how much cardio is to much on a cycle???

[dp7712]

You my friend are completely Wrong!

Please give more information on this? I am trying to lose some weight over the next few months with minimal muscle loss and I keep hearing different stories about when and what types of cardio to do. Is HIIT any good or is moderate intensity for longer periods good to do? My whole problem is before I go to the gym, which is usually early evening I try to eat something good because I am hungry and tired from work but I don't know if it is hindering the cardio I am doing. Any help is appreciated!

 

[OXANDRIN]

Andy13,

AM cardio.. Reality

Has everyone been told to do cardio on an empty stomach when cutting?

The "theory" is that one utilizes mostly fat cal's by doing cardio in the AM since glycogen stores are at a daily low.

This belief is then extrapolated by some (most?) to "one will lose more fat if cardio is done in the AM as opposed to some other time in the day," Implying that 20minutes on the stair master, if done in the AM, will cause more over-all fat loss than if that same 20 min is done some other time.

I have two problems with this reasoning..

The most obvious, it violates the first law of thermodynamics.. Burning 500 cals on the stairmaster is burning 500 cals on the stairmaster, no matter when it is done.

Here is where most will say "yeah, but more of those cals are coming from fat instead of sugar when cardio is done in the AM.

However, if one really wants to get to the nitty gritty, let's say I do my cardio in the afternoon instead of the evening.. I'll even EXTEND the popular belief and say that 100% of my calories came from carbohydrate stores (obviously, this doesn't happen). Now, I eat my normal balanced carb meal. The carbs ingested will replace the glycogen lost during the cardio. The comparison in this hypothetical situation is the same person who has already done his AM cardio.. His glycogen stores (hypothetically) are rather full.. He is more likely to store some of the carbs as fat than am I since my glycogen stores are lower, albeit I am no further ahead of him since he has already expended a portion of cal's from his AM cardio..

In other words, I'm just restating the first law of thermo... The generalization is, if one eats 3000 cals and expends 4000cals, he WILL LOSE WEIGHT, no matter how the cals enter or leave the system. Physiologically, this isn't entirely accurate, as macronutrient profile (etc) will indeed play a role. However, for this discussion, let's assume we're talking about BBers with reasonable eating habits.

The second argument I have against the idea that "AM cardio is better" is a question on the validity of the "greater % of fat burned when glycogen stores are empty" statement. This goes hand in hand with the belief that "slower cardio=more fat loss."

(the following was adapted from BIOCHEMISTRY, Stryer)

Marathon runners consume about equal amounts of glycogen and fatty acids.. If their fuel came from fatty acids entirely, the 2hr run would take more like 6hrs. However, the glycogen stores in the body are not sufficient to provide energy for the race.. Low blood sugar triggers production of glucose (from amino acids) that is needed for such an event.

This is interesting since the aim of BBers is to lose fat without losing muscle.. This is why many won't do high intensity cardio.. However, when glycogen stores are low (as in the morning) it's reasonable to believe that the body will lose more amino's to gluconeogenesis than when the cardio is done another time.. How significant is it? Not very, in my opinion.. Just as the difference between fat loss from AM cardio compared to cardio any other time of the day is also not significant (also my opinion).

 

[serbyte]

Eating 3k calories and expending 4k will diffinatly cause you to lose weight. But you are more likely to lose muscle because you will be depleting the calories that your body would otherwise be useing to repair muscles. But by not doing it on an empty stomach, you are burning precious calories that your body could be using to repair and fuel itself.

HIT, sux ass in my opinion, unless you are on a low carb diet, and in ketosis. I would never do it while bulking. It would just require you to eat more durring the rest of the day, and it would not allow you to really stay lean. Its better just to eat less, than to do high intensity cardio or HIT, or cardio on a full stomach.