Ultimate Fitness Gym

Re: When’s The Best Time For Cardio?

Posted July 26th, 2010 by: Jesse Amarelo

Morning, afternoon, or night? Before or after strength training? Should I eat before or after? Those are the million dollar questions. The funny thing about it is if you were to ask 10 different people you would probably get 10 different answers. Well I’m going to shed some light on the topic and give you the facts, and the science behind the facts. And hopefully when you’re done reading this article you’ll know when’s the best time for YOU to do YOUR cardio.

Ok, let’s start first with the best time of day. That’s an easy one. If at all possible you should do your cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Why? Because after a night of fasting, unless you’re waking up during the night and raiding the fridge, your blood glucose levels will be very low. And this is a good thing because of the fact that your body will now be able to tap into it’s fat stores much sooner during a cardio workout. Plus, if you’re doing an interval workout like the one I recommended in my last post, your metabolism will be revved up throughout the whole day. Once done with your workout try to hold off for 45-60 minutes before eating. This really maximizes the fat-loss from your workout.

What if you’re not a morning person? No problem. I know chances are you don’t like getting up at the crack of dawn to do cardio or you simply don’t have the time to workout in the morning. I personally never liked working out first thing in the morning. Here’s the solution.  You can do your cardio in the afternoon or at night just stick with the same principles. You want to do your cardio on an empty stomach so try to time it about 3-4 hours after your last meal. This way your body has digested whatever meal you ate and your blood glucose levels will be low to stable. And again, once you’re done,  try to give yourself a good hour or so before you eat.

Is it best to do cardio before or after a strength workout? The answer is undoubtedly after. Think of your body as having multiple energy tanks. Tank 1 is carbs/glycogen and Tank 2 fat. When you strength train your body will use carbs, or glycogen, first for energy. The rationale is after a high-intensity 30-45 minute strength workout your body’s glycogen levels will basically be depleted. So this means that when you start your cardio session your body will start burning it’s fat stores for energy since it’s first energy tank, glycogen, is on empty. Not to mention if you were to do your cardio before your strength training you would probably be really weak and you wouldn’t have that good of a strength workout. To attack the weights and have a good strength workout you need to be fresh! Save your cardio for after.

So that’s the deal. Those are the facts. Try to follow them the best you can but please keep this in mind. In a perfect world would I want you to do your cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach? Of course. It is the optimal time for the all the reasons I said. But I understand that everyone is different and ultimately you have to do what’s works best for YOU. The key is to be consistent. To have a routine. To create good habits. Figure out which time of day is best for you schedule and energy wise. Then plugin the principles that I laid out above and get to work!