There have been so many theories by so many different researchers about when is the best time to do cardio and at what stage is the best time that fat loss will be optimized. Is it during the day, evening or night-time? When is it? Many researchers have said doing cardio on an empty stomach doesn’t help to speed up fat loss and some researchers have said that it does. Well a recent research study that was published in Muscle and Fitness Hers not long ago compared the effects of meal timing on the amount of fat and carbohydrates burned and the study found that athletes who perform cardio on an empty stomach get a fat burning boost. When you perform cardio in the morning time your metabolism stays elevated for a period of time after the workout is over.
The study performed two groups of people. One group did not eat before performing cardiovascular exercise. The other group ate a pre-workout meal. Researchers found that the group that did not a meal burned more fat during their workout than the group who did eat before exercising. This is one study proves that doing cardio on an empty stomach in the morning gives athletes and those trying to lose weight a significant advantage when it comes to burning fat.
In the early morning, levels of muscle and glycogen are lower because of overnight fasting. Typically this depleted amount of glycogen and lower blood sugar levels are the ideal factors for burning fat. Glycogen if you don’t know is reserved carbohydrates and the body’s primary source of energy and when these levels are low the body moves to the secondary source of energy which is fat. Another study performed at Kansas State University and published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise showed that a kilogram of fat was burned sooner when exercise is done in the fasted state in the morning than when it’s done later in the day.
The researchers measured respiratory gas exchange, caloric expenditure and carbohydrate and fatty acid metabolism, and found that the amount of fat burned during aerobic exercise amounted to 67% of the total energy expenditure in the morning after a 12 hour fast. This is much higher than the 50% expenditure achieved when the same exercise was done later in the day or after eating. So that is a second research study that proves that doing morning cardio on an empty stomach will help to burn more fat. I have also implemented this cardio training on an empty stomach in my own personal workout routine when getting super lean and ripped for photo-shoots and it has worked very well for me personally. I know when I performed this and I was trying to lean down 2 weeks from my competition and I know for a fact that I burned fat very quickly with this method. I’ve also trained many clients that were trying to lose weight and they have implemented this method and it helped them burn fat rapidly. I would honestly use this trick as a last resort for those last stubborn pounds or stubborn fat.
If you would like a personal consultation on a fat-burning cardio plan, contact me anytime!!
Jamie
