4 lbs a week if I do cardio Mon - Fri.

[ssor1005]

I've only been working out and eating clean the past 4 months, and my results have been pretty good...

I'm 17 and 6'4 172 lbs with >9% body fat. I've gained over 12lbs of muscle and lost a few fat lbs not sure the net in the past 4 months. Recently I have started doing 45 minutes of high inclined walking where I burn 500+cals before training sessions. If i do that 5-6 times a week is that too much?...and what are the ideal types of carbs I should eat in the afternoon before cardio say around 5-6pm to prevent a catabolic effect? Thanks in advance

[Socrates44]

Doing cardio in the morning is an excellent idea, only if you are cutting. If you take a protein shake before you run, two things might happen.
1. you might not feel like running, because you have 60 grams of protein in your pouch.
2. The next is the worst thing that any body builder wants, and that is the conversion of protein to sugar.

The reason your body will do that is because the peptidases in your stomach will recognize the protein in your stomach as a possible sources for energy. We all know the body needs energy so if you didnt have that "possible" meal in your stomach, your body will more than likely pull from another source-fat. Fat gives off around 9 calories per gram. So by forcing your body to use its stored energy you will shred body fat.

After your cardio dont eat right away, because although you are done doing your cardio, your body is still in lipolysis (the breakdown of fats and fatty acids). Wait for 30 minutes, then slam your protein shake.

[Elizzard]

Originally Posted by Socrates44

Doing cardio in the morning is an excellent idea, only if you are cutting. If you take a protein shake before you run, two things might happen.
1. you might not feel like running, because you have 60 grams of protein in your pouch.
2. The next is the worst thing that any body builder wants, and that is the conversion of protein to sugar.

The reason your body will do that is because the peptidases in your stomach will recognize the protein in your stomach as a possible sources for energy. We all know the body needs energy so if you didnt have that "possible" meal in your stomach, your body will more than likely pull from another source-fat. Fat gives off around 9 calories per gram. So by forcing your body to use its stored energy you will shred body fat.

After your cardio dont eat right away, because although you are done doing your cardio, your body is still in lipolysis (the breakdown of fats and fatty acids). Wait for 30 minutes, then slam your protein shake.

Excellent explanation!

[Makodhardie]

I've just started playing around with this. I've always felt completely miserable trying to do worthwhile amounts of morning cardio on an empty stomach. Until recently, I had been taking a regular size protein shake- 24grams/8oz and doing around a half hour of high intensity, followed by a another shake and a real meal to start the day off. I've stepped it up a lot recently to see some real results, so I'm ECA'ing my cardio workouts and that brings in another problem- can't have strong stimulants on an empty stomach. I tried a mix this morning that really worked for me:

-8oz protein shake
-handful of low fat saltines
-ECA stack
-about 15-20 oz of water preworkout

Workout:
-30 min bike, high intensity (423 cal)
-30 min elliptical, high intensity (535 cal)
*about 35-40oz water during workout

I was worried that the protein shake alone wouldn't be thick enough to keep the stimulants from making me naucious so I decided to try the crackers to get some solid in there. Worked great. On another note, I had an evening cardio session same as this one but different preworkout meal and I was looking at girls on machines next to me as food instead of eye candy and intensity motivation. I came home and tried to eat as slow as I could so I'd fill up at a reasonable rate and not destroy all the work I'd just done in the gym. The sustinence in the preworkout meal did enough to keep me from draining out real fast before I was close to being done. I felt like I could have gone another 30 minute interval if I wanted but I'm afraid that my overall appetite will start to ramp up and be hard to control if I do too much on a daily basis. Diet and exercise are what makes the results so I don't want to destroy one trying to conquer the other with too much glory.

[canadian champ]

Originally Posted by Makodhardie

I felt like I could have gone another 30 minute interval if I wanted but I'm afraid that my overall appetite will start to ramp up and be hard to control if I do too much on a daily basis..

This is a myth. your appetite may increase slightly but nowhere near enough to counteract the calorie loss providing by exercising.
cc

[Makodhardie]

Yes, you're probably right on that... I'm going off my experiences from college swimming. I was never able to lose much weight last year during the season even after going to doubles and meet season that had us in the water for intensive exercise 6 days a week. I didn't think my diet was that outrageous, but then again, I have a heat maintenance problem and my VO2 max is a lot higher than any other males on the team. At 2 hours a piece, I'm sure we burned plenty of calories per workout, however with the shitty standards of the indoor pool (low oxygen availability and high heat- 91 degrees F air temp and around 80 some water temp), I may very well have been suffocating during sets rather than maintaining a healthy aerobic respiratory condition which would deffinitely have affects on fat loss efficiency. Since I've retired, I never get in the pool anymore and all my cardio is done on machines where I can monitor my heart rate to keep my exercise from crossing the anaerobic threshold.

As far as the empty stomach experimentation, I've been able to get it down to no food in the morning on ECA. I've been keeping a water bottle in bed with me that I try take drinks from during the night when I wake up to roll over or get up early in the morning to piss. Once I'm up for the day/workout, I'll drink as much as I comfortably can and then brew a cup of green tea that I've started relying on for my caffeine doseage (much less than most ECA stacks- about 30/200mgs). If I'm really dead before a workout, I take a Sobe Adrenaline... I love the things and I know they have enough stimulant in them between the caffeine and guarana. They have a few calories but they also make a sugar free version that's not bad... I think all the energy drink companies are doing this. Red Bull has one for sure. In addition to the ECA and plenty of water, I take a dose of B vitamins- B6 and 12. On days when I don't have time to get up early and split cardio and lifting to do doubles, I take my fish oils with my preworkout meal.

On increasing daily cardio above 1 full hour, I haven't tried it yet, but perhaps when I get to an off day for lifting this weekend I'll run it out if I'm feeling good... Just as long as I don't have any extra school work to do- I'll fall asleep doing it otherwise.

[Brent]

May I suggest taking Scivation's Neurostim +C 30min before your morning cardio?

Would the ALCAR and Choline help the body use fat for energy?

[Makodhardie]

I was looking into other supplements since companies have started putting new products out with ephedra in them. I'll probably try something that has the correct EC dosages in it plus all the extra bells and whistles for fat burning- chocamine, yohimbe, sour orange, elf juice, etc. My previous fat burning supplement stack was:

-SAN Tight- stimulant based
-SAN Blaze- non-stimulant
-SesaMax- Sesamin and Flax see oils

I'm out of everything now but a few pills of Tight and I had only planned to cut for another week before I start bulking again. I'll have to shop around for some of these new things that are out but for right now, I'm waiting for my bulking stuff to come in.

I tried something different again yesterday since Sundays are playdays with cardio only for me. I got up and had a decent breakfast- protein shake, cup of yogurt, and a couple other things with moderate carbs but I couldn't remember what. Then I took my usual dosage for preworkout that I do on morning cardio only splits. My heart rate has come down considerably in the last week while working the same intensities on various machines- about 10-20 bpm average depending on the machines. I did vertical bike for 30 minutes, elliptical for 15 and stair stepper for 15 with very high intensity. I had trouble drinking as much as I sweat and with the last two, I ramped intensity and rpm much higher than normal.... which is why I did the 15 minute intervals. After all that, I did 20 minutes moderate intensity cool down on the horizontal bike. I felt like I was getting out of a dryland session at swim camp all over again and I kept my appetite under control until around 9-10pm.... then I was in trouble with the kitchen. I'm sure that the overall intake for the day wasn't 1000 calories in surplus so I should have been fine, but it wasn't what I was shooting for. I might try doing the same high volume session tomorrow with more moderate intensity instead of high and see what that does for my appetite.

Brent, I'll look into the Scivation Neurostim. Thanks for the suggestion.

[pecs=sexs]

Originally Posted by PiKappaWRX

i agree, low intensity in the AM is good, i did a highly intense cardio session in the morning a few times, and i get the feel like i'm taking a double-dose of ephedra. personally, i'm not a huge fan of the jitters and feeling your heart pump through your back.

i agree 100%. i hate that feeling so no matter what i get some food in me before i work out. mostly protein. but personally i hate anything in the AM. I normally dont wake up until 10 or 11 am. but im still in collage so its easy to do that.

[personalbest]

I do not think it is good at all. Since you have not eaten at all, you are using energy from your muscles rather than fat...