I do cardio in the morning before eating anything and might lift weights in the evening because I feel like I burn a lot of fat while I sleep and I can't sleep at night when I do cardio. In this case, would it be ok if I don't do cardio before lifting and just stretch or walk? I'm trying to lose 30 pounds and about 11-14% body fat. If there are any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them! I also have a question about aqua fit and if it burns a lot of calories or not and if it's beneficial to include in a workout plan?
Related posts:
2 responses so far ↓
1 Bianca // Feb 6, 2009
Go on an all fruits and veggies diet for two weeks. Detox your body, so afterwards you'll be able to handle real foods with a good attitude and just make better and healthier decisions.
When you done with that just eat a lot of lean protein:
chicken
fish
turkey
low fat beans, like black ones
and whey protein powder
Along with a bunch of fruits and vegetables diet, and only eat complex carbs, whole wheat breads and cereals, none of white bread or sugary cereals. And just cut down carbs overall.
Some good healthy snacks are:
non fat yogurt
skim milk
turkey slices wrapped around pickle spears
rice cake snacks
fruit
and special K cereal
http://www.hungrygirl.com
It's a really good website
2 Joe // Feb 6, 2009
So first, there are a lot of diet fads, so be weary of answers where they offer a website or a product.
Your plan to do cardio right away in the morning and lift weights at night is the ideal training course to cut fat. By training in the morning, before eating, your body is forced to burn fat stores as there is little glycogen (energy from food - your body's preferred source) available. The next best alternative to morning cardio/nighttime weights, is to do your cardio AFTER your weight routine, this has a similar effect in that your body uses all its glycogen in your weight program, so it is again forced to burn fat for energy during your cardio. As a warning, fat burns much less efficiently than glycogen, so when you are doing cardio on empty stomach or after lifting its going be to be tough!
Weight training is important because it burns calories both as you are in the gym lifting weights, and for 24 hours after you complete your workout as your body uses energy to build and repair your muscles.
And sorry, I just re-read your question and think I understand it better, to answer your first question, cardio once a day is plenty. If you have a rigorous morning cardio session, then work hard in your evening weight workout you won't need to do a second cardio workout.
As for other suggestions:
- For cardio, remember steady state cardio (70-80% effort for 20min) is the least effective at burning fat. It would be helpful to try mixing in a better option like High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), where you do a 5 min warm-up, then alternate from 30 second at 95% and 60 secs at 65% effort for another 15 min.
- For Diet, eat smaller meals, 6-8 times a day; think, 8AM, 10:30AM, 12:30, 3, 5:30, 8. Avoid starch foods like potatoes, breads, pasta, and rice. Limit portions for each meal to the size of your fist. Look into meal replacement options, like protein shakes.
You must log in to post a comment.