Fasted Cardio.... The Essentials

Fasted Cardio…. How, Why, When

So towards the end of my current training program I have included 3 early morning Fasted Cardio runs per week through the streets of London and Hyde Park for a duration of about 40 minutes. This has mainly been in preparation for my upcoming holiday (A well deserved relaxing one) to ensure I can attain the condition I want. If I’m honest I have really looked forward to these runs as I love the buzz of running through London as the City begins to wake up and Low Intensity Steady State (LISS) Cardio is not something I normally include in my training so it was nice to switch things up a bit. Some of you may have never done Fasted Cardio before or are wondering if it is for you. Well hopefully this post will shed some light on it for you…

Why Do it?

Fasted cardio is simply performing your cardio sessions prior to eating anything, In which case you would do this first thing in the morning as soon as you wake (earlier the better). This sounds pretty extreme and throughout your session you may well find your motivation to complete the workout is the image of your breakfast that awaits!! On the flip side if you are looking to reduce that last tiny bit of body fat you need to shed once you’ve hit a plateau or lose weight quickly then fasted cardio could be your answer.

The British Journal of Nutrition found that by doing fasted cardio in the morning you can burn up to 20% more fat than doing it after a meal. But why? This is because when you sleep the body uses its stores of carbs so naturally when you wake you need to refuel your body (Breakfast). By not eating breakfast before your cardio you are therefore forced to tap into your fat stores for energy and therefore burn more fat. Depending how hard you work you may also tap into your muscle protein stores as well, which will of course be detrimental if you are only concerned with building quality muscle mass so in this case stay away from fasted cardio and in all cases avoid doing fasted high intensity interval training as it requires more explosive muscular movements and will further promote muscle breakdown. In light of this it is useful to burn more fat if you stick to LISS cardio aiming for around 40 – 60 minutes.

Here are my top 5 essentials for your fasted cardio if fat loss is your primary goal : -

1.     Take a Bcaa Supplement before and during your Cardio – Branch Chain Amino Acids help to stimulate protein synthesis and prevent protein breakdown and since your body will be looking at using other energy sources to fuel your workout when in a fasted state we need to preserve and prevent protein breakdown to ensure we maintain our lean muscle mass as much as possible.

2.     Some quality trainers. Invest in high quality footwear and you will be rewarded. Not only do you feel and look better. You are less likely to pick up an injury and you will have better support and cushioning. I love my Nike Free 5.0 Shield trainers they give me complete flexibility in my morning cardio.

3.     Wear Some Running / Dri-fit Clothing. There’s worse than exercising and feeling either too hot or too cold. This will greatly distract you and stop you from performing appropriately to get the results and performance you want.  Opt for some running gear that is lightweight and allows your body to breathe. You wont regret it.

4.     Wear a watch. Timing is key when doing your fasted cardio. Since you don’t need a phone to workout you wont be able to check it for the time. Get a sports watch on the make sure you can time your workouts appropriately. I aim for 40 – 60 minutes for my LISS Fasted cardio. A watch also enables you to track your performance each session as you can compare times you have taken to complete certain distances.

5.     Switch your iPod on. Chances are you are going to need some motivation for this to push you through to breakfast and music is proven to enhance motivation during exercise. So don’t forget the put your headphones in before you run out the door.

Read below to see where I get some of these essentials from and from who. From using many alternatives I have found these to be the best and are definitely worth investing in...

BCAA Supplement - Scivation Xtend (http://www.scivation.com/product/xtend/)

Shaker For Bcaa Supplement - Smartshake Slim (http://smartshake.co.uk)

Trainers - Nike Free Run 5.0 (http://www.nike.com/gb/en_gb/c/innovation/free)

Watch - Timex (http://www.timex.co.uk/sport)

 

Visit My Website – www.ejpfitness.co.uk