evilcyber.com
  • Home
  • Workouts
    • Home Workout Plans
    • How To Build Muscle
    • How To Get Toned
    • Home Workout Equipment
    • Advanced Workout Topics
    • Other Workout Programs
    • Important Workout Lingo
    • Recommendable Books
  • Cardio
    • What Is Cardio?
    • How To Start Cardio
    • Home Cardio Exercises
    • Cardio Or Weights First?
    • Best Time For Cardio
    • Does Cardio Burn Muscle?
    • Cardio On Empty Stomach?
    • HIIT – Doing It Right
    • Cross-Training
  • Weight Loss
    • The Secret To Weight Loss
    • Gain Muscle And Lose Fat?
    • Exercise And Weight Loss
    • Diet Reviews
    • Weight Loss Myths
    • Weight Loss Supplements
  • Nutrition
    • Healthy Nutrition Explained
    • Bodybuilding Nutrition
    • What Are Carbohydrates?
    • What Is Fat?
    • What Is Protein?
    • Nutrition For Cardio
    • Marathon Nutrition
    • Exercise On Low Carb
  • Supplements
    • 3 Supplements That Work
    • BCAA Supplements
    • Beta-Alanine
    • Creatine
    • Dextrose Supplements
    • Energy Shots
    • Make Your Own Weight Gainer
    • Multivitamins
    • NAC
    • Testosterone-Boosters
  • The Rest

Cardio, Fitness

Fasted Cardio: Did We All Get It Wrong?

Fasted Cardio: Did We All Get It Wrong?

  • September 20, 2013 9:13 pm
  • 9 comments

Share this Article

  • TwitterTwitter
  • FacebookFacebook
  • DiggDigg
  • StumbleuponStumble
  • RedditReddit
Author evilcyber visit my website

You need carbs before cardio to really perform says one side. No, you don’t, says the other. Digging deep into research shows that both may have been wrong. And right.

Fasted Or Not Fasted Was The Wrong Question

There are those arguing you need energy to fuel you on a run. This includes me, who wrote about it more than once.

Then there are the many for whom fasted training prove to be an effective technique.

For a long time it seemed that these two sides were irreconcilable, but it could be that both got it wrong. Because they saw it as a black and white issue: you either always go fasted or never.

Research looking at it treated it in much the same fashion: feeding one test group, keeping the other fasted and then compare how they did. That often led to conflicting results.

It Could Take The Right Amount Of Fasted Cardio

I wondered what would happen if you instead restrict the number of fasted workout sessions per week. Say, doing one or two fasted, the other three fed. Would the body adapt by storing more carbohydrates in the form of glycogen? After all, similar effects were observed for whey protein timing after resistance training and in the carb-loading technique some endurance athletes use.

It took time hunting for research that looked at this, but at least some was done:

  • In a 2005 Danish study, the researchers found that low muscle glycogen due to fasted training led to the body storing more of it once carbohydrates were available again.
  • A 2008 Dutch study examined short-term effects of fasted vs. fed training, and found that in the short term, both states yielded the same training results.
  • In a 2010 Australian study, the researchers came to the conclusion that when selective endurance training sessions were done in fasted state, the training effect was higher than when all sessions were done in fed state (PDF).
  • Another 2010 study, this time from New Zealand, observed a similar effect, with one interesting difference: men responded better than women to fasted training. The latter, the study’s authors advise, are better off during endurance exercise with carbohydrates in their system.

Most of these were small studies, but the hint at least is there: do the right amount of fasted cardio and your performance can improve. But how would you do that?

Using Fasted Cardio The Right Way

Too much fasted cardio and the body may get used to basing its endurance energy household on fat. Too little and the fasted state training effect won’t happen.

Extrapolating from the above research, I suggest the following:

  • Try 1/3 of your training sessions in fasted state
  • Have these sessions in the morning, when glucose / glycogen are lowest
  • Choose shorter sessions at moderate intensity, not exceeding 1h
  • Base the following breakfast around carbs
  • Get enough protein from your general nutrition, to prevent muscle protein breakdown
  • Do not attempt this before “live” events where performance counts

When you try this also keep in mind that your performance will very likely be worse. This technique isn’t meant to break new personal records, but to budge the body into higher glycogen retention later on.

Last but not least I also suggest to give this at least three months and to keep track how your personal performance changes. Doing it for shorter amounts of time may not be enough to fully accustom the body to it.

Share Your Experiences

If you try it, let me know how it goes for you. If you already do this, please share your experiences. Maybe we’ll see a small paradigm change here.

Picture courtesy of Ed Yourdon.

Help me spread knowledge and share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Search

Subscribe to EC

Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Most Read

  • teen home workout Home Workout Plan For Teenagers
  • Are You Fitter Than The Average Guy?
  • How To Do Pull-Ups Without A Pull-Up Bar
  • strongman eugen sandow flexing his muscles The Eugen Sandow Workout You Can Do At Home
  • Intermediate Home Workout Plan

Latest Comments

  • No comments

9 Comments

  1. Kim says:
    September 20, 2013 at 11:00 pm

    I always do fasted cardio (all workouts actually). I never eat until after my workout – even if it takes all morning. That has worked for me for years!!!

    Reply
    • evilcyber says:
      September 21, 2013 at 4:17 pm

      I wonder what would happen if you tried a couple of fed cardio / workout units.

      Reply
  2. dmitry says:
    September 21, 2013 at 9:47 am

    Good for you Kim, but I honestly can’t do fasted cardio.

    Reply
  3. Dr. J says:
    September 22, 2013 at 5:42 pm

    I’m like Kim! Only slower, lol!

    I’ve run from half marathons up to 35 miles fasted starting in the early morning. My impression has been that the meal I ate and water that I drank the night before was key to my performance the next day, not the immediate eating before the run.

    I do drink water during very long runs on very hot days.

    Reply
    • evilcyber says:
      September 23, 2013 at 8:11 pm

      Hm, could it be that your glycogen was still high then?

      Reply
      • Band3 says:
        September 24, 2013 at 10:37 am

        I can’t provide you relevant links etc., but I read quite a while ago that an average person who isn’t on a fat-loss diet or isn’t a pro athlete burns less than a half of his glycogen stores over the night. So, yes, if you are not restricting your callories and don’t deplete your glycogen by overtraining during the day, your glycogen stores are quite filled up when you do fasted cardio.

        Speaking of fasted cardio. I really enjoy my seaside one. I wake up at six, do 5 km or something and then go for a looong swim. But that is about 1 week a year. The remaining 51 weeks though…

        Reply
        • evilcyber says:
          September 26, 2013 at 6:08 pm

          Wow, man, doing a run and then going swimming – I envy you so much!

          But you make an important point about glycogen in the morning – I’m not sure this was properly accounted for in the above research.

          Reply
  4. Lisa says:
    September 24, 2013 at 6:06 pm

    This post is so interesting. I hadn’t heard of the “fasted” cardio.

    For me, it took a long time to figure out what kind of pre-gym snack worked. I’d try a banana and crash. I’d try bagels and be ok. Eventually Greek yogurt or dried apricots ended up being the best bet.

    Reply
    • evilcyber says:
      September 26, 2013 at 6:08 pm

      That is an interesting combination. The dried apricots provide more simple carbs than the bagels, yet they are buffered by the yoghurt.

      Reply

    What do you think?

    Click here to cancel reply.


    • About
    • Contact
    • Copyright
    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy
    © Copyright 2021 — evilcyber.com. All Rights Reserved.

    Evilcyber.com uses cookies

    More info about these little buggers in the Privacy Policy.

    Close
    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.