When should I do cardio?

Hi mate,

Most people do cardio am on an empty stomach, then fuel up and perform weight sessions in the evening. I do my weights am at around 9 / 10 am as I have clients every morning at 6.30am making it hard to get a cardio session in and so will fuel up for my weights. My cardio is pm as I'm aiming to increase general fitness and will perform it still with sufficient glycogen in my body. My diet will reduce my body fat not so much the cardio basis of this program.

Thanks for your question.

Thanks mate,
The program looks really good, keen to give it a go next time I want to change up my training. Would love to see the diet to go with it as well.

Thanks for your help.

Hi Gentlemen,

The general consensus is that there is really no best time of day to do aerobic exercise, or for that matter, weight training. You will get the same overall benefits from exercise whether you exercise in the morning or in the evening. The trick is ensuring that you’re exercising regularly.

I do not recommend that anyone perform aerobic exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Because we do not normally eat while we are asleep, our blood glucose (sugar) levels are usually at their lowest when we wake up in the morning. Keep in mind that our bodies use glucose as energy during aerobic exercise (even when we’re utilizing fat stores for energy). The muscle contractions during exercise increase glucose uptake, further lowering blood sugar. Therefore, exercising when blood sugar levels are at their lowest on an empty stomach increases the risk of blood sugar becoming dangerously low and "hitting the wall".

Weight loss is accomplished by creating a caloric deficit, not by utilizing fat for energy. Remember, we are utilizing more fat at rest, but being at rest does not confer more weight loss and a lower number on the scale than regular exercise.