I am sure a majority of us who have spoken with any fitness person have heard the term "Fasted Cardio". If not, your question may be what is this?
Fasted Cardio is simply performing cardio early in the morning upon waking on an empty stomach.
Before I get into this a little further I am putting out a disclaimer that most of this will be based on my personal experience since there is no concrete data that can give a true conclusion.
Lets first look at the science aspect of the body.
When you wake up in the morning your body has gone through the repair and re-build process during your REM sleep. Since this is the case we know two things, we haven't eaten in awhile and sleep (resting) has used up a vast majority of your glycogen stores, to repair itself.
Knowing both those aspects we need to bring in another aspect, blood glucose. Blood glucose is at the lowest first thing in the morning which means your insulin is low. Fat oxidation happens faster when insulin is low. Hence the conversation that fasted cardio will burn more fat.
Pretty cut and dry right?
Actually no, lets look at like this. Your body rebuilds during sleep and as it is doing this it takes aminos acids and turns them into glucose, which means when you decided to do your cardio first thing, your body will burn fat mostly but will also tap into your muscles since it is searching for aminos to support your muscles from breaking down as they work. This obviously isn't good if you are trying to build muscle.
What are some other factors?
Another key factor is lean muscle mass. Since the body adapts to our routines it has been said that people with more lean muscle can oxidate fat quicker with much better results then with someone who is untrained or just beginning their journey.
Conclusion, is Fasted Cardio worth it?
In my opinion and with some minimal research over the years fasted cardio will be beneficial in the long run, why, because it gets your body going and in a state of total depletion. But this will only work as long as you drink a good fast absorbing protein shake and replenish your BCAAs immediately following the workout. You can also think about taking in some BCAAs prior to your session to make sure you are supporting that hard muscle that you have earned.
Also, and this is my opinion, HIIT fasted cardio is much more beneficial since it is usually performed in a shorter time frame ( I typically do 20-30 min) and your body will continually burn throughout the day. Compared to low intensity which usually needs to be done for a minimum of 45 minutes to 1 hour without feeling the same burning effect throughout the day.
In addition, I always found that as I started to get into the single digits of body fat percentage morning fasted HIIT cardio always found a way to attack my trouble areas almost as if they were being targeted.
I hope this sheds some light on the subject!
If you have any questions or comments please reach out to me!
Fasted Cardio is simply performing cardio early in the morning upon waking on an empty stomach.
Before I get into this a little further I am putting out a disclaimer that most of this will be based on my personal experience since there is no concrete data that can give a true conclusion.
Lets first look at the science aspect of the body.
When you wake up in the morning your body has gone through the repair and re-build process during your REM sleep. Since this is the case we know two things, we haven't eaten in awhile and sleep (resting) has used up a vast majority of your glycogen stores, to repair itself.
Knowing both those aspects we need to bring in another aspect, blood glucose. Blood glucose is at the lowest first thing in the morning which means your insulin is low. Fat oxidation happens faster when insulin is low. Hence the conversation that fasted cardio will burn more fat.
Pretty cut and dry right?
Actually no, lets look at like this. Your body rebuilds during sleep and as it is doing this it takes aminos acids and turns them into glucose, which means when you decided to do your cardio first thing, your body will burn fat mostly but will also tap into your muscles since it is searching for aminos to support your muscles from breaking down as they work. This obviously isn't good if you are trying to build muscle.
What are some other factors?
Another key factor is lean muscle mass. Since the body adapts to our routines it has been said that people with more lean muscle can oxidate fat quicker with much better results then with someone who is untrained or just beginning their journey.
Conclusion, is Fasted Cardio worth it?
In my opinion and with some minimal research over the years fasted cardio will be beneficial in the long run, why, because it gets your body going and in a state of total depletion. But this will only work as long as you drink a good fast absorbing protein shake and replenish your BCAAs immediately following the workout. You can also think about taking in some BCAAs prior to your session to make sure you are supporting that hard muscle that you have earned.
Also, and this is my opinion, HIIT fasted cardio is much more beneficial since it is usually performed in a shorter time frame ( I typically do 20-30 min) and your body will continually burn throughout the day. Compared to low intensity which usually needs to be done for a minimum of 45 minutes to 1 hour without feeling the same burning effect throughout the day.
In addition, I always found that as I started to get into the single digits of body fat percentage morning fasted HIIT cardio always found a way to attack my trouble areas almost as if they were being targeted.
I hope this sheds some light on the subject!
If you have any questions or comments please reach out to me!
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