The best time for you to do your cardio exercise is when you feel it is the best time to do it, and stick to that time. There is no set time where you make the best gains to do cardio. It ranges for everyone.
Cardio In The Morning On An Empty Stomach?
First of all NO! Cardio in the morning is probably the most stupid idea I have ever heard. This isnt just my opinion but the most knowledgeable trainers and exercise experts agree that cardio in the morning on an empty stomach is not good for you body.
Well, you might ask, what if I want to burn fat? I have low glycogen stores in the morning and my energy levels are low because I dont have carbohydrates, so then I will tap into my fat stores right? This is TOTALLY wrong. The complete opposite happens.
Let me enlighten you. Fat burn doesnt occur during cardio exercise, but about two hours after. Instead your body will look at your tasty muscles for energy meaning. Bye bye muscles. This is a bodybuilders worst nightmare.
So unless your goal is to become scrawny and lose muscle then by all means do cardio in the morning. Its also common sense not to do it on an empty stomach.
You wont have a satisfactory amount of energy meaning decreases performance which = crappier results. And if you think about it, your body has just fasted for eight hours and it needs something to eat to refuel itself.
Not feeding your body and doing exercise is like going into war without any ammunition.
Dont Get Me Wrong
Yes, dont get me wrong, it isnt that doing cardio in the morning is bad, but doing it on an empty stomach is bad unless you want to lose muscle instead of fat.
So when you wake up at 5:00 A.M at least have something light to eat and wait at least 30-45 minutes before performing your cardio. Like I said earlier if youre a morning person and you feel best in the morning then keep doing it in the morning, just make sure you dont do it on an empty stomach.
Cardio Workout Right Before Weightlifting?
Again this is also a HUGE NO! Not unless you dont want good results from pumping iron, then I guess you're wasting your time in the gym if you go all out and perform cardio before your workouts.
But for a lot of people, especially women, they dont want to gain serious mass, so then if your weight workout is relatively low intensity and doesnt leave you feeling like you just got hit by a car, then by all means you can do cardio before your workout.
But for most of the guys, they want some serious mass, and let me tell you that the last few reps (Say the last 3-2 reps) where you struggle and sweat is where you stimulate your muscles to grow. But when you run before working out, an intense cardio workout totally or almost depletes your glycogen stores.
When weightlifting, you dont use as much of your glycogen stores, but you still need quite a bit (This might come as a surprise to some people but its true).
So if you have no glycogen stores which is your muscles source of energy and your pushing yourself to max, the energy wont be there to push those last few grueling reps meaning a way less effective workout.
Another reason why this is such a big NO is because during a hard cardio session, protein synthesis drops low and protein breakdown goes up. During a weight lifting session, protein synthesis either goes up a little or stays the same while protein breakdown goes up.
After your cardio session while protein synthesis drops (Meaning your bodys ability to build muscle), and you hit the weights, the result will be that your bodies ability to build muscle will be impaired because of your cardio training depending on how intense your cardio was.
So basically you dont want your bodys ability to build/repair muscle (Protein synthesis) to be impaired right after a weight workout.
Again, Dont Get Me Wrong
Yes, dont get me wrong again, what I just explained above is doing cardio right before your workout or even an hour before your workout. But it is all right if you do your cardio exercise then your weightlifting program after if you give yourself an adequate amount of time to recover and replenish your glycogen stores.
But in between you must have the proper nutrition to stop protein breakdown and increase muscle synthesis before you hit the weights. Plus you have to replenish your muscles glycogen stores.
Still though, your performance in the weight room may suffer even though you have given yourself enough rest and nutrition, so it is best if you do your weight lifting before anything else to make sure that you lift to your full potential.
Also if you do an intense cardio session and eat hamburgers and fries then 6 hours later do your cardio session, it just wont cut it. Another thing is if your cardio workout is relatively short and low/very low intensity then its all right to hit the weights right after.
Cardio Right After Weights?
Doing cardio right after weights is way better than doing it before weights. The reason being is that weight lifting doesnt deplete your glycogen stores as bad as it does in cardio workouts depending on how intense you go.
So you still will have some of your glycogen stores left meaning that you can still get an alright cardio session. But for a more effective cardio session right after a workout, I recommend waiting at least 2 hours even more (If you have the time to do this) before doing your cardio.
In between this time it is important you replenish your glycogen stores quickly, and stop protein breakdown as fast as possible. But if you dont have the time it is still alright to do it right after weights. Just be prepared to have a less effective cardio session.
For Best Results..
For best results in your cardio training, try to do schedule your sessions separate from your weightlifting program. So if you lift weights 4 times a week, then do running on the other three days that youre not lifting weights.
Just remember try to schedule your cardio session as far away as possible from your leg lifting schedule, because running on super sore tired legs basically sucks. Doing cardio on separate days than weight lifting ensures that you have the proper energy to perform your best in either your cardio or lifting session.
If you cannot then do your cardio after your workouts at least. You also have to do cardio after weights if you have 4-5 cardio sessions and are a serious weight lifter.
Remember you get the best gains when you have the most energy. Yea, if you did an all out run for 45 minutes do you think you could have a good leg workout?
Doing Cardio And Gaining Serious Mass? Is It Possible?
Yes it is possible, it can be done. A bodybuilder would cry at the idea of losing precious hard gained muscle. This is also one of those topics that also depends on your goals.
If a bodybuilder wants to gain serious mass and still maintain a balance in his cardiovascular system then it is totally possible to do it without losing muscle.
But if someone wants to gain serious mass and wants to be a professional marathon runner, then my answer is no since heavy training in the field of endurance, marathon running, and long distance running causes major muscle loss over time.
Just look at all the marathon athletes, they are scrawny not muscular. If you want to be well rounded (Meaning quite cardiovascular fit while still having decent muscle and strength), then your cardio program might cause slight/very slight muscle loss depending on how long, intense and how many times a week you do it.
But, your weight lifting program will cause you to gain more mass than is lost and you WILL get stronger. So there are basically two categories for this topic. Guys who want huge mass and dont want to lose it and guys who want some mass and strength but also want to be cardiovascular fit.
So for the guys who want to get big without losing muscle and just want to do enough cardio to stay balanced, well doing cardio three days a week for 30-45 minutes at 60-75% of your max heart rate is enough that you will maintain and get benefits for your cardio system and you also will NOT lose muscle.
So theres the good news for all the bodybuilders who get the crap scared out of them by cardio. Now for the people who want to be well rounded.
If you want to be pretty decently fit in the cardiovascular system and still be strong and have mass, then do cardio about 4-5 times a week from anywhere to 45-60 minutes at 60-85% of your max.
Remember the higher the intensity (heart rate), times exercised a week and length of exercise determines how much muscle you will lose. So if you run everyday for two hours then you lose lots of muscle over time.
For those of you who are still scared, I run 6 times a week for 1 hour and 15 minutes and I still made strength gains in the gym.
Cardio In The Morning On An Empty Stomach?
First of all NO! Cardio in the morning is probably the most stupid idea I have ever heard. This isnt just my opinion but the most knowledgeable trainers and exercise experts agree that cardio in the morning on an empty stomach is not good for you body.
Well, you might ask, what if I want to burn fat? I have low glycogen stores in the morning and my energy levels are low because I dont have carbohydrates, so then I will tap into my fat stores right? This is TOTALLY wrong. The complete opposite happens.
Let me enlighten you. Fat burn doesnt occur during cardio exercise, but about two hours after. Instead your body will look at your tasty muscles for energy meaning. Bye bye muscles. This is a bodybuilders worst nightmare.
So unless your goal is to become scrawny and lose muscle then by all means do cardio in the morning. Its also common sense not to do it on an empty stomach.
You wont have a satisfactory amount of energy meaning decreases performance which = crappier results. And if you think about it, your body has just fasted for eight hours and it needs something to eat to refuel itself.
Not feeding your body and doing exercise is like going into war without any ammunition.
Dont Get Me Wrong
Yes, dont get me wrong, it isnt that doing cardio in the morning is bad, but doing it on an empty stomach is bad unless you want to lose muscle instead of fat.
So when you wake up at 5:00 A.M at least have something light to eat and wait at least 30-45 minutes before performing your cardio. Like I said earlier if youre a morning person and you feel best in the morning then keep doing it in the morning, just make sure you dont do it on an empty stomach.
Cardio Workout Right Before Weightlifting?
Again this is also a HUGE NO! Not unless you dont want good results from pumping iron, then I guess you're wasting your time in the gym if you go all out and perform cardio before your workouts.
But for a lot of people, especially women, they dont want to gain serious mass, so then if your weight workout is relatively low intensity and doesnt leave you feeling like you just got hit by a car, then by all means you can do cardio before your workout.
But for most of the guys, they want some serious mass, and let me tell you that the last few reps (Say the last 3-2 reps) where you struggle and sweat is where you stimulate your muscles to grow. But when you run before working out, an intense cardio workout totally or almost depletes your glycogen stores.
When weightlifting, you dont use as much of your glycogen stores, but you still need quite a bit (This might come as a surprise to some people but its true).
So if you have no glycogen stores which is your muscles source of energy and your pushing yourself to max, the energy wont be there to push those last few grueling reps meaning a way less effective workout.
Another reason why this is such a big NO is because during a hard cardio session, protein synthesis drops low and protein breakdown goes up. During a weight lifting session, protein synthesis either goes up a little or stays the same while protein breakdown goes up.
After your cardio session while protein synthesis drops (Meaning your bodys ability to build muscle), and you hit the weights, the result will be that your bodies ability to build muscle will be impaired because of your cardio training depending on how intense your cardio was.
So Let's Make Up A Situation:
Billy goes and does his intense cardio workout. After that his protein synthesis drops and muscle breakdown goes high.
He goes weightlifting and instead of his protein synthesis being normal or slightly elevated, it is very low because of his cardio session. Plus his muscles are in a state of breakdown.
So basically you dont want your bodys ability to build/repair muscle (Protein synthesis) to be impaired right after a weight workout.
Again, Dont Get Me Wrong
Yes, dont get me wrong again, what I just explained above is doing cardio right before your workout or even an hour before your workout. But it is all right if you do your cardio exercise then your weightlifting program after if you give yourself an adequate amount of time to recover and replenish your glycogen stores.
But in between you must have the proper nutrition to stop protein breakdown and increase muscle synthesis before you hit the weights. Plus you have to replenish your muscles glycogen stores.
Still though, your performance in the weight room may suffer even though you have given yourself enough rest and nutrition, so it is best if you do your weight lifting before anything else to make sure that you lift to your full potential.
Also if you do an intense cardio session and eat hamburgers and fries then 6 hours later do your cardio session, it just wont cut it. Another thing is if your cardio workout is relatively short and low/very low intensity then its all right to hit the weights right after.
Cardio Right After Weights?
Doing cardio right after weights is way better than doing it before weights. The reason being is that weight lifting doesnt deplete your glycogen stores as bad as it does in cardio workouts depending on how intense you go.
So you still will have some of your glycogen stores left meaning that you can still get an alright cardio session. But for a more effective cardio session right after a workout, I recommend waiting at least 2 hours even more (If you have the time to do this) before doing your cardio.
In between this time it is important you replenish your glycogen stores quickly, and stop protein breakdown as fast as possible. But if you dont have the time it is still alright to do it right after weights. Just be prepared to have a less effective cardio session.
For Best Results..
For best results in your cardio training, try to do schedule your sessions separate from your weightlifting program. So if you lift weights 4 times a week, then do running on the other three days that youre not lifting weights.
Just remember try to schedule your cardio session as far away as possible from your leg lifting schedule, because running on super sore tired legs basically sucks. Doing cardio on separate days than weight lifting ensures that you have the proper energy to perform your best in either your cardio or lifting session.
If you cannot then do your cardio after your workouts at least. You also have to do cardio after weights if you have 4-5 cardio sessions and are a serious weight lifter.
Remember you get the best gains when you have the most energy. Yea, if you did an all out run for 45 minutes do you think you could have a good leg workout?
Doing Cardio And Gaining Serious Mass? Is It Possible?
Yes it is possible, it can be done. A bodybuilder would cry at the idea of losing precious hard gained muscle. This is also one of those topics that also depends on your goals.
If a bodybuilder wants to gain serious mass and still maintain a balance in his cardiovascular system then it is totally possible to do it without losing muscle.
But if someone wants to gain serious mass and wants to be a professional marathon runner, then my answer is no since heavy training in the field of endurance, marathon running, and long distance running causes major muscle loss over time.
Just look at all the marathon athletes, they are scrawny not muscular. If you want to be well rounded (Meaning quite cardiovascular fit while still having decent muscle and strength), then your cardio program might cause slight/very slight muscle loss depending on how long, intense and how many times a week you do it.
But, your weight lifting program will cause you to gain more mass than is lost and you WILL get stronger. So there are basically two categories for this topic. Guys who want huge mass and dont want to lose it and guys who want some mass and strength but also want to be cardiovascular fit.
So for the guys who want to get big without losing muscle and just want to do enough cardio to stay balanced, well doing cardio three days a week for 30-45 minutes at 60-75% of your max heart rate is enough that you will maintain and get benefits for your cardio system and you also will NOT lose muscle.
So theres the good news for all the bodybuilders who get the crap scared out of them by cardio. Now for the people who want to be well rounded.
If you want to be pretty decently fit in the cardiovascular system and still be strong and have mass, then do cardio about 4-5 times a week from anywhere to 45-60 minutes at 60-85% of your max.
Remember the higher the intensity (heart rate), times exercised a week and length of exercise determines how much muscle you will lose. So if you run everyday for two hours then you lose lots of muscle over time.
For those of you who are still scared, I run 6 times a week for 1 hour and 15 minutes and I still made strength gains in the gym.
source: bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek34.htm
