G'day,

My gym is ram packed in the evenings it really sucks. Previous to this I was doing 2 cardio and 4 weight training days early AM and I thought I would up the morning cardio to 5 times per week and train in the evenings.

The problem is I simply can't weight train in the evenings! I had to wait 10 mins to use a goddamn bench tonight! Perhaps it will slow down toward the end of the week, I'll have to see when i go for the cardio sessions.

For the days I do evening cardio instead, will it make THAT much difference? Should I not eat 3-4 hours before I do it?

What would be my post slow and low evening cardio nutrition? Protien and fat shake @ 8 followed by low GI carbs and protein (like some chicken and veggies) @ about 9:30? nix the carbs altogether? what the hell would I eat for dinner?

Any help appreciated.

Cheers
Mark

Hey bro, I'm sure people will toss out all sorts of suggestions, so I'll go right ahead and say to try a variety of approaches, but stick with what works. For me personally, I've found the three most effective cardio times to be:
1) a.m. on an empty stomach
2) right after lifting
3) at least two, but no more than three hours after a non-workout meal.

I always consume within about 30 min. of finishing cardio, as that seems to be the biggest "window" for a little extra fat burn. People on this forum have a ton of different theories about what exactly to eat. I personally eat about a 60%/40% carb to protein ratio through the day, but I flip the values for my pre-bedtime meal. That works great for me, but like I said, you'll just have to keep track of it yourself and figure it out. Good luck.

-Shafe

Can you go later in the evening? At my gym it's PACKED from about 5:30pm until around 8:30-9. If I don't get there around 3pm then I wait until about 9:30 and it's not too bad.

I am not a morning person and while I understand all the theories behind morning exercise I'm just not going to do an intense session at 5am. Call me undiciplined if you want, but that's just how it is. :)

Anyway, if you're like me and you really prefer to work out later in the day, then changing gyms may not be a bad idea either.

If you honestly can't get your workout in at night, your best bet is to workout earlier in the day, and perform cardio after lifting when glycogen stores are depleted. Make sure you ingest some protein for recovery prior to lifting.

Stay in the 65% MHR zone, and burn.

For the days I do evening cardio instead, will it make THAT much difference? Should I not eat 3-4 hours before I do it?


Yes, it will make that much of a difference. Fasted state cardio in the AM will increase fat burning as much as 300%. In the morning your glycogen stores are at their lowest levels throughout the day, when your body does not have glucose to burn, it moves on to fat, provided you do not break the threshold of 65% MHR. Once you pass that point, you will begin to partially catabolize muscle.

Think about it, that's 3 evening cardio sessions to 1 morning session. To me, that's a huge difference.

If you honestly can't get your workout in at night, your best bet is to workout earlier in the day, and perform cardio after lifting when glycogen stores are depleted. Make sure you ingest some protein for recovery prior to lifting.

Stay in the 65% MHR zone, and burn.



Yes, it will make that much of a difference. Fasted state cardio in the AM will increase fat burning as much as 300%. In the morning your glycogen stores are at their lowest levels throughout the day, when your body does not have glucose to burn, it moves on to fat, provided you do not break the threshold of 65% MHR. Once you pass that point, you will begin to partially catabolize muscle.

Think about it, that's 3 evening cardio sessions to 1 morning session. To me, that's a huge difference.

Hey whatsup, Function...Quick question, man...I thought that when doing morning cardio on an empty stomach, the threshold "range" is anywhere from 65-75% MHR. I usually stay at around 70-75%, and according to the "range", I'm good. Am I doing it right, according to you?

Hey whatsup, Function...Quick question, man...I thought that when doing morning cardio on an empty stomach, the threshold "range" is anywhere from 65-75% MHR. I usually stay at around 70-75%, and according to the "range", I'm good. Am I doing it right, according to you?

Hey dude, yeah, 65-75% would be correct, sorry I didn't make that more accurate.

300%?!?!?!?! do you have any links or any more info on it?

ok, morning cardio it is, i'll have to do my workout late at night or something.

thanks

Can you support that 300% figure ??
Widers