Cardio question been plaguing me..

**soulstealer** · 02-11-2008, 07:29 AM

Ok so we have 2 of the supposedly most efficient cardio times..... which are

1. AM Post fasting before we eat
2. PM PWO glycogen depleted

For the purpose of my question we will be looking at Number 2 PWO cardio

Now my meals are constant evenly distributed roughly

50-60g carbs
10-15g fat
50g protein

Every meal every 2.5hours like clockwork... now I read that a meal consisting of rice+beans and chicken will take approximately 3-3.5 hours to fully digest so here I am at my workout doing cardio exactly 1.5hours after my last meal..

So the question?

If my body is still digesting food wouldnt it be a moot point to argue PWO shake timing glycogen depletion or anything of the like?

**MuscleScience** · 02-11-2008, 10:59 AM

It depends on how long of you are doing cardio for. Durning excessive physiological demands the digestive system will for all intents and purposes shot down. The blood that was going to the digestive tract is shunted away and distributed to area's that are in immediate demand of O2.

**soulstealer** · 02-11-2008, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by MuscleScience

It depends on how long of you are doing cardio for. Durning excessive physiological demands the digestive system will for all intents and purposes shot down. The blood that was going to the digestive tract is shunted away and distributed to area's that are in immediate demand of O2.

So then A most basic explination would be that 20-30minutes moderate(70%MHR) would be in essence the most effective way to retain muscle while burning a minimum amount of fat and not hindering gains due to the fact you would access your fat stores for a period yet benefit from almost instant glycogen replenishment from digestive action resuming with your PWO supplimentation...? Or conversely would HIT cardio be more efficient at that time while sparing muscle?

**MuscleScience** · 02-11-2008, 11:50 AM

Do you mean minimal fat or muscle burning? I think you meant muscle so I will answer that one. If you eat and you spike your insulin then you start to do exercise your body releases epinephrine to stimulate metabolism and activate fat mobilization. Epinephrine will counter act the effects of insulin in fat cells causing them to stop uptaking glucose and start mobilizing fatty acids for transport to the muscles. As far a burning muscle it is very hard for your body to use protein as an energy source durning exercise. I am not saying it doesnt happen it just doenst happen to the degree people believe it does. Obviously if someone is a ultra marathon runner they will use protein as an energy source because the muscles are in essence another source of stored energy.

HIT training as I understand it is basically varying intensity of exercise throughout and exercise bout? When you start varying workout intensities you general will be in an anaerobic state. It takes a while for the body to adapt to new physiological demands before it can ramp up O2 utilization. With this type of exercise you generally get less fat mobilization at the time of exercise but burn more fat afterwards than that of steady state exercise because of the increased O2 debate that occurs.

**soulstealer** · 02-11-2008, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by MuscleScience

Do you mean minimal fat or muscle burning? I think you meant muscle so I will answer that one. If you eat and you spike your insulin then you start to do exercise your body releases epinephrine to stimulate metabolism and activate fat mobilization. Epinephrine will counter act the effects of insulin in fat cells causing them to stop uptaking glucose and start mobilizing fatty acids for transport to the muscles. As far a burning muscle it is very hard for your body to use protein as an energy source durning exercise. I am not saying it doesnt happen it just doenst happen to the degree people believe it does. Obviously if someone is a ultra marathon runner they will use protein as an energy source because the muscles are in essence another source of stored energy.

HIT training as I understand it is basically varying intensity of exercise throughout and exercise bout? When you start varying workout intensities you general will be in an anaerobic state. It takes a while for the body to adapt to new physiological demands before it can ramp up O2 utilization. With this type of exercise you generally get less fat mobilization at the time of exercise but burn more fat afterwards than that of steady state exercise because of the increased O2 debate that occurs.

cool thanks for the info bro... Basically I wanna start getting ready for summer but only very slowly as in 1/2-3/4 a pound per week natural for the next 2 months and then kick it into high gear when I start my cycle and I wanted to know the impact of adding 20minutes of moderate cardio PWO on LBM because usually I do my cardio AM...which you have answered as being very minimal in those conditions...

**taiboxa** · 02-11-2008, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by soulstealer

cool thanks for the info bro... Basically I wanna start getting ready for summer but only very slowly as in 1/2-3/4 a pound per week natural for the next 2 months and then kick it into high gear when I start my cycle and I wanted to know the impact of adding 20minutes of moderate cardio PWO on LBM because usually I do my cardio AM...which you have answered as being very minimal in those conditions...

i do 45min pwo and never lose any LBM.

hell look at strong men those bastards train for hours on end .. u think they lose LBM?

**soulstealer** · 02-11-2008, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by taiboxa

i do 45min pwo and never lose any LBM.

hell look at strong men those bastards train for hours on end .. u think they lose LBM?

Ya I know I'm just splitting hairs.... but I like to know the most efficient way of doing things....

**taiboxa** · 02-11-2008, 12:06 PM

pre workout nutrition seems to be the most important aspect in training as digestion is a lengthy process. also it comes down to calorie expenditure.
usually pwo though you can do a high intensity form of cardio for 10-15minutes to ramp up your lipolytic state pwo and burn more fat as well.

**soulstealer** · 02-11-2008, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by taiboxa

pre workout nutrition seems to be the most important aspect in training as digestion is a lengthy process. also it comes down to calorie expenditure.
usually pwo though you can do a high intensity form of cardio for 10-15minutes to ramp up your lipolytic state pwo and burn more fat as well.

So it would then be very possible to remove "some" body fat while making "some" improvements in ones physique if the diet was right on and cardio was right on....using low intensity cardio PWO to mobilize fat stores and eat just below maintenance wouldnt technically burn the fat then grow (obviously while out of the gym utilizing nutrients for muscle growth)?