T Nation

Supplementing Around Fasted Cardio

Supplements and Nutrition
#1

I currently do about 45 mins of fasted cardio upon waking and I was wondering how it would affect my body’s intake of supplements before and after that time period. Since it’s fasted cardio I would not have ingested any form of food or supplements for the previous 7 hours or so.

I figure that it would help my body’s absorption of vitamins but I just wanted to ask for confirmation. Would taking a multivitamin before or cardio be more beneficial or does it really not matter?

Also would I be better off not supplementing with Flameout until bed time because it would be the only calories I would have ingested in the past 7 hours or so (assuming i get 7 hours of sleep).

All help is appreciated!

#2

I take some BCAAs before morning cardio and afterwards. I also make sure to get a protein shake afterwards as well along with a multi and some fish oils.

#3

Fasted cardio is the biggest bunch of bull out there.

There numerous studies that show that fasted cardio will not result in anymore fat loss and in fact can be detrimental to muscle mass. In fact, eating prior to exercise has been proven to have better results and increases EPOC.

Results of one study on fasted cardio showed that fed subjects consistently experience a greater thermic effect post exercise in both low- and high-intensity ranges. This means that total caloric burn was higher when subjects had eaten prior to exercise.

I have a bunch of studies from Alwyn Cosgrove’s Real World Fat Loss manual that prove this time and time again.

I would highly suggested some protein and carbs prior to your cardio (and other training) to get better results in fat loss.

#4

yeah but will it like help absorption of the vitamins or something, or will my body try to use the fish oil if i ingest it? I dont know, just looking for possible issues that might come up. I dont want any money spent on supplements to be a waste if for some reason i messed it up lol.

#5

have a read of this

with regard to the fish oil/ multivit- the fish oil more likely to be used as energy immediately after the cardio so save it for later in the day. the multi vit will probably have nutrients that require food for better absorption so again have this around a meal for better nutrient uptake.

#6

[quote]ItWasntMe wrote:
I currently do about 45 mins of fasted cardio upon waking and I was wondering how it would affect my body’s intake of supplements before and after that time period. Since it’s fasted cardio I would not have ingested any form of food or supplements for the previous 7 hours or so.

I figure that it would help my body’s absorption of vitamins but I just wanted to ask for confirmation, would taking a multivitamin before or cardio be more beneficial or does it really not matter? Also would I be better off not supplementing with Flameout until bed time because it would be the only calories I would have ingested in the past 7 hours or so (assuming i get 7 hours of sleep).

All help is appreciated![/quote]

Take Flameout and a vitamin with a meal. It doesnt matter which meal that is.

Why on earth are you doing fasted cardio�? I`ll have to look for it if you want to see it, but I found a study comparing two groups of people…one doing fasted cardio, the other having some food in them prior to cardio and the group with food in their system lost more fat than the fasted one.

#7

I do it 1-2x a week. I take 10-15 grams of zero carb whey isolate before. Immediately afterwards, I take 10-15 more grams of whey along with the rest of my breakfast (1 cup of skim milk, 80 grams of oats, piece of fruit). Take the multi later on because calcium from milk/whey inteferes with the zinc and magnesium absorbtion. Have the fish oil a little after meal.

#8

Nate and Jd: I don’t remember where I found the link to this article but it was in one of the threads I happened to be reading

If the information in that article turns out to be wrong then oh well. The best time for me to get my cardio in is right after I wake up, I could always just eat breakfast before it though.

#9

[quote]ItWasntMe wrote:
Nate and Jd: I don’t remember where I found the link to this article but it was in one of the threads I happened to be reading

If the information in that article turns out to be wrong then oh well. The best time for me to get my cardio in is right after I wake up, I could always just eat breakfast before it though.[/quote]

While I think that article is well written and yes, doing cardio in the morning will burn fat, it’s just that morning cardio is too catabolic. Do cardio without fuel in your system and you will burn muscle up.

Dont believe? Watch how much muscle you loose doing cardio consistently in the morning.

#10

[quote]ItWasntMe wrote:
Nate and Jd: I don’t remember where I found the link to this article but it was in one of the threads I happened to be reading

If the information in that article turns out to be wrong then oh well. The best time for me to get my cardio in is right after I wake up, I could always just eat breakfast before it though.[/quote]

If you truly sit down and calculate the program, you’re going to lose about 8lbs of fat. That is hardly enough to make you “ripped.” Based on the program duration, it comes out to a very small amount of fat lost by doing these workouts. In fact, you could burn more with diet alone or by using other training methods.

It’s flawed in its approach and studies have shown that higher intensity workouts (HIIT) trump any of this low-intensity stuff that is supposed to make you “ripped” in no time.

Higher intensity workouts increase metabolism and EPOC much more than the “ripped-ville” suggestions will ever do. Again, I have study after study showing the same results over and over again.

Keep intensity high, and eat something prior if fat loss or getting ripped is your goal.

#11

Just echoing here, I’ve always read that fasted cardio technically sounds logical, but doesn’t work how it sounds.

#12

Back about 10 years ago, the greatest self improvement I ever made, included a fasted Circuit of 10 exercises with dumbells, and 20 minutes on a ski machine. That was one of the tools I used to make good progress.

Now immediately before fasted bicycle in the AM, I take Alpha Male. It seems to be working for me.

#13

The truth is that fasted cardio does work better for some people. Most people though will not see a benefit over just doing cardio at some other time of the day.

#14

Here is a thought you can down a protein shake and your vitamins and fat burner before your cardio, then afterwards eat breakfast.

That is how i do it when i get ready for bodybuilding shows and i never notice muscle loss. The amino acids in the protein will prevent you from being catabolic, and the cardio will burn body fat. This is just my opinion and i know it works for me.

I also down l-carnetine with my morning pre cardio shake

I also dont think that you will be wasting your supplements by taking them without food.

#15

[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
Fasted cardio is the biggest bunch of bull out there.

There numerous studies that show that fasted cardio will not result in anymore fat loss and in fact can be detrimental to muscle mass. In fact, eating prior to exercise has been proven to have better results and increases EPOC.

Results of one study on fasted cardio showed that fed subjects consistently experience a greater thermic effect post exercise in both low- and high-intensity ranges. This means that total caloric burn was higher when subjects had eaten prior to exercise.

I have a bunch of studies from Alwyn Cosgrove’s Real World Fat Loss manual that prove this time and time again.

I would highly suggested some protein and carbs prior to your cardio (and other training) to get better results in fat loss.[/quote]

I respect the science, but eating anything more than some java or a Spike before morning cardio is jogging-man-blowing-chunks waiting to happen. I just don’t have the stomach for it.

Now, after morning cardio, bring on the feast. I’m normally not a big breakfast person(I like to shake it and trick myself into the calories)but after cardio, my normal ravenous appetite is wide awake, even at 7am.

If you can stomach it, eat something before cardio, if not, do what you can and don’t worry about the specifics. Actually DOING the cardio is far more significant than if you eat before or after it.

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#16

Taking the Thibs approach - Splitting my cardio equally between fasted state in the morning and post-workout has netted me great fat loss gains. For my morning session, I just take 5g of BCAAs and hit the treadmill.

#17

I have used fasted AM cardio with great results and gained lean mass in the process. I love how people cite studies that say it’s completely flawed, yet there are tons of people who have and continue to have success with it.

I take BCAAs now prior to fasted AM cardio, but my first few leaning cycles on it were very successful with just coffee, thermos, and 1000mg acetyl l-carnitine about 30 mins before my session.

I’d ride a stationary cycle anywhere from 30-45 mins at about 65% of my max HR.

Post fasted AM cardio meals consisted of protein (eggs/egg whites, extra lean turkey bacon, and sometimes low/non-fat cottage cheese) and fat (usually flaxseed oil).

I cut all carbs during the day other than my post lifting shake (low carb & fat whey with dextrose) and then followed that meal up 1.5 hrs later with real food (skinless chicken, fish, or extra lean beef with rice or pasta and greens). The rest of the day consisted of protein and fat.

1 Like
#18

[quote]sumgai wrote:
I have used fasted AM cardio with great results and gained lean mass in the process. I love how people cite studies that say it’s completely flawed, yet there are tons of people who have and continue to have success with it.

I take BCAAs now prior to fasted AM cardio, but my first few leaning cycles on it were very successful with just coffee, thermos, and 1000mg acetyl l-carnitine about 30 mins before my session.

I’d ride a stationary cycle anywhere from 30-45 mins at about 65% of my max HR.

Post fasted AM cardio meals consisted of protein (eggs/egg whites, extra lean turkey bacon, and sometimes low/non-fat cottage cheese) and fat (usually flaxseed oil).

I cut all carbs during the day other than my post lifting shake (low carb & fat whey with dextrose) and then followed that meal up 1.5 hrs later with real food (skinless chicken, fish, or extra lean beef with rice or pasta and greens). The rest of the day consisted of protein and fat.[/quote]

I dont think anyone said fasted cardio wouldnt work.

#19

right now I:

5:20 - wake up roll out of bed and pop a multivitamin

5:30 - start walking on the treadmill at 4mph listening to my iPod

6:25 - hop off the treadmill and go to take a shower

6:50 - start preparing breakfast (3 egg omlette + 50g swiss cheese)

7:10ish - eat breakfast

7:30 - out the door

Right now I do have a bunch of Metabolic Drive that I ordered but only use when I’m in a rush in the morning (like this morning for example woke up at 7:15, took a shower, downed 2 scoops Metabolic Drive and out the door at 7:30) but I can start drinking 2 scoops of it before AM cardio if it will help.

Right now I have lost approx. 13lbs of what seems to be mostly fat but I’m not sure (been doing the AM cardio for a while). My bf% was around 20-25% and I want to get it down quickly without losing size, I’m probably at about 15% give or take a couple %. I can’t tell if I’ve lost much muscle mass vs. fat mass but I know I have lost a considerable amount of fat mass.

I started at 223 and now I’m probably sitting at around 210 (not too sure I’ll check tmr). It has been working for me well so far but then again anyone doing 55 mins cardio 5x/week will see results.

#20

“Fasted” should never mean protein fasted, especially when in a Calorie-reduced state.

I’d use the Metabolic Drive and some caffeine pre-cardio. You’ll notice a world of difference.