Fasted Cardio Research and Bodyweight Cardio Workout
Today we’re going to cover one of the biggest myths in fitness. The one that says:
“You should do cardio on an empty stomach to burn more fat.”
I bet you know where this is going…after all, I just called it a myth.
Well, first we have to go all the way over to Italy, to hear from researchers who had a study published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition Exercise and Metabolism (21:48-54, 2011).
The Italian researchers wanted to see what would happen when eight healthy young men did the following workouts:
Workout A: 36 minutes of slow cardio at 65% maximum heart rate in the morning without eating
Workout B: 36 minutes of slow cardio at 65% maximum heart rate in the morning AFTER a small meal
The RESULTS?
24-hours after exercise, the results found that eating before cardio increased both calorie burning AND fat burning.
That’s right, eating before the workout increased fat burning in the 24-hours after exercise.
The scientists concluded that “fasting before exercise does not enhance lipid utilization; rather, physical activity after a light meal is advisable.”
BOTTOM LINE:
The truth about fasted cardio is that it is NOT a magical way to boost fat burning.
But the REAL TRUTH about cardio in general is this:
You’re not going to get the best results from slow cardio, fasted or fed. We’ve covered that dozens of times in our TT newsletters here, and you already know to skip it and use interval training or bodyweight exercises instead.
For example, you could try this, the infamous 5 rounds of 5 minutes from the TT Bodyweight Cardio 3 program.
Day 3 – Workout B
• Start with the general bodyweight warm-up circuit
• Do each exercise for 1 minute and then move to the next exercise without rest.
• Rest 1 minute at the end of each round before moving to the next round.
Round #1
• Jumping Jacks
• Bodyweight Squats
• T-Pushups (alternate sides)
• Repeated Vertical Jumps
• Prisoner Lunges
Round #2
• Pushup
• Prisoner Squat
• Squat Thrust
• Duck Under
• Burpee
Round #3
• Seal Jump
• Spiderman Climb
• Get Up
• Side-Step
• Run in Place
Round #4
• Split Shuffle
• Side to Side Jump
• Side Plank (30 seconds per side)
• Total Body Extension
• Run in Place
Round #5
• Seal Jump
• Close-Grip Pushup
• Lateral Lunge
• Mountain Climber
• Side-Step
Get the complete exercise photos and descriptions, along with the rest of the Bodyweight Programs on sale t
his week only at this special bodyweight workout website.
Burn fat WITHOUT slow boring fasted cardio,
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
PS – Just say no to slow boring cardio on an empty stomach.