Empty Stomach Cardio

Hey guys, is it better to do AM cardio AFTER drinking a protein shake mixed with water? I use ON 100% Whey and it has a good amount of BCAAs so im guessing this will somewhat hault the possibility of catabolism? Ive been "googling" this issue this morning and it seems eating a protein shake loaded with BCAAs 30-60 minutes before AM cardio is the way to go but I figured id get some opinions from you guys. :thumbsup:

I dont think theres really any probelm with having a protein shake before but just give your body time to digest the protein. The big thing is that you want to perform cardio w/o taking in carbs b/c you will have to burn through the carbs before tapping into your fat stores (which would take on average 30 minutes before you start to burn fat)

I was just reading an interesting article. Agreed that you should have protein to be in an anabolic state, rather than being on a completelly empty stomach.

heh... i knew my research was well worth the effort ive come to notice that da_fonz, jaywooly, and cyphon ALWAYS seem to respond to my posts... much respect fellas :thumbsup:

I don't follow this. If I do enough cardio to burn 500 calories, what difference does it make if itcomes from fat or energy bouncing around my system? What matters is the total amount of calories taken in and burned in a day.

Or to put it another way, If I burn 3,000 calories in a day and take in 3,000 calories, it is a wash. Doesn't matter if I burn 500 of fat from my AM cardio just to add it back later.

I read a reseach summary that suggested that you burn more calories if you do cardio AFTER you lift weights. Now the difference was pretty trivial, but I lift in the early AM and do cardio right after (can't fit in two separate things into my schedule). The nice thing is that I am always charged for the lifting.

I know that this goes against the conventional wisdom, but when I am cutting, I am concerned with calories burned and calories consumed.

Well, i actually do cardio right after lifting as well. I have to thi the gym by 6AM and then have classes and after that work so in order to fit it all in w/o goin crazy I do my speed work immediately after lifting. Which is in essesence the same as doing it first thing in the morning and for me its still first thing in the morning other than I take in a real meal PreWO.

doctorwill said:

What matters is the total amount of calories taken in and burned in a day.
when I am cutting, I am concerned with calories burned and calories consumed.

Click to expand...

Unfortunatley it doesn't exactly work like that or we'd all be ripped & shredded simply by counting calories because that is extremely simple.

The way the body builds muscle or burns fat/muscle is a complex process and it's not black/white, calories in/calories out.

A lot of it has to do with when you eat, the quality of foods you eat, your genetics, when you exercise and a whole host of other things which we can't measure or see.

Excellent point Zylo, there is def importance to nutrient timing, carb cutoffs, certain protein at certain times. Its a science, a very difficult science.