Fasted Cardio? Is it for YOU?

Fasted cardio means doing aerobics on an empty stomach. Generally you do fasted cardio in the morning prior to having breakfast or any food. Why? Your body readily uses your fat storages as a source of energy because there are low levels of stored carbohydrates  (glycogen) for your body to use. 

PROS CONS
-Burns up to 20% more fat than if you had eaten -You’ll feel like you have “no energy”fact: body has enough energy and fat in its muscles to burn
-if HR is too high you’ll burn carbs and fat -habit needs to be learned
-low energy exertion maximizes fat burn – readily accessible source of energy -60 min or less (tap into liver storage at 60-90  min cap)`
-increases your metabolic burn (overall kcal your body burns through out the day) -doesnt give faster results
-body better absorbs proteins -harder for low carb dieters (liver already has less energy ready to be used, less fully recovered from previous work out)
-directs proteins to go to site of needed recovery -hit “the wall “sooner – hence 60 min cap
-creates more space for energy to be consumed (less fat gets stored in the body) -more hungry after the work out than if you had food in your belly
-jump starts your day ; physically and mentally -mental habit that needs to be created
– creates opportunity for. Double day. -get up earlier than normal
-still might be cooling down by time you reach work (esp for people who easily  sweat or sweat a lot)
– takes night before preparation (gym clothes out, work clothes out)

Source: Kristin Speaker, Ph.D research and weight loss coach in Aurora, Co.

 

Now that you have looked over the pros and cons of fasted cardio, you get to decide if its something for YOU!

What’s trending now?

Cardio. before or after strength training?

Did the chicken or the egg come first? This question is as relative as asking if I should do cardio before or afterweights.

First and foremost, warming up is not considered as part of your cardio time. Warming up is to increase your blood flow and get your muscles prepared to exert energy without being injured.

Alot of the time cardio before or after lifting can be based off a preference. From a physiological standpoint you should do cardio after your work out if you want to burn more calories. Your body will burn more kilocalories per minute (up to 12 kcal more) if cardio is executed afterwards because of the elevated hear rate . If your goal is to burn as many kilocalories as possible then do your cardio after you lift weights.   In addition you want to do weights after because cardio will take energy away from your muscles that will need to produce energy for lifting. If you are looking to build muscle mass and gain overall strength d your cardio after. Weights slightly increase the use of fat as fuel because the body’s carb storage is depleted first with strength training.  If you’re unmotivated to do cardio after weights but need to do cardio, then do your cardio before. The following chart explains in what scenarios you would want to do cardio before or after weights.

Cardio 1st Your preference Weights first
Training for endurance performance Upper body work out Leaning out
Developing cardio endurance Which will make you feel better leaving the gym Losing weight
Want to simply get moving Which will make you fell more motivated Lower body strength work
Feeling stiff

As you see it is about what your overall goal is and more importantly based off preference . Myself, I like to do cardio afterwards because it helps with my muscle recovery especially after lifting heavy. For my clients, I ask the ydo their 20-25 minutes of cardio after we train because other elevated calorie burn. For people who cannot commit to doing their cardio after lift but can do it beforehand, then do it then. Just make sure you get it in!