Cardio before bed?

[36drew]

I seem to be finding myself doing cardio before bed due to a hectic schedule and time constraints as of late.

Are there any problems with this? I usually do 30 minutes on the incline, down 8oz of fresh atlantic salmon then crash.

Opinions?

 

[zaxxon1982]

I seem to be finding myself doing cardio before bed due to a hectic schedule and time constraints as of late.

Are there any problems with this? I usually do 30 minutes on the incline, down 8oz of fresh atlantic salmon then crash.

Opinions?

You may stir up the whole fasted state cardio debate here. I have no comment on that.

My experience is that cardio near bedtime lowers the quality of my sleep significantly. It takes me forever to get to sleep if I do cardio within 2 or 3 hours of bedtime, and I'm more likely to wake up at night. So I do mine in the morning or early evening.

 

[BUBBLES]

usually when i do my cardio at night i cannot sleep at all, i twist and turn in bed and my matabolism seems to work overtime

 

[pintoca]

I do cardio before bed as well, same reason.

You having all that fat with some carbs afterwards? or only the fat?

 

[Lifterforlife]

For contest prep last time out I did all my cardio almost exclusively before bed.

 

[jdevlin1985]

I've always been under the impression (from a past read) that excercise before bed actually increases the quality of sleep.

 

[alex2678]

Same with lifter here. All my weight workouts and cardio sessions are done at midnight on and I lose fat and get a great sleep. (But I know there's plenty of people who don't adapt well to this format.) If you can sleep well, it's nothing to worry about and just as beneficial as doing cardio any other time of day.

 

[*Bunny*]

Same with lifter here. All my weight workouts and cardio sessions are done at midnight on and I lose fat and get a great sleep. (But I know there's plenty of people who don't adapt well to this format.) If you can sleep well, it's nothing to worry about and just as beneficial as doing cardio any other time of day.

^^ I agree... as posted above as well, it seems others may get that 2nd wind or rush after a workout & not be able to sleep .. diet can also play a big partin this as well, but I'm not doing to get into that discussion again .. completely subjective...

Side Note : alex, I saw this & thought of you for some reason ... "Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint. ~Mark Twain"

Must be all those studies you so kindly share ... that i DO enjoy by the way .. anyway Happy Monday

 

[velvett]

You should try and get the cardio done at least 3 hours before trying to get to sleep.

 

[jdevlin1985]

You should try and get the cardio done at least 3 hours before trying to get to sleep.

This is logical advice. This will give you time to have a last meal before bed and for it to digest properly. Going to bed on a full stomach is not a good idea, and though some, like myself, sleep better with a full stomach, the majority do not. May actually be part of the cause.

 

[alex2678]

Side Note : alex, I saw this & thought of you for some reason ... "Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint. ~Mark Twain"

Must be all those studies you so kindly share ... that i DO enjoy by the way .. anyway Happy Monday

Thanks Bun! I like that quote. It seems like every new issue of a magazine is always trying to either discredit a study or try to prove a new point. I think 20 years from now diets and disease prevention is all going to be based on individual DNA rather than scientific studies.

The latest one I saw was an old study showing that when they removed the pancreas and sex organs in rats and put them on a high intensity workout routine (their exercise wheel I guess ) they still gained muscle without having any anabolic hormones in their bloodstream. Must suck to be a rat.

 

[36drew]

The opinions seem to be quite conflicting on this one. I guess I will have to figure things out the way most people do. Through trial and error.

I suspect that it shouldn't cause a tonne of problems and difference in the big swing of things. My goal is to be about @ 8% for most of the summer. Holding 8% and holding 4% are two entirely different things (or so I have been told).

Re sleep: I haven't noticed it affecting my sleep quality, but will monitor it.

 

[*Bunny*]

The opinions seem to be quite conflicting on this one. I guess I will have to figure things out the way most people do. Through trial and error.

^^^ I suggest this approach throughout your training journey
Of course, doing a lot of research to see what others think can only help you compare notes down the road... there is NOT a single answer drew

Keep us posted