Should I take anything before my morning cardio (BCAAs etc)? I’m finding conflicting information - some people say you should take nothing at all, others say a little bit of protein, some even say carbs.
One other question. Right now I’m taking 3g BCAAs before and after workouts, if I have a steady state cardio session somewhere in the week not around training, should I take BCAAs before and after?
Actually one more. If I do PWO cardio currently I am going straight from weights to cardio without anything, should I be taking anything here also?
Personally I like to do cardio fasted. But that’s not for any scientific reason, mainly just because I do it in the morning and I don’t have time to eat a meal and wait for it to digest a while so I can do cardio and then get to work on time. Therefore, it’s easier for me to just hit the cardio and then eat afterwards.
With that said, I don’t do long bouts of steady state cardio. The only cardio I do is speed training (ie: land sprints, or swim sprints). On the rare occasion that I train with weights in the morning (fasted) then I take BCAA before and after.
During fat-loss, I do steady-state cardio first thing in the morning. I don’t eat anything prior because it just feels better without any food in me, especially when doing low-intensity, plus I’ll take a thermogenic… I feel the effects of the thermo better on an empty stomach.
When I’m not in a fat-loss phase (like right now), I just do a few high-intensity cardio and GPP sessions on days I don’t lift in order to stay in shape and stay fairly lean. I like to perform those with a good amount of energy, so mid-day when I’ve had a couple meals in me. Depending on how I feel energy-wise, I’ll follow the same plan as I do prior to a lifting session… so I may have a small meal of protein and complex carbs a little before.
[quote]babaganoosh wrote:
Should I take anything before my morning cardio (BCAAs etc)? I’m finding conflicting information - some people say you should take nothing at all, others say a little bit of protein, some even say carbs.[/quote]
It all depends on why you’re doing cardio work. If you’re trying to improve performance, it makes sense to consume carbs prior. If the goal is fat loss, protein and possibly a little fat makes more sense.
[quote]babaganoosh wrote:
One other question. Right now I’m taking 3g BCAAs before and after workouts, if I have a steady state cardio session somewhere in the week not around training, should I take BCAAs before and after?[/quote]
It won’t hurt to consume BCAA prior to and after steady-state exercise, but a fast acting protein like MAG-10 would be a better choice.
[quote]babaganoosh wrote:
Actually one more. If I do PWO cardio currently I am going straight from weights to cardio without anything, should I be taking anything here also?[/quote]
Again, it depends, this time on what you’re doing, and how long you’re doing it, for weight training and cardio.
@Mod Brian: It’s for fat loss. I am trying to keep weight sessions under an hour these days as I feel it works better, and I’m currently doing 30 minutes of steady-state cardio PWO
I will try looking into a Biotest source for the UK again (could you recommend one?), but last time I looked - albeit some time ago - it was outrageously expensive.
I usually sip on BCAAs + citrulline malate + beta alanine, and sometimes I take some caffeine and ALCAR along with it. If I am in a fat loss stage, then I will take a thermogenic.
The most important thing is water. Whey or BCAAs are sensible, but I don’t usually bother. I don’t think a bit of fasted cardio is going to strip your muscle away if your diet is fine.