Fasted Cardio

katiejanecollins

Hi!

Opinions on fasted cardio? Not done it before but I am having to change my gym routine around to fit in with work, meaning I will be working out at 7am instead of 7pm.

Should I snack before or is it ok to exercise having not eaten? (I will be doing 30 mins of cardio).

Thanks

_lyndseybrooke_

I honestly don't think it matters. I used to do cardio on an empty stomach because I work out at 4:30 in the morning. Now I have a Quest bar almost immediately beforehand (I'm not getting up any earlier to wait 30-60 minutes, that's for sure) and I haven't noticed a difference.

Just go with how you feel. If you're not hungry, don't eat. If you find that you're getting tired during your workout and your energy level sucks, have a snack before going to the gym.

As far as weight loss, it doesn't make a difference. Calories in vs. calories out - timing is irrelevant.

sofaking6

I do my workouts when I get up before eating. You'll probably have to try it out and see how you feel.

newmom_2012

30 minutes is fine. If you were doing long workouts you would probably need to think about fueling. Less than 60 minutes or so it's not necessary.

dbmata

katiejanecollins wrote: »

Hi!

Opinions on fasted cardio? Not done it before but I am having to change my gym routine around to fit in with work, meaning I will be working out at 7am instead of 7pm.

Should I snack before or is it ok to exercise having not eaten? (I will be doing 30 mins of cardio).

Thanks

It's fun. 30 minutes of cardio, even high intensity cardio is fine fasted. If a session was going over 120 minutes, I'd suggest something during the workout, but that's about it.

You'll be fine. I'm weak and lazy and out of shape, and I do 90% of my cardio sessions fasted, and those are 1 hour each. If I can do it, anyone who is reasonably in-shape and not a drama queen/king can do it as well.

SKME2013

I sometimes eat and sometimes not before cardio. Depends on how hungry I am. Makes no difference to me.

jacksonpt

It basically comes down to 2 things -

1) personal preference
2) workout performance

if you want to eat, eat. If you don't, don't. I find that I lift better fasted, but bigger cardio sessions need calories. YMMV.

katiejanecollins

Thanks everyone, I'll try it without eating and if it doesn't work - I'll eat!