Fasted a.m cardio to burn more FAT??? hmmmm

Both as a trainer and competitor, this question comes up often. ' Will I burn more FAT if I do my cardio first thing in the morning prior to breakfast?'

Such a common question with a longer answer than we want to hear.
There are currently no scientific evidence proving either side, however science leans against it, and here's why.

When you are asleep you are technically 'fasting'. Your body is using up its glucose stores (which fuel you with energy). You burn anywhere between 200-350 calories while sleeping by doing so. When you wake up and immediately hit the cardio train, ideally now you are OUT of glucose stores for fuel and you will be using stored FAT as energy.

Well what a lot of us forget is that you are also running the risk of using up your stored muscle tissue for energy as well, therefore defeating the purpose of your hard time spent building your lean mass.




I will include what so far has been my favorite discussion forum on the subject at the bottom for you to read and decide for yourselves.


I personally think that if you are a quote un quote normal person looking to stay fit and tone up, experimenting with the early am no food cardio is worth a try.  I feel that if you have very specific ideas as to what you want your physique to look like, maybe weigh out the options a bit more before setting that alarm. I.E Is your muscle mass very important to you?
The argument is that if you are out of readily available glucose you will then turn to your muscle protein for energy, as the fat stores will not be sufficient. From what I read, if you can keep your fasted training to 30 minutes or less ( now we're in the HIIT) then your muscles should be spared, and you will indeed be burning excess fats.


Also keep in mind the type of cardio you are performing. Are you a LISS (Low Intensity Steady State) fan or a HIIT ( High Intensity Interval Training) fan.?
If you have done any research on the two topics you will likely find that the calories burned during as well as your after burn is much higher when performing HIIT.




Each person is different and works in different ways, some people actually feel ill if they train or do cardio on an empty stomach, so for them, this conversation doesn't mater anyway.
For those of you who would like to broaden your vision on the subject, the subject that will forever be a controversy...


Here is the link:       http://www.tomvenuto.com/articles/morning_fat_burn.shtml