# Morning Cardio for cutting



## BcfcChris (Sep 8, 2007)

Not sure if this the right section 

Basically normally people say do 40 min to a hour of cardio if it going be low intensity. However if it morning with just bcaa before would you say 30 mins is enough?

How would you rate it for fat burning from personal experience?


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## jjb1 (Jun 28, 2007)

it would depend on your goals, if this 30mins didnt give what you wanted you would up it. but as a fat burning tool ealry cardio on no food is very efficiant


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## BcfcChris (Sep 8, 2007)

Would 30 mins morning cardio and 25 mins post workout be better than 55 mins post workout for arguements sake?

Thanks


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## BcfcChris (Sep 8, 2007)

Bassline did you get good results with it? What sort of time did you do it for?

thanks


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## AR77 (Mar 1, 2008)

I've read that this leads to muscle loss also. Would taking a protein shake/meal before hand counter this?


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## BcfcChris (Sep 8, 2007)

Well from what I read am going to have 10G protein before with Bcaa and then a shake straight away after!


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## BcfcChris (Sep 8, 2007)

Would you guys say 10 G whey before with some Bcaa, is alright? Or just BCaa before?


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## samcim (Feb 24, 2008)

Ive jsut started doing it, will let you know how I get on


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## BcfcChris (Sep 8, 2007)

Same Sam been doing it about 3 days hard to judge now but it easier to do this cardio than I thought it would be!


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## samcim (Feb 24, 2008)

Yeah Im up at 6.30, straight onto my bike half asleep lol. Do this for 30 mins then brekkie, then off to lay bricks all fcuking day lol!


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## 1988-s.leeson (Feb 24, 2008)

i do 45 to 1h every morning before breakfast. then i go from the gym straight to work.

its not easy, but it makes 1 hell of a difference.

in my experience....and i do have a fair bit on losing weight...2 years ago i was 3 stone of fat overweight, i lost that through diet and exercise then put it all back on in muscle!! yeh!! lol

for me, 55 mins post training is not anywhere near as effective as the am pre-brekky cardio. but its as much about the diet as it is about the cardio.

tbh i think its best to do your am cardio then do 25-45 mins after a good weight session

scott


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## samcim (Feb 24, 2008)

Thats what I do mate, 30 mins AM 5 x a week and 15 mins right after gym 4 times a weekm well just started lol!


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## squat_this (Jan 14, 2006)

You want to do cardio on an empty stomach so don't take any protein/carbs/fat beforehand.


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## Guest (Mar 20, 2008)

I do an hour pre breakfast if i take any thing its a couple of stims.


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## 1988-s.leeson (Feb 24, 2008)

i normally hav my clen goin by then. wudnt class that as food tho!!


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

the best times to do cardio is first thing in the morning and post workout, both times you force your body to use fat for energy as you would not have a noticable amount of carbs(glycogen) available to be used as energy...

there is this talk about muscle loss when you do cardio in the morning on an empty stomach this would only happen if you either did high intensity cardio or if you had very very low bodyfat....

any food you take before your cardio will do no good at all anyway apart from draw blood into the stomach to help digest the substance....


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## Jock (Apr 8, 2003)

I have 5g of L-Glutamine before my morning cardio and it still works for me.

Before unfuelled HIIT I have 1 scoop of whey and 5g of L-Glutamine.


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## samcim (Feb 24, 2008)

Unfulled HIIT!


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## Jock (Apr 8, 2003)

samcim said:


> Unfulled HIIT!


Worked for me in the past, as long as I have some whey before I don't get any noticeable muscle loss.

I hit a wall when I just do steady state, best to mix things up.


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## samcim (Feb 24, 2008)

Good good. Glad it worked for you mate. Dont think I could get away with it tho.


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## Bulk1 (Apr 12, 2007)

1988-s.leeson said:


> i do 45 to 1h every morning before breakfast. then i go from the gym straight to work.
> 
> its not easy, but it makes 1 hell of a difference.
> 
> ...


Nice post !!  I also used this am cardio before any food or suppliments (which is the whole reason 'am cardio' is effective after an 8hr fast but I didnt have any muscle to lose anyway!) all I had was a glass of water to sip throughout 45 mins cardio using a heart rate monitor not going outside my fat burning zone.. hated every minute of it but lost 3 stone last year and it was a big part of it along with the diet and lifestyle change.. good luck with it and stay with it


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## drb (Mar 11, 2008)

To use fat as your energy source you need to make sure you're in the correct heart rate zone,which is 60-70% of your max but using the karvonen method. First take your resting heart rate as soon as you wake over a period of 3 - 4 days,take the average.Then take your max heart rate which unless you've been clinically tested or you've thrashed yourself you'll have to use the generic formula which is 220 - age. Then all you do is apply it into the following formula to give you your working zones.

(max - resting) x 0.60 + resting = 60%

(max - resting) x 0.70 + resting = 70%

for example we'll use my heart rates

my resting is 48 beats per minute

my max is 193 beats per minute

so

(193 - 48) x 0.60 + 48 = 135 bpm

(193 - 48) x 0.70 + 48 = 149.5 so round up to 150 bpm

so when i do my cardio for fat burning i make sure i'm between 135 and 150 to make sure i'm preserving as much muscle as possible and maximising fat for energy.

If you do cardio early morning on an empty stomach it's much easier to stay within the hr zone and your body will have no food stores to draw on for energy and will be forced to use fat. Also your metabolism will be increased for the next few hours which again will aid the fat loss. Good luck mate hope this helps.


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## Jock (Apr 8, 2003)

drb said:


> To use fat as your energy source you need to make sure you're in the correct heart rate zone,which is 60-70% of your max but using the karvonen method. First take your resting heart rate as soon as you wake over a period of 3 - 4 days,take the average.Then take your max heart rate which unless you've been clinically tested or you've thrashed yourself you'll have to use the generic formula which is 220 - age. Then all you do is apply it into the following formula to give you your working zones.
> 
> (max - resting) x 0.60 + resting = 60%
> 
> ...


Thats a good theoretic starting but personally I think you need to find your optimum as the 'zones' are very generalised and don't take ino a lot of factors.


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

agreed with Jock numbers are good as a starting point but we are all different so trial and error is what is need for best results.


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