Cardio or aerobic exercise is a low intensity exercise based on the generation of energy with the consumption of oxygen (aerobic process). The best cardio exercises include cycling, jogging, walking, running, jump roping, etc. This type of exercise is a basic part of strength training, bodybuilding, or normal running schedules. Not only does it improve the endurance of an individual, but also helps in the prevention of several health complications like heart problems. You can’t expect to get results with running mindlessly for a few minutes. Several factors control the effectiveness of cardio training, and one such factor is choosing the appropriate time to do cardio exercise. This article is basically focused on describing the benefits of cardio exercise and its effectiveness during different times of day, before and after weightlifting etc. It is important to understand that cardio is very important in one’s exercise routine, and can lead to optimal gains if done effectively.
Cardio Exercise in The Morning On an Empty Stomach
Cardio exercise in the morning on an empty stomach is the worst way to kick off your day. A question may pop in one’s mind: “why shouldn’t I choose to do cardio in the morning? I have minimum glucose levels at that time. It might help me lose extra fat” Actually, that’s not how things work. Fat doesn’t burn immediately during cardio exercise; instead it burns one or two hours after cardio. If you try to do cardio in the morning, your body, being low in glucose, will start to use muscle proteins as a source of energy leading to muscle wasting. It’s the worst nightmare for a bodybuilder. So, unless you want to lose your muscles there is no way cardio in the morning on an empty stomach is a good idea. Think about it logically; your body has fasted for eight hours during sleep. It needs some calories instead of mindless exercise, which is going to do more harm than good. Cardio in the morning after breakfast is not a bad idea but cardio in the morning on empty stomach is definitely a horrible idea.
Cardio Before Weightlifting
Again, this is a big NO. This idea might work for women that don’t want to gain some serious muscle at the gym. For the rest of the guys who are looking to improve muscle mass, cardio before weightlifting is not appropriate. Why is this so? There are two basic reasons for this:
Cardio training makes use of your glycogen stores as the basic source of energy. During an intense cardio session you deplete your glycogen stores quickly. But how does it affects the muscle building process during weightlifting? The answer lies in the fact that muscle growth is at its maximum during the final reps of weightlifting. At that time your body needs glycogen. So, if you don’t have enough glycogen, your muscles won’t grow proportionally to your weightlifting.
The second reason being that the protein breakdown during cardio outpaces the synthesis of protein synthesis. However, during weightlifting the protein synthesis goes up or at least remains at the same level. If you schedule your weightlifting sessions immediately after an intense cardio session, your muscle protein will break down instead of growing. In other words, it might actually lead to muscle wasting.
Cardio Session After Weightlifting
A cardio session after weightlifting is a far better option. The reason being is that your body doesn’t completely deplete the glycogen stores during a weightlifting session, as it does during a cardio session. After a weightlifting session you are left with enough glycogen to carry on with your cardio session without causing the excess breakdown of muscle proteins. A break of one to two hours is usually recommended between these two sessions, so that the body gets enough time to replenish its glycogen stores.
How To Get The Best Results With Cardio
For the best results, you should plan your weightlifting and cardio training sessions in an alternating manner. In other words, if you plan to do weights during the first four days of the week, then you should do cardio on the other three days for optimum results. Such alternating sessions ensure that you have the energy to make the maximum out of both types of exercises. One more thing, try to plan your cardio sessions as far as possible from your leg lifting sessions, because running with sore legs can add to your pain.
What Are The Health Benefits of Cardio Sessions
The following are the basic benefits of cardio exercises:
Cardiovascular benefits: Your heart is made of muscles, and like all other muscles of the body, your heart muscles get stronger with regular exercise. Regular exercise can help improve the pumping ability of your heart. Another important benefit is the establishment of collateral circulation supplying your heart. When the pumping of the heart increases, it automatically needs a greater energy and greater supply of blood. This stimulates the development of collateral circulations in the heart. This significantly decreases the chances of heart attack and other cardiovascular issues. It also helps:
- In the reduction of blood pressure.
- In the elevation of High density lipoproteins (HDL, good fats)
- In the reduction of total cholesterol.
- Improved fat loss: Cardio exercise is based on the use of oxygen for carrying out different metabolic activities. One of such metabolic activities is the breakdown of excess fat. Any type of cardio exercise can help in the reduction of body fat. The only key is persistence. You just have to be consistent in your training sessions.
- A healthy hormone profile: Regular cardio exercise can help a lot in improving the levels of stress relieving hormones. It can provide effective relief from stress and anxiety. Another important benefit is that it causes the release of appetite suppressing hormones. That’s why it’s effective in controlling over-eating.
- Management of diabetes: Diabetes is basically caused by the inability of muscles to utilize free glucose present in the blood leading to an abnormally high level of glucose. However, regular cardio training sessions can improve the muscle’s ability to utilize glucose as the source of energy.