The TRUTH About Empty Stomach Cardio

I never weight train on an empty stomach but find I have excellent cardio workouts when performed this way. I don’t think there is any harm eating a small protein based meal prior to high intensity cardio, but I feel eating a meal with carbs prior to low/moderate intensity cardio to be a bit of a waste of time.

Sue

I always have oatmeal with yoghurt and blueberries about an hour and a half before my workout. It gives me extra stamina to be able to actually do the workout!!

Joel,

I tried empty stomach workouts once (I don’t do as much “cardio” as weight training). I would always feel nauseaus and didn’t get a very good workout. I seldom got through all of my sets before I had to stop so I didn’t throw up in a public gym.

Now I usually eat 1-1 1/2 hours before my workout and they are MUCH better. I finish all of my sets and feel great coming out. I’ve had to keep increasing my weights that sometimes it’s tough to remember what weight I’m on that week. I suppose there could be worse problems ;)

Great advice, though. My mom and sister do empty stomach stuff, and I’m trying to get them off the habit. I think this article would be a great place to start. Thanks for the great tips, as always!

~DK

Hi Joel,

I hear what you’re saying but I have always done empty stomach cardio, either metabolic resistance or HIIT. I’m up at 5.25 am to start my work out at 5.45am and the thought of getting up 30 minutes earlier and eating just does not do it for me! If you feel your energy levels are okay doing your cardio (because it’s what you’re used to), is it ok to continue with this pattern, or are you actually saying there is a physiological disadvantage to not eating other than lower energy levels?

Great post – it’s amazing just how many of my buddies workout on an empty stomach.

Thanks for the heads up!

I find that I feel better with my workouts when I have something to eat even just a protein bar or toast with jam if I’m not hungry in the morning. I also last through the whole session of the routine. I certainly believe that having something to eat before a cardio or resistance training is the way to go.

Hi Joel, I work out 3 mornings a week getting up at 4:20 and hitting gym by 4:50 (takes 10 min to drive there). I’ve found that if I try to eat anything I am really nauseous during my workout. The chocolate whey protein is a very yucky flavor to have around when you are working really hard. I don’t notice any performance hit, but again, I’ve never really eaten before i work out so who knows? I have to be back home by 6am to get my family’s day going. and the thought of gettign up even earlier to eat something doesn’t sound good either. thoughts?

PS – question – does the cheat day have to be sandwiched between two night’s sleep? or is it any 24 hour period and could be 6pm Friday to 6pm Saturday?? Thx!

Thank you for this article. I have done both and have been confused about what to eat before a workout. Lately, I have been eating a bowlful of berries & walnuts before a workout. Is this a sufficient before workout meal?

I totally agree wt u man. I’m gonna stop doing my cardio wt an empty stomach deffinetly

I am up at 0400 hrs in the morning I am unable to have breakfast this early. I hit the gym at 0500 hrs and train on an empty stomach. I do not feel week but tend to have enough energy to go through 1.30 to 2 hours of training. Is this going to effect me in the future. I do 1 hour cardio ( running 30 min and cross trainer (30min ) + 30 min to 1 hour weight training. I also need your recomendation for nutrition or suppliment I need. Take into account I had a triple by pass about 1 and a half year ago.

Hey Joel,
Interesting, the debate rages on! I’m wondering – if you get up early in the morning and don’t really have time to digest food for 30 minutes before starting, would it be acceptable (or even optimal) just to have 1/2 serve of Surge of similar prior to beginning?? (assuming of course, your stomach doesn’t mind training with that “empty” feeling which mine doesn’t).

Oh by the way I’m referring to a weights training session, not cardio. Thanks!

Ok. I guess what your saying makes sense. I’ll have my whey prior to my morning training both cardio and weights. Would bcaa’s do the trick as well? Lisa from Australia

on occasion i’ll get up early in the morning and drink a strong cup of coffe or black tea and then immediately drive to the gym 2 miles away and do cardio; sometimes continuous moderate and other times intense intervals. no weighlifting. i manage fine but i am very hungry after it , so i always bring a protein/carb shake with me and i consume it at the gym. i have read a lot of research over the years that says that fat loss is greater when cardio is done in the morning first thing with at least 200 mg. of caffeine. i don’t get it. are they lying? only once i saw a study that said the opposite. as a personal trainer i have been encouraging my clients to do so. now, i wonder if i’ve been wrong.

Thanks for your information on this. Your post is interesting as it goes against what I have been taught by my personal trainer. His gym professes that you should perform cardio (not weights) at least 2 hours after eating (not sooner) and you shouldn’t eat for at least an hour after a cardio workout (not weights). Co-incidentally, I have been working out for years in the early morning and then having breakfast about an hour after my workout, after my shower etc. and have not noticed any issues with lack of energy. So now I am confused!

I agree that eating – even a little something – in the morning is a more efficient way to work out. I have tried both ways and found I’m way more productive if I’ve had a bit to eat first.

I’ve always been one of those people who had a terrible time eating first thing in the morning. I’d rather have coffee… Now I have a few hard boiled eggs or a small bowl of raw oatmeal with milk with a wee bit of sugar or berries. Works great.

Here’s the situation, 2 months ago, I used to weigh 172 lbs, Been exercising and eating right.. 2 Months later, I did my weigh-in. It read 188 lbs.. I was shocked and sadden. I’ve been doing over 30,000 steps a day from power walking everyday outside, but I cannot seem to pass under 180 as of now. I’m trying to reach down to 150 lbs… Is there a way to break this plateau? Will muscle milk break the plateau? I may end up boosting my daily power walks to 75,000 steps a day, 6 days a week at seems.. Please respond, thanks.

Oh i totally agree that one has to eat before any kind of cardio… whether its morning or evening. I tend to work out in the evenings and i do need that burst of energy to have a really optimal work out… else its really useless spending the time at the gym cos you are not achieving anything.

Joel,
Thanks for the information. I ride my bike to work, and often do not eat at home before I leave. That would now explain why I am dying before I get to work on those days I don’t eat! I will now make sure to get up early enough to get at least a light meal in before I hit the road.

Thanks

Would be great if you could link to the available research – until then this post is as much a theory as empty-stomach-cardio is.

I was told that though you should not workout on an empty stomach, you should not work out right after eating either. Is this correct? And if it is, how long should you wait after eating a regular size meal? Because I work out at night. I don’t have time to work out in the mornings.

Hi Joel,

Thanks for the post. Actually, the one an only time i managed to have more of a six-pack, was when i did my cardio before breakfast, but i have to confess, it made me have a miserable start of the da every morning that i hit the gym. Now i gained some weight (hopefully muscle ) and try to get back to the abs -thing, but i don’t work out first thing in the morning, but seemingly keep on the same fat-percentage level…and leaves me a bit confused after reading your advice. (Either i do cardio after workout or extra on seperate days…
Peter from the Netherlands

I just started your program and am only on my second day! Obviously I can’t eat carbs this week so is it still ok when on a low carb week and what is the best thing I should eat! I do know if I have nothing my workout is rubbish! Any advice welcome!
Cheers Nicki

I’d like to see the studies, all the studies. Is it possible that whether one should eat or not depends on the type of cardio ones is doing? Anyways, when I exercise in the a.m., usually 5 to 5:30, I don’t eat first.

My sons will not run or work out when they have eaten because they don’t want to throw up. My son learned in training that if you ate before you worked out hard you would throw up your food. I try to have whey protein with some fruit but nothing really heavy. Usually if I am going to do cardio I can’t eat very much at all. But with resistant training it is easier for me to a little protein before and after a good work out.

When I played sport (Rugby with 45 min halves), I always felt that playing fasted felt a lot better…..until the second half :-(. So I did feel energy loss after a while and had to hydrate and carb up a bit at half time. But if I do ‘fasted’ morning cardio, it doesn’t last more than 15-20 min (HIIT or Tabatas) so I feel energetic and light and at the end when I am absolutely drained, I have a protein shake/meal and am rejuvenated. A lot of times, I also feel that when I do fasted cardio, I feel ‘hotter’ than usual throughout the day and especially hungry. But overall, I notice more a decrease in performance if I am dehydrated, than if I am hungry or that my stomach is empty. As far as lifting weights goes, If I eat, even a little before lifting weights, I have to wait at LEAST an hours or I’ll go to the gym feeling sluggish. In the past, I have tried MAKING myself get used to eating a half hour before a weight lifting session and found that I could only take protein shakes or risk feeling sick and slow. I also tried to drink a protein shake before morning cardio, and the sloshing in my stomach was too much to take. I believe that dehydration has a lot more to do with how performance is negatively affected by fasted morning cardio.

But if fasted morning cardio is worse, than why bother getting up early to do cardio (unless it only fits into your schedule that way)? If you wake up and eat/have a protein shake, it makes it almost like any other time of day (unless you’re arguing that eating after an 8 hour fast sleeping pre-workout as opposed to a 3-4 hour fast between meals is the defining factor). I think that now, after reading this article, I would be more apt to just do my cardio at the end of the day, if fasted morning cardio is not all that effective. That way, I don’t have to worry about the eating(weighing down of food in the belly)/sloshing problem (the slosh ofI a tasty protein shake while working out) because I will have already eaten, don’t have to wake up early, and I will have the same fat loss effects.

Am I understanding your contention? Are you still advocating morning cardo as the best for fat burning–just not fasted? Or are you more so pointing out that regardless of the time of day or length of a fast, that cardio is best done after having eaten for fat burning AND performance sake?

On a side not: I’m loving cheat your way thin–I’m starting week 3 and jeans are already a bit looser!!!!

I had been doing morning fasted cardio but not anymore! It makes TOTAL sense to eat a little first and maintain energy needed to sustain cardio rather than be a complete mess trying to just finish 20 minutes without passing out. Good advice, thanks so much for this post!!

I Agree and it makes 100% sense what your article states. The type of Cardio that I do fasted is more like a brisk walk for 30 minutes or so first thing in the morning. Definitely not high intensity and no weights involved. I would crash very quickly if I attempted to do much more while fasted. I also save fasting Cardio for plateaus or when I’m down to those last couple bits of fat.
Great article and thank you for sharing.

Finally! This makes great sense, I have become tired of hearing(reading) about working out w/o eating first it always seemed to me that that would make your body want to start fat even more. Thanks for the validation.

Hi Joel, I do 3 to 4 cardio sessions per week and 2 resistance training workouts in the morning, and a further 2 resistance training workouts in the evening. With the morning sessions I have found that both my concentration and performance is noticeably improved if I have a light protein based snack such as whey beforehand. However if I eat a larger carbohydrate based breakfast beforehand I feel sluggish and lazy unless I wait 2.5 to 3 hours prior to working out. Interestingly if I eat a carbohydrate breakfast before working out in the morning I feel compelled to eat significantly more during the day, and especially have difficulty avoiding sugar and processed carbs. Any thoughts?

I feel for you, all that hard work and not getting the results you hoped. It’s frustrating. Hang in there – maybe Joel’s cheat your way thin program will be that plateau breaker. That is my hope as well! Good luck to you.@Michael Powell -

Im 50/50 on this… i can see why lacking energy from food can lead to less energetic workouts but didnt our ancestors (cavemen) wake up to the prospect of having to hunt for food? ie. fasted state cardio. isn’t that how our bodies are designed function?

Both make sense to me. Personally i would struggle to eat upon waking and then train 30-60 minutes later… but have more energy and focus later in the day. So i guess its personal preference and what works best for you

What I heard was doing only cardio on empty stomach, e.g. jogging without breakfast first thing in the morning. I kind of felt slimmer at the waist line, though it may be psychological though. This article will reenforce the truth and I will stop upholding the “burning fat faster on empty stomach” theory eventually.

I never train weights on an empty stomach, but quite often I do my cardio on an empty stomach. I will have a glass of water with lemon juice (or green tea) when I wake and hit the bike.

Ive been training for about 3 years and i gotta say my training section never fales on an empty stomach. Day or night. But everybody is different.
Also the info is muchly appreciated. Thanx

I used to do cardio on an empty stomach back in the day several years ago. Now I always try to get a little something in my stomach before doing cardio. I currently do three weight training sessions per week and two cardio sessions. On my cardio days I generally get up around 5:00 and I’m at the gym by 5:45 or so. I don’t have a big meal, usually just a half or full scoop of whey protein with a serving of BCAA powder mixed in. I go from the gym straight to work where I will have a meal when I get to work between 7:30 and 8:00. So if I don’t get something in my stomach after I get up and before going to the gym I would be up for between 2 1/2 to 3 hours before eating anything which is way to long for me. I think my cardio sessions are better by eating a little bit before hand because I am not starving and feeling my stomach growl the whole time.

I like to do wieghts or cardio about 1hr to 1 1/2 hrs after a snack. Seem to have more energy,especially if I have some protein.

I am useless with out a meal inside me. I have seen it in running mags saying that at least one run a week should be done on an empty stomach. But if I tried I ended up walking home. I usually get to the gym at 10am so I always have a small snack, often sitting in the carpark. If I don’t I soon feel sick and have very heavy limbs.
So I am glad it is all nothing but a myth.

Joel, it makes sense to eat “something” to get yourself going. Don’t know about the supplements, or anything that would load you down, but say yoghurt with cottage cheese and fresh fruit what might qualify for a smoothie, If I understand the correct food values, its a low carb that provides a spurt of energy with some protein to provide some strength to last out the cardio. A way to prime the pump, as it were.

When reading this was just having black coffee, green tea and some water while preparing for some overnight fasted cardio! ha thanks for that

Great insight – I agree, doing workouts on an empty stomach is too distracting and hard. However, I find that having a stomach that is too full can also keep me from doing a good workout – especially when it comes to cardio workouts.

Hi Joel!

I see your point in recommending people to eat something before workout to improve their performance during workout – but I would not go as far as to recommend complex carbohydrates and protein as PRE-workout nutrition.

Why would you want to consume protein BEFORE a workout? The body does not have a higher protein turnover before workout, only afterwards, for regenerative reasons. Carbohydrates would be the right thing to ingest before a workout, but I recommend simple carbohydrates (fruit) instead of complex carbohydrates. They are a lot easier to digest and do not draw the power off the workout.

As for working out on empty stomach, I can absolutely and wholeheartedly recommend it (and thereby swim against the stream). I never feel better than on empty stomach, as my whole body is aggressive and tuned for energy output rather than occupied with digestion, which is the absolute opposite of what I’d like to achieve. Feeling nauseous is probably a symptom of change, but in the long run, working out on emtpy stomach works out just fine.

But this is a tough question between the high- and low-frequency-feeders. I admit being one of the latter and feel better doing so.

Regards,
Simon

@karen –
or you can eat a grannola bar. maybe a powerbar. thats what i do , and it seems to be ok.

Hi – what if I am on a low carb day – what must I eat?

hi joel, yep that’s what i read to, that cardio first thing when you get up is supposed to be good, well i tried it a couple of times and i just could barely get myself going, let alone keep myself going. i gave it few tries and it just was’nt for me and it didn’t work. i do better after i eat something and then let it digest and then go work out. thanks dennis

@Michael Powell –

Michael–to lose weight:
1. Start counting your calories–80% of results
2. Start resistance training (weights)–15% of results
3. stop the cardio LIE! (low intensity exercise). Do sprint training instead.

I have lost 80 pounds (yes-eighty) but realise it is mostly calories in that makes people fat.

I think it’s more psychological than of practical benefit to have a meal before working out early in the morning. The rise in blood sugar pumps your adrenaline up to think you have more energy. This positive mental response is important for intensity because a large part of it is mind-muscle connection. However, you body has plenty of stored glycogen to use to get through a workout. If you have a glass of water (and sure, have some whey), you should be set to go and have enough energy to get a cardio workout in

Sure, if you’re going to go heavy on the weights, have something to eat or else your body will go into a catabolic zone real fast. However, if you’re just doing cardio, you’ll find that your energy levels go up after a few minutes as your body starts mobilizing fat stores and tapping into glycogen…you just have to ‘wake’ your body up…

As for more energy during your workout…sure, you’ll have it. However, the extra calories beforehand will cancel out the extra calories you burn during your workout (unless, once again, you’re going for muscle work and growth…then eat before).

In the end, do what works best for you

I have trained for over three decades without eating prior, and never suffered any issues from doing so. Being the energy used is from the night prior I am able to push as hard and as long as needed, void of any detrimental effects.

I generally always train on an empty stomach. It just works for me, if I do eat something before a workout, I will give it half an hour or so before I do anything but it always repeats on me and is very unpleasant.

There is proven fact clinical research that proves empty stpmach cardio burns more fat. I have always dont cardio this way and it works.
“A study carried out at Kansas State University (Wilcox, Harford & Wedel Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, 17:2, 1985), indicates that a kilogram of fat will be oxidized sooner when exercising in the fasted condition in the morning than when doing the same exercise in the afternoon. By measuring respiratory gas exchange, caloric expenditure, and carbohydrate and fatty acid metabolism, these researchers showed that the mass of fat burned during aerobic exercise amounts to 67% of the total energy expenditure achieved when the same exercise is done later in the day or in the fed state.”

Hi Joel, I usually do my HIIT – Empty Stomach. But your logic does sounds good, let me try it, will keep you posted of results.

Best Regards,

Sumeet

After completing my Personal Training course we were taught the empty stomach cardio was highly effective as long as you were only doing low intensity training. eg between 60% and 70% of your maximum heart rate.

Hahaha, I didn’t realize people were STILL doing that! Dang! That research is ANCIENT! I don’t really read fitness mags, but do they really still teach this?!? I always eat before I workout in the morning. Or whenever. If nor I end up whining on the floor. Hahaha. Not a pretty sight!

Oh well. Hope you reach many enough to spread the word. I know I do!

Have a great day everyone!

Joel

Wondering if you are able to provide the referneces for the research you refer to?

Thanks mate

Every morning I start my day with having some Choco-cereals and a glass of orange juice. I then wait for about an hour or so then start of with a little streching eg: leg streches etc.. take abou 4 minutes on it and then start to warm up and all. Now the difference is when I dont eat before starting of my warm up I dont start to sweat neither do I have any stamina since I just get of the bed and off to exercise would be kind of dum. Further more after warming up through aerobics and all when I get to start my Push-ups which I do 80 each day spreading equally to 25-25-30, I can do them better with having a moderate Breakfast but when I didnt eat my breakfast I just cant seem to keep up and lose track in the second set. But with out breakfast I do feel a bit lighter when doing my workout, but that doesnt convince me from not having a good breakfast. I recommend breakfast for all, especially for those of you out their who are teenagers like I am 17.

Hi,
just started your program & am on week one on Low Carbo which means that my food intake follow your stated guidelines. But I still continue with my daily habit(6 years morning ritual) of taking Reliv Protein+fruits(grapes/strawberry/blue berry,sunkist/grapefruit etc one type per day)+1 spoon Bragg Apple Cider Vineger + UDO oil on empty stomach when I woke up in the morning before I head to the gym for workout. Usually, took an hr & did group cycling on Mon & Thur, Yoga on Tue & Wed, weight & 20mins interval cardio on Fri & Sat. Sun, hill slope sprinting 20mins & body weight exercise. My weight stable at 50kg at 5Feet. Hoping to hit 48kg. Then I report for work at 9am. My concern now is will my morning protein juice intake affect my progress since I am at Low Carbo week or Low GI etc. 2ndly, I dun feel lacking energy when I did my 1 hr workout, of course with protein shake intake.

I’m familiar with the empty stomach cardio workout, though I myself strive to have a proper meal before any training. What I would like to know is why some supplements such as USN’s Leutec require one to take six pills on an empty stomach before a workout, and three thereafter. They’re supposed to help one’s body into an extreme anabolic state.
Could the way they are taken pose a risk to one’s health?

I’ve tried a couple of times cardio with empty stomach first thing in the morning and I had nausea feelings, low blood pressure and performance issues. So, I gave up. I usually don’t have the time for cardio in the morning, but in the weekends I exercise after 1 hour after breakfast (cereals+yogurt). My usual is to do cardio at lunch time before lunch. Surprisingly, I don’t have any of the issues mentioned above even in days I miss my 10 am snack.

I heard about empty stomach Cardio, understood the theory behind and in fact tried once. I found I didn’t have energy in early morning to fuel those workout.
Instead I took 3 scoops of endurance drink mixed with 2 scoops of Betagen before and during workout, and some protein drink after for recovery and this way suits me best.

I play 1+ hours of intensive tennis at morning and feel much better with empty stomach. I think if its pure cardio like running or tennis, its always better with empty stomach. OFcourse for my evening weight training I follow the general pre and post workout meals.

To me working out first thing in the morning BEFORE breakfast spells disaster for muscles. This may not be the case with slow and steady cardio, but I don’t do slow and steady any more, interval is much more fun and much more effective so if I did interval first thing in the morning…hah good one :) not to mention weight training on an empty stomach. I just have a feeling that you would lose muscle by training first thing in the morning and where da heck would you come up with the energy as Joel says. Maybe it would be a good idea to eat some lean protein oatmeal and like a bowl of mixed salad in the morning and then go hit the gym if you want to go early in the morning.

It’s pretty funny… I just came back from my morning cardio session (on an empty stomach) which I actually don’t do that often but today I wanted to have my cardio done before going to work. Usually I do it in the evenings. Anywho, It felt really crappy and instead of feeling more energetic which I usually do I almost feel sick, even after having my breakfast. From now on no more empty stomach cardio!

Ps. Despite what I just wrote I DO think that you can perform well before breakfast, but that’s if you had a large meal late, the night before.

Have a good one!

It is just sad that we are continually subject to the changes in opinion of the “Fitness Gurus”. fortunately I test what works for me and stick to that. I always excercise on an empty stomach and eat straight after and it works for me. I am as strong as an ox and I particularly alterante my cardio between HIIT and steady state, to confuse my body enough and it works miracles for me. I have just turned fifty and I have yet to see anyone even the younger guys work head on with me. I excercise every morning and I am sticking to empty stomach. Keep up the good work, we learn so much from you guys.

Absolutely agreed with you joel. Thank you for clearing this one up!

Hi All… Thanks for all the interesting thoughts, but talking about FAT burning specifically, it makes sense that after a 7-8 hour fasting (Sleep time), then going for a one hour aerobic excercise at 75% HR will be a super fast burner session, is that fact or myth? now we have two opposite opinions and supported by research,, so what to do??

I always eat to have the energy before weight training workouts, but if I eat or drink anything within 2 hours of doing cardio, I get a massive stitch and literally can’t move, having to stop running etc to ease the pain.

So if it’s cardio, it’s first thing in the morning before breakfast!!

If i’m doing something like a half marathon or mini-triathlon, i’ll get up extra early to have a banana a few hours before, but for a smaller training session, I’m much better without food or drink in me!

I’ve done both. If it’s early and I don’t have time, I won’t eat but I do notice the difference when I have eaten. Much prefer my feelings about my performance after eating first.

The most practical recommendation to keep one’s body fit more especially the stomach part is to do a regular sit ups. This would be great in maintaining a healthy and fit mind and body.

The theory sounds about right; you will achieve more in the session if you have eaten for energy but I guess it all depends on what you class as a morning workout. I go for a 30 minute run every morning on an empty stomach but this is more as exercise for the dog and to wake my body up. I have to go within 10 minutes of the alarm going off (or I won´t go) so I don´t eat anything. My performance doesn´t suffer because it is not a high intensity session, more of a bonus to my proper routine and a way of waking myself up. I then eat oatmeal and a boiled egg when I get back. The mainstay of my training is whole body workouts, boot camp style. I live in Spain and the national custom is the siesta, a 2 hour lunch break from 14:00-16:00. I go to the gym in this break (it is empty then) and this means that I have had the whole morning to eat and prepare (light, balanced meals every 2 1/2 – 3 hours). If I ever have to do a session without having eaten then I have a crappy workout; I get laughed at at work because I bring in a coolbox with 4 meals in it to get me through the day! My workmates don´t understand how I am eating frequently to burn fat, they simply skip and then wonder why they are not getting in shape.

For those who don’t have time for the 30 min eating space what I do is taking coffee at half of my normal cup then off with my morning jogging straight away. This helps with those who gets nausea on empty cardio as caffeine kicks in to the rescue quite quickly plus giving you the stimulant to exercise to burn more fat! (The less sugar you put in coffee the more fat burning effective! bitter coffee anyone?) . However, for weight training I do need have some carb before hand.

hi joel,

thanks for the tip. i agree with you that we get better results when we eat several minutes before doing cardio.

I always do my morning workouts on an empty stomach, having only water and one cup of black, unsweetened coffee before. I feel great this way. Sometimes I tried eating before and it slows me down big time. I feel nauseous and tired no matter how “small” I eat. I think this is a personal thing. You just have to find your best way.

I do cardio on an empty stomach. I find if I have a large cup of coffee before doing my cardio, I have no problem giving 30 minutes hard and intense effort.

I never exercise without breakfast. That is one meal I simply cannot forgo….my breakfast is as early as 6:30 in the morning and I do not work out till almost 9…at times even later. If it is later than nine, I do have a wholemeal toast with some honey or a couple of digestive biscuits about an hour before my workout. I cannot exercise on an empty stomach….just doesn’t seem right….

This is an eye opener as I’ve been torturing myself by getting up at 5.30 to work out at home and just been getting through the workout. Guess I need to find a better time so that I can put in a better performance.

Hi! I am glad you are endorsing this as I never was really into morning cardio anyway. I always felt my performance was at minimum in the morning and the first thing I wanted to do when I got up from bed is to have a good breaklfast. I am into afternoon intense interval cardio where I can really feel energetic and give it all. This works fine, at least, for me and I came to a point where I accepted the fact that everybody performs better at different times. I was feeling though as I was not doing my best by skipping morning cardio. Not any more. I feel justified now. Thank you!