from t-nation... written by charles poliquin
Q: At one time we were told that fasted cardio upon waking was best if your main goal was fat loss. Then we were told that it was a bad idea because it could be catabolic. Now we hear about semi-fasted morning cardio. Which one is really best?
A: I don't agree with any of them. We're made to throw a rock at the rabbit, not to chase it. We're basically anaerobic animals. The quickest way to get lean is through diet.
If you look in the world of sports, triathletes and marathon runners have body fat percentages ranging from between 11 and 14%. Four-hundred to 800 meter runners have body fat between 4 and 6%. Exercise intensity is the key, not duration. Take a picture of all the fat cows on the bikes at Gold's or World Gym. Go back next year and compare: they're all still fat or more likely: fatter!
The problem with exercise physiology is that many people look at the world through a straw. If you look at the fuel burned during exercise that's one thing, but you also have to look at the fuel burned to recover from exercise. That's where most people screw up. All morning cardio does is fatigue the adrenal glands.
Many people are now starting to agree with my German Body Comp principles: the best protocols for fat loss are the ones that increase the amount of lactate you produce. People from all over the world have told me that it's the best program they've used for their fat athletes or personal training clients. In fact, German Body Comp is still the best selling book I've ever written.
According to the latest research, GH production is directly correlated with a drop in blood PH. So when you produce lactic acid, as with German Body Comp, your blood PH goes down so your GH goes up. If people need to lose a lot of fat quickly and don't have much time to train, this is how we train them, four hours a week.
British researchers have noted the importance of the caloric cost to recover from that exercise. It has as much to do with the hours following the workout as it does with the actual workout itself.
And by the way, morning weight training isn't ideal either. Basically, the nervous system doesn't fully "wake up" until three to four hours after you do. But the good news is that the body will get used to anything, so you will eventually adapt to early morning training.
