 By David Otto
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More Fat Loss First Thing In The Morning
I don't know about you but I'm not much of a morning person but if my goal is fat loss and I want that extra edge best believe I'm getting my butt out of bed to hit the treadmill. What's so special about doing cardiovascular exercise a.k.a. cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach as opposed to doing it any other time during the day? Actually, the amount of stored body fat that might get released and burned for fuel is greatly enhanced. I've heard quotes of burning "300% more fat" when you perform cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and whether that's true I'm not sure but from a physiological standpoint, which I'll explain shortly, there definitely is an advantage.
The key here is "empty stomach" meaning you haven't eaten anything after waking (duh!). Let's say you go to bed at 10 p.m., your last meal was at 8:30 and you wake up at 6 a.m. That's 9 ½ hours you've gone without food. Although you're asleep your body is still burning calories to sustain basic metabolic processes. You're burning some fat, some protein and carbohydrates. After going 9 ½ hours without food you're body reaches a state where it is pretty low on stored carbs know as glycogen which is stored in the muscles and liver.
During exercise, carbs (glucose and glycogen) are the preferred source of fuel but when few carbs are present the body has alternative fuel sources it can go to like fat or protein. When performing aerobic exercise you're body is capable of burning glucose and/ or fat but when those carbs aren't present you're body will readily tap into more fat stores. So if you were to wake up and perform some cardio on an empty stomach, you'll be giving your body a chance to access more fat stores because there's not as much stored glycogen to burn.
There are some risks though that could be counterproductive to achieving ongoing results like performing too much aerobic exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Even though your body is capable of burning more fat when it's in a "fasted" state you can run the risk of your body eating away at its own muscle tissue to make glucose to further fuel the workout. This my friend is bad which will inevitably lead to metabolic slow down or in other words fat loss will come to a screeching halt. In addition the scale will lie to you saying you're doing great as the pounds go down. Again, this is not a good thing, I promise.
If you have a treadmill at home or any in home piece of cardiovascular exercise equipment this makes performing your morning cardio a heck of a lot easier than waking up, getting dressed for the gym, driving to the gym, showering at the gym (sometimes gross depending on where you're at) and then heading to work. You could even use your stair case if you have one or get outside and run, roller blade or do anything that will elevate the heart rate. Personally, I prefer the treadmill or elliptical trainer but everybody's preference will vary but having these is definitely a plus.
There are a few ways you can gain even more of an edge when performing cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and one of them happens to be with that morning cup of regular coffee. Caffeine has actually been shown to help the body release fatty acids from the adipose cell (fat cell) so that they can be burned. There is a catch however and if you have a tolerance built up to caffeine and require 3 or more cups a day to get you going then it wont have the same effect as opposed to being an occasional coffee drinker. Also, it needs to be black. No cream and sugar because not only will that give your body something to burn other than fat but it will basically spike insulin levels and lock in stored body fat. It's a little more complex than that but that's what's basically happening. Anyway, have 1 to 2 cups of regular, black coffee (splenda to sweeten if you like) 10-15 minutes prior to getting on the bike or treadmill. If you are sensitive to caffeine then of course it wouldn't be advisable to add this to your fat loss regimen.
For those that are trying to get "ripped" and hold onto as much muscle as possible than there may be an advantage to supplementing with Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA's) prior to the cardio session. Branched Chain Aminos consist of the amino acids Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine with Leucine being a primary amino acid that has been found to be used in energy production. The benefit here is having somewhat of an insurance policy against muscle catabolism (meaning breakdown) because it is the BCAA's that the body will derive from muscle tissue to create glucose if you exercise aerobically beyond your body's momentary willingness to supply fuel from fat and/ or glucose.
There are a few more aids that may have value but that will go beyond the scope of this article. I just want you to understand how performing cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach definitely has its advantages. I know the question of "how much should I do" is bobbling through your mind so I'll address that in another article but if I were you I would break out that old treadmill of yours or buy a new one, get out of bed a few minutes early and burn some more fat. You'd be either lazy or a fool not to.
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