Fasted cardio really is as horrendous as it sounds. Waking up at 6am to then go for a run or a brisk walk on an empty stomach really isn’t my idea of fun. In fact, it is the very opposite of fun. However, taking BCAAs before my morning cardio can help ease the pain.
Ordinarily, I don’t mind a bit of cardio. A 10km run, a 60 minute ride or 30 minutes on the cross trainer. These workouts are all enough for me to get a sweat on, feel post-workout bliss and maintain a toned physique without making me hate life.
Why Isn’t Ordinary Cardio Enough
Unfortunately, this ‘ordinary’ cardio isn’t going to be enough for me to achieve my goals. This ‘ordinary’ cardio has allowed me to maintain a toned physique and a moderate fitness level but now I want to drop more body fat it isn’t going to cut it. Traditional thinking would be that the more cardio I did, then the more calories i’d burn, the more fat i’d lose and the leaner i’d look. Job done? Not quite. Despite what you want to happen, your body will use fat as a fuel during cardio, but it’ll also start eating away at the muscle mass you’ve worked so hard to build. If you look at the Olympics, once you go over 800m all of the athletes start becoming incredibly lean. Yes, you have the occasional larger British competitor in the 10,000m but those guys never win. It is that sprinter’s build that everyone craves but no-one does sprinter style training!
Focusing On The Fat
By exercising on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, the hope is that my muscles won’t have the necessary energy stores. By having depleted energy stores my body is forced to start converting my unwanted fat cells. I don’t have to work out for 30 minutes just to get to a fat burning state. My body is already hungry and ready to call on my fat reserves. However, this fasted cardio in the morning doesn’t solve the catabolism of my muscles. My muscles and the amino acids they contain are going to be just as attractive an option as my fat stores.
BCAAs Before & After Fasted Cardio
BCAAs are the answer. These branched chain amino acids can allow you to practice anabolic cardio without catabolising your muscles. BCAAs dramatically slow the catabolism of your muscles while boosting protein synthesis. I take a helping before and after my workout. Some sources suggest taking the supplement during the workout if you are working out for more than an hour but I don’t think this is necessary.
This Morning
I managed to drag myself out of bed for 6am which gave me a bit of time wake myself up before heading to the gym. I don’t know about you but I really need a good 20-30 minutes to get out of my zombie-like state. Once i’d made it to the gym I spent 30 minutes on the bike at a moderate-low intensity followed by a 30minute brisk walk on the treadmill. I tried to keep my heart rate around 120. I have read so much about the pros and cons of both fasted HIIT and fasted low intensity cardio. It really is difficult to tell which is the most effective. Yes, HIIT burns more calories per minute and increases your metabolic rate for a longer time. However, if I have the time, I opt for the low intensity workout. It doesn’t take too much out of me and I’ve still managed to lose fat with this approach. Whether it is psychological or not, the BCAAs definitely help me to keep going.
As always, thank you for reading and all the best,
Chris
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