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Lifting weights in the morning
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nVidiot_Whore
Banned
Where did I say it was "my" explanation?
It's just well known. Cardio burns calories; it's all about the TYPES of calories you burn. When you do cardio on an empty stomach your body responds by burning calories of stored fat instead of burning the calories that you have eaten during the day.
It's not like it's bad to do cardio other times, it's just not AS effective for LOSING FAT.
Combine that with weight training (moderate amounts of weight with more than average reps) and you will increase your metabolism.
The bottom line is that you will lose weight if you burn more calories than you intake.. but doing your cardio in the morning before eating can dramatically increase the effectiveness of the cardio.
It's just well known. Cardio burns calories; it's all about the TYPES of calories you burn. When you do cardio on an empty stomach your body responds by burning calories of stored fat instead of burning the calories that you have eaten during the day.
It's not like it's bad to do cardio other times, it's just not AS effective for LOSING FAT.
Combine that with weight training (moderate amounts of weight with more than average reps) and you will increase your metabolism.
The bottom line is that you will lose weight if you burn more calories than you intake.. but doing your cardio in the morning before eating can dramatically increase the effectiveness of the cardio.
FreakyFink
Member
I'd prefer scientific research over reasoning, but I'm always interested in links to credible, fact-based physiology articles. So please do post it. However, I'm more interested in the research that concludes:nVidiot_Whore said:
1) brushing your teeth is a significant intake of sugar
2) that amount of sugar (or, heck, even two or three times that amount) negates, to any significant extent, the benefits of cardio excercise
Regarding excercise timing, I won't contest that morning is a great time to do cardio. I also won't argue that midday is a fantastic time to do cardio. Likewise, cardio in the evening is extremely effective.
These workout threads often become rife with myopia. Apologies for singling you out, nVidiot_Whore, as you are most certainly not the only offender.
Nutrition, the original thread topic, is an important piece to any fitness plan, concerning both muscle growth and fat loss. But most in this thread (GAF professional bodybuilders excluded) needs to take a step back. Do not concern yourself with the minutia: time of day to work out, temperature of oatmeal, and sugar content of toothpaste.
Get the basics down first. Excercise consistently and provide your body with the proper nutrients.
FreakyFink
Member
You're spouting what I'll call "conventional wisdom". Unfortunately, conventional wisdom is frequently misleading or untrue. We have dispelled a number of these conventional wisdom nuggets (with sources) in previous workout threads. After some quick forum searching, you'll find those threads very informative I think.nVidiot_Whore said:
And again, sorry to single you out. The preceding was not intended as a personal attack, but hopefully an eye-opener for you and many others reading looking for fitness guidance.
WrathOfOtaibah
Banned
To lift, its been said around mid afternoon. For cardio, usually at night. You have to give your body several hours of rest between both or else both will suffer and will likely cause overtraining.
However, any time for both is better than none. Unless you are bulking (building muscle) in which case, avoid the cardio unless its once, maybe twice at the very most a week.
WrathOfOtaibah
Banned
Fatghost28 said:
High? High GI should never be used unless for a Post workout insulin spike.
nVidiot_Whore
Banned
"And again, sorry to single you out. The preceding was not intended as a personal attack, but hopefully an eye-opener for you and many others reading looking for fitness guidance."
No big deal.. but I have been working out and obsessed with fitness for almost 15 years... so I'm not looking for guidance and I most likely won't have any eye openers here.
Like I was telling another member in an e-mail, and like I said in my last post, the bottom line is to burn more calories than you intake. Wether that be through cardio done in the morning, afternoon, night, whatever. My post was pretty simple, and was geared towards optimization of fat loss which someone had asked about. Go ahead and do whatever you like, lots of different things are effective.
But I've personally experiences the benefits of morning cardio, through careful measurement of my body fat percentage, and I've read countless studies and workout experts claiming the same thing.
Sure there will be people who would try to squash the theory, but those people probably never tested it through experience.
And yeah, the toothpaste comment might be a bit overboard, but the BIGGEST thing to stay away from when trying to burn fat is sugar. Why not be obsessive about that?
Seriously, even a small amount of sugar can have a pretty big effect on insulin levels. No big deal if you don't take that advice.. but I think it's a pretty simple thing to avoid.
Either way, I completly agree with you.. you don't have to be that precise when trying to stay fit... but why not take simple advice from people who HAVE been obsessive about it?
I used to workout/lift a lot, and learned a TON.. I took a few years off and gained quite a bit of weight.
Through moderate dieting, 5 days a week of cardio (yes in the morning), I lost 45 pounds in less than 2 months.
Which isn't exactly "healthy" overall, but is evidence that I know what the fuck I'm talking about when it comes to losing weight
But yeah.. to answer the original thread posters question, no, lifting weights on an empty stomach is not a good idea
No big deal.. but I have been working out and obsessed with fitness for almost 15 years... so I'm not looking for guidance and I most likely won't have any eye openers here.
Like I was telling another member in an e-mail, and like I said in my last post, the bottom line is to burn more calories than you intake. Wether that be through cardio done in the morning, afternoon, night, whatever. My post was pretty simple, and was geared towards optimization of fat loss which someone had asked about. Go ahead and do whatever you like, lots of different things are effective.
But I've personally experiences the benefits of morning cardio, through careful measurement of my body fat percentage, and I've read countless studies and workout experts claiming the same thing.
Sure there will be people who would try to squash the theory, but those people probably never tested it through experience.
And yeah, the toothpaste comment might be a bit overboard, but the BIGGEST thing to stay away from when trying to burn fat is sugar. Why not be obsessive about that?
Seriously, even a small amount of sugar can have a pretty big effect on insulin levels. No big deal if you don't take that advice.. but I think it's a pretty simple thing to avoid.
Either way, I completly agree with you.. you don't have to be that precise when trying to stay fit... but why not take simple advice from people who HAVE been obsessive about it?
I used to workout/lift a lot, and learned a TON.. I took a few years off and gained quite a bit of weight.
Through moderate dieting, 5 days a week of cardio (yes in the morning), I lost 45 pounds in less than 2 months.
Which isn't exactly "healthy" overall, but is evidence that I know what the fuck I'm talking about when it comes to losing weight
But yeah.. to answer the original thread posters question, no, lifting weights on an empty stomach is not a good idea
The Experiment said:
Early in the morning your blood sugar is lowest and your glycogen stores are lowest. You want to pack glucose in ASAP if you're doing a morning lifting session. Also, if you want mass, you should be going high GI all the time. Insulin is your friend in this case.
If you're lifting in the afternoon and aren't going for maximum mass, then moderate GI carbs will work fine.
truffleshuffle83 said:
If gaining muscle mass is a goal, you should be loading up on protein especially in the first thirty minutes after a lifting session but really you should be loading up on protein and carbs at every opportunity.
I have a serious question -
I'm 6'1 and I only way about 125 pounds. I'm not anorexic, I don't throw up or anything, I eat a normal amount of food (As much as anybody else I know, heavier people), and yet I'm still skinny. I guess I just have a fast metabolism. But I really want to change my physique. What's the best way for me to gain weight/muscle by around Christmastime (Is 20 pounds to much to hope for?)
I know some of you will say 'JUST EAT', but there's times when I can only eat so much before feeling full. Should I start drinking shakes in the morning? Protein supplements? What kind of a workout should I do?
I really want to change, get healthy and get strong.
I'm 6'1 and I only way about 125 pounds. I'm not anorexic, I don't throw up or anything, I eat a normal amount of food (As much as anybody else I know, heavier people), and yet I'm still skinny. I guess I just have a fast metabolism. But I really want to change my physique. What's the best way for me to gain weight/muscle by around Christmastime (Is 20 pounds to much to hope for?)
I know some of you will say 'JUST EAT', but there's times when I can only eat so much before feeling full. Should I start drinking shakes in the morning? Protein supplements? What kind of a workout should I do?
I really want to change, get healthy and get strong.
WrathOfOtaibah
Banned
You seriously are going to have to eat more. A scoop of whey protein typically is about 100 calories. Adding in a whey shake in the morning isn't really going to do much. Whey is a very fast absorbing protein (which is why its used after working out). If you are 125 lbs, just multiply that number by 20. Which would be 2500 calories. Its easy to cleanly eat 2500 calories.
WrathOfOtaibah
Banned
mattx5 said:
With 2500 calories, its best to eat real food. Feeling full comes with the territory of bulking. Your stomach will stretch. Eat meat like chicken. Natural Peanut Butter kicks ass as it tastes just like the regular kind but Natural has good fats in it. Olive Oil is another cheap source of good fats. Cottage cheese is good and the protein there is so slow absorbing (recommended for last meal). Then there's eggs with no yolk. Berries are the best fruits to eat. Brown rice. Old Fashioned Oats.
I could go on and on but real food should be your priority unless its after working out or whatever you did for exercising (even something like biking would need it). You need the fast absorbing protein to get it to your muscles.
nVidiot_Whore
Banned
If you are trying to gain weight, don't do too much cardio man... i fact, don't do any at all.
Your muscles that you are trying to build need rest, and they need calories... doing cardio takes away both.
Also, to gain mass:
1) Use HEAVY weights.. only do about 4-7 reps per set, with lots of sets
2) Workout no more than 60-75 minutes at a time
3) DONT FORGET YOUR LEGS.. your legs have the biggest muscles in your body, and they are at your core.. working out your legs/back will help you gain mass all over.. as well as helping you increase your circulation which helps build muscles all over.
Your muscles that you are trying to build need rest, and they need calories... doing cardio takes away both.
Also, to gain mass:
1) Use HEAVY weights.. only do about 4-7 reps per set, with lots of sets
2) Workout no more than 60-75 minutes at a time
3) DONT FORGET YOUR LEGS.. your legs have the biggest muscles in your body, and they are at your core.. working out your legs/back will help you gain mass all over.. as well as helping you increase your circulation which helps build muscles all over.
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
This is informative. I want to tone up to try to lose flab, but then again I wouldn't mind gaining some muscle. So I seriously can't do much cardio if I want some muscle gain? Let's say I do like a hundred reps or so of a 10 pound weight on each arm, I can't like say do jumping jacks afterwards?
nVidiot_Whore
Banned
HomerSimpson-Man said:
It's near impossible to gain muscle mass and lose fat at the same time.
If you want to gain muscle mass you have to intake more calories than you burn and of course lift weights. You will gain at least SOME fat while doing this.
Then to "tone up", which really just means "lose fat to show your muscles" you will want to burn more calories than you intake.. which means eating less, doing cardio, and increasing your metabolism through weight training (less heavy weights.)
In general doing 100 reps of something is not a great idea.. increase the weight if you want to increase the mass.. you are wasting your time doing 100 reps.. as long as your muscles are fatigued and you eat/rest enough for them to repair you will gain muscle mass. Doing a large (which is all relative to your strength) amount of weight at low reps is most effective for building muscle mass.
After gaining muscle, then go on more of a fat burning routine, increasing the cardio and decraesing a bit of the weight (more like 10-15 reps).
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
Hmmm....looks like I need some more weights. I started simple like 10 pound weights and doing like several sets of like 10-15 reps, and for someone who hadn't worked out much, I difinately felt sore the next few days. Now though, even if I do enough reps to physically tire my arms and self out, the next day I'm completely fine. I guess I'm at a dead end and actually doing more of a cadio work out then muscle gaining.
nVidiot_Whore
Banned
Well 10 pounds might have been enough for you, but if you don't keep increasing the weights you won't gain muscle, only maintain it.
Whatever the weight, as long as you work your muscles out to muscle fatigue using a consistant amount of "reps" you will gain.
But I doubt 10 pounds is enough. Are you talking about doing curls?
Really on your last "rep" your muscles should fail, meaning you can't complete the rep. Then on your next "set" you will probably only be able to do a few reps, which is TOTALLY FINE.
Don't worry about the AMOUNT of weight, just that that amount of weight causes muscle failure at no more than 10 reps. Ideally for true "mass" gaining you'd make it more like 5-6 reps.
And if you can work your muscles to fatigue and aren't sore the next day you might need to increase the amount of "sets" you do. Generally for mass gaining you'd want to do 4-5 sets to failure.
Don't worry TOO MUCH about being or not being sore.. it's not necesarilly a GREAT thing to be sore If you lift a lot and aren't sore that means your muscles are recovering well, which is a good thing.. but if you ARE sore, definitely don't lift sore.. you'll probably break down muscle.
Good luck dude!!
Whatever the weight, as long as you work your muscles out to muscle fatigue using a consistant amount of "reps" you will gain.
But I doubt 10 pounds is enough. Are you talking about doing curls?
Really on your last "rep" your muscles should fail, meaning you can't complete the rep. Then on your next "set" you will probably only be able to do a few reps, which is TOTALLY FINE.
Don't worry about the AMOUNT of weight, just that that amount of weight causes muscle failure at no more than 10 reps. Ideally for true "mass" gaining you'd make it more like 5-6 reps.
And if you can work your muscles to fatigue and aren't sore the next day you might need to increase the amount of "sets" you do. Generally for mass gaining you'd want to do 4-5 sets to failure.
Don't worry TOO MUCH about being or not being sore.. it's not necesarilly a GREAT thing to be sore
If you lift a lot and aren't sore that means your muscles are recovering well, which is a good thing.. but if you ARE sore, definitely don't lift sore.. you'll probably break down muscle.Good luck dude!!
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
Well thanks for the tips, this is great info. I would like ole Homer to be lean and mean by the end of this year!
This is not good advice. You can't just generalize reps and muscle failure like this. Working to failure is also pretty stupid for a beginner. Technique and consistency is a lot more important at this stage. Maxing out to like this is going to make you really sore the next day and you will not be as motivated to do this again. You sound like you read muscle mags or talk to lifters, but you have no clue how to train.nVidiot_Whore said:
Companion Cube
Member
Wow. I don't know what to believe. I guess there's only one way to find out which way works best- everyone post a pic of yo muskles!
Wow. If anyone really wants to get into better shape and learn how to take care of their bodies better I think the first thing you should do is GET OUTTA THIS THREAD. I haven't read so much misinformation in... well a day or two really. But this thread is filled with garbage.
If you want to get in shape, please don't ask people on a gaming forum. Go lurk at T-nation or muscle nexus or something. Or better yet, if you are completely new to working out go by a book like Body for Life. Nothing in the fitness industry is perfect but you gotta start with something simple.
If you want to get in shape, please don't ask people on a gaming forum. Go lurk at T-nation or muscle nexus or something. Or better yet, if you are completely new to working out go by a book like Body for Life. Nothing in the fitness industry is perfect but you gotta start with something simple.
WHOAguitarninja
Member
Fatghost28 said:
NO NO NO NO!
A diet full of hi GI carbs will drastically reduce your insulin sensitivity making your insulin spikes FAR less potent. You want hi GI carbs after your workout and at NO other time of day. Low GI carbs at all other times of day will still cause the release of insulin, it's just a more restrained process and will benefit you far more in the long run.
You can probably get away with a few HI gi carbs in the morning, but it really isn't the best option. You want to keep your insulin sensitivity as high as you can for that all important post workout spike. That is the most CRUCIAL time of day as far as nutrition goes.
Ninja Scooter
Member
so am i wasting my time if i do light cardio pretty much every day, but rotate between free weights and heavy cardio every other day? (Mon/Wed/Fri weights, Sun/Tues/Thurs cardio, Sat. rest)? Should i just concentrate on doing one or the other?
Cauliflower of Love
Banned
Ninja Scooter said:
I love these types of questions. You gotta, you know, say what your goal is.
Ninja Scooter
Member
banned said:
my goal is THIS:
nVidiot_Whore
Banned
???? And you do? I've bene "training" on and off for 15 years.
The guy indicated he'd been lifting the same 10 pound weights for a long time and it hasn't gotten him anywhere. He's not exactly "a begginer" then is he? He said his muscles have been conditioned to the point where he's not getting very sore.. OF COURSE he will get sore the first few times he does lifting to failure.. but HE SPECIFICALLY INDICATED HE WANTED TO GET SORE YOU CLOWN.
AND HE SAID HE WAS LOOKING FOR SIZE GAINS..
Consistancy? That get's you no-where if you are looking to put on muscle mass. That's what he's allready been doing, and he has seen no results, which is extremly predictable.
You need heavy weights.. and near, or at muscle failure lifting techniques. And yes you can generalize about the amount of reps because it's a complete waste of time to do more if you are looking for SIZE GAINS.
And you need to continue to add weight, or once again, you won't go anywhere with size.
People are asking SPECIFIC QUESTIONS here, and as someone who's spent a good portion of there life lifting weights, trying different technicques, carefully measuring my results, and yes reading books and talking to lifters I can tell you how to put on size.
I can also tell you how to quickly lose weight.
If people were looking for "how to I generally stay fit" then I would say yeah, just excersize a few times a week and lift weights here and there.
BUT THEY ASKED SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
And seriously, the cardio in the morning works.. and like I said the toothpaste thing might be a bit overboard, so fucking ignore that comment and move on with your lives and quit being such pompous pricks.
Here, why don't all of you naysayers do what I've done:
Try a workout regimine for 6 weeks that DOES NOT include morning cardio, using carefully measured food amounts, and weekly body fat/weight measuremets.
Then do the same thing with morning cardio and see the difference.
Or read one of the many actual PROVEN studies about this.
So seriously, go fuck yourselves... people aren't just asking general fitness questions, they are asking SPECIFIC questions geared towards workout optimizations.
Nothing I have said is misinformation... it is information that myself and MANY people have tested and found to be extremly effective.
Why WOULDN'T you ask a weightlifter advice about weightlifting?
nVidiot_Whore
Banned
Ninja Scooter said:
In general, if you want to put on lots of mass like that you would want to go on a routine that is ONLY lifting.. and little or NO cardio for at least 10-12 weeks.
Lift a lot (3 times a week is great), and eat a lot.
You WILL get bigger, and you WILL gain a bit of fat.
So then you go on a 4-6 week routine of less lifting (moderate amounts of weight for maintanance), less eating, and lots of cardio.
Then you will lose the fat.
Keep your cardio moderately difficult though... your heart rate should be around 130-140 during cardio and no higher for fat burning, otherwise you are training more for endurance, and won't necesarilly lose weight (although it's not BAD for you).
That's the best method..
Or you can listen to some of these clowns and just be like "be consistant and you'll be fine!!", and you might lose a few pounds and put on a bit of muscle, but you will NEVER be ripped if that's what you are looking for.
The reality is you can't put on a LOT of muscle without gaining fat... and you can't lose that fat without at least losing a BIT of muscle.. it's all about have a program that gets you to where you want to be while minimizing fat gain during your bulking, and muscle loss during your burning...
Then you can just be consistant and "maintain".. and maybe occasionally go on your bulking or burning routine if you feel the need too.
HomerSimpson-Man
Member
Now, I'm confused. I'm just going to do the age old knowledge that more exercise = good.
nVidiot_Whore
Banned
demon said:
Sure.. lifting weights increases your metabolism..
And if you don't rest much between sets you get a little bit of cardio anyways.
Not half as effective as say, running.. but you get the idea.
Homer: Whatever dude.. what I say is tried and tested techniques..
What have these naysayers offered other than "go read a book"? Funny.. I've read the exact book mentioned.. HAHAH.. and it talks about morning cardio.. LOL .. yeah, the guy says it's a myth... so now I know why you said I was full of shit.. becasue you read a book that said otherwise.
Well, like I said.. I've read many more that say morning cardio is the MOST important part of fat loss.. and I've tested it myself.
*shrug*
Cauliflower of Love
Banned
You wanna be ripped liek carrot top, grabbed the steroids.
Yes you can lose fat with weight lifting also, although all the fat burning will come from your rest days and not your lifting days.
Yes you can lose fat with weight lifting also, although all the fat burning will come from your rest days and not your lifting days.
Ninja Scooter
Member
acidviper said:
cause i want my pubes like that too.
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