This point has never really occurred to me until today. I went to do a moderate-high intensity cardio sesh and about two thirds of the way through it I had this irrational thought that, because I hadn't ate since 3pm (it was 8:30pm), that I had little protein in circulation in my body and that the cardio would be eating at my already-tiny muscles and not fat (oh yeah, cutting atm). When I got home like ten minutes after that I had like a small glass of lite milk with a single scoop of whey protein shake. (130 cals against a 210 calorie 20 minute workout if it matters) When I become irrational I become really irrational and do silly things.
But yeah anyways, is it best to eat before or after cardio and by how long? Rest of the Internet is telling me conflicting things and I'm not sure which is the bro science.
Going out on a limb here and guess it doesnt really matter, you're going to lose muscle on a cut regardless of when you eat, timing your meals shouldnt make a difference overall.
Doesn't matter,but I like to eat before my workouts for the energies.
i dont like to eat before cardio simply because i hate the feeling of food bouncing around in my stomach. i personally always train lightly fed, using some protein shake and an energy bar.
I usually eat an hour or so before
I've been recommended to eat two hours before any workout (so as not to go completely on empty), and have a protein shake immediately afterwards as well (whether it's strength and cardio or just a cardio workout). So unless someone else has anything to add or change about that.
nobody fuckin loses muscle on a cut unless they are severely deficient in protein or they have a wasting disease in which case I think aesthetics is the least of their concerns.
And no, you dont lose muscle from being fasted for a few hours. Nor will cardio eat muscle. Cardio is nothing but a net positive. The amount of cardio you would have to do to start breaking down muscle tissue would put you firmly in the category of people whose concerns of building muscle are non-relevant and survival is the most relevant.
The biggest most retarded myth purported by bodybuilding magazines designed to get you to buy shit you don't need and stress your GI tract even more.
As for the question: doesn't really matter. Having some carbohydrates before exercise can improve duration of intensity and mental focus, but its a moot point if youve already eaten since you're still probably digesting the food from hours before hand and thus have protein, carbohydrates and fats in your bloodstream.
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