AM empty stomach cardio vs. pm cardio --- does it matter?

[plornive]

I keep oversleeping and missing cardio. I get 8 hours of sleep, though. Should I go to bed earlier so I can do cardio in the morning or is it the same to do it in the afternoon/night? What do you think?

 

[Diesel3d]

it depends if you are cutting, or just losing fat and trying to get thin.

If you are building muscle and want to preserve it,
am cardio is on an empty stomach is highly catabolic.

i think any time of the day is good as long as it's not done near the time you are lifting. Otherwise it really does not matter.

 

[Love Bone]

I have experienced similiar results in the afternoon if I do it three hours after a meal and that meal is a protein meal. So I basically have little carbs for 5 hours or so beforehand. Just my experience.

 

[TerraNoble]

Some would say that running in the morning on a empty stomcah would burn more fat than running in the afternoon or evening.

There is no medical evidence to support this theory and therefore running would be as good in the morning as in the evening/afternoon.

I do run 4 times a week and I can tell that morning or afternoon makes no difference.

 

[kevin7]

I have experienced similiar results in the afternoon if I do it three hours after a meal and that meal is a protein meal. So I basically have little carbs for 5 hours or so beforehand. Just my experience.

I agree.. the key here is to limit carbs for a while before the cardio. Doing so will allow you to tap into your fat stores for energy much faster.

kevin7

 

[kevin7]

Some would say that running in the morning on a empty stomcah would burn more fat than running in the afternoon or evening.

There is no medical evidence to support this theory and therefore running would be as good in the morning as in the evening/afternoon.

I do run 4 times a week and I can tell that morning or afternoon makes no difference.

No medical evidence? This isn't entirely true. If you are running in the afternoon and you've eaten recently, your insulin levels will be elevated. High insulin levels = no fat burn

The point of AM cardio on an empty stomach is that your blood sugar and insulin levels will be low and thus increasing your ability to burn fat.

kevin7

 

[Diesel3d]

No medical evidence? This isn't entirely true. If you are running in the afternoon and you've eaten recently, your insulin levels will be elevated. High insulin levels = no fat burn

The point of AM cardio on an empty stomach is that your blood sugar and insulin levels will be low and thus increasing your ability to burn fat.

kevin7

if you are on a no / lo carb diet then insulin levels would be low anyway, so it would not matter... right?

 

[kevin7]

if you are on a no / lo carb diet then insulin levels would be low anyway, so it would not matter... right?

if you are on a "no" carb diet, then I don't think it would matter.
If you are on a "low" carb diet, just try to avoid carbs for about 3 hours before your cardio.

kevin7

 

[TerraNoble]

No medical evidence? This isn't entirely true. If you are running in the afternoon and you've eaten recently, your insulin levels will be elevated. High insulin levels = no fat burn

The point of AM cardio on an empty stomach is that your blood sugar and insulin levels will be low and thus increasing your ability to burn fat.

kevin7

You must be dumb to run after you have just recently eaten;you should wait at least 2 hours after you had a meal. Anyway as I said running on a empty stomach will make no difference in burning more fat.

There is a good link:http://www.oaktrees.org/fitness/emptyStomach.html

 

[Rémy!]

Cardio regarding fat loss (not fitness) is all about caloric expenditure. In the absence of carbs - Cardio helps dip lower into a caloric deficit to loose weight.

For example lets say your eating 1000cal and your (non-cardio) energy expenditure is 1100cal. Your still going to be losing weight regardless because your @ -100cal. But by burning 400cal each cardio session that brings you to 1500cal burned a day. Fat loss it sped up.

As long as your avoiding carbs right before each cardio session it doesn't matter when you do it.