By and large, pre- and post-exercise nutrition recommendations for cardio training similar with the same for power workouts. First, we should definite what the ‘cardio’ is. Cardio training includes running, cycling, racewalking, in short, any physical activity which needs constant movement. As result, heart is working hard and heart rate is increasing. Knowing recommendations before and after such trainings you can achieve a better effect. 

What is cardio training need for?

Cardio training needs not only for ‘getting dry’ and losing fat. It needs for prevention of cardiovascular diseases. There can be from one to five trainings per week with duration from 10 minutes to one hour. It depends on target, physical abilities and training level of a sportsman.

You should start, as usual, from light trainings and increase the load gradually both in intensity and duration. It relates to our body gets used to aerobic training very quickly. Similarly, decrease of cardio training quantity and intensity should be done gradually.

Pre-workout nutrition

It was considered the ideal time for cardio was the morning time before breakfast. After night starvation body start burning fat much more intensively. Last researches prove that fat lose doesn’t depend on the time of the day. If you take a portion of whey protein or just egg whites. One or two whites will be enough before morning cardio.

Such a variant is suitable for those addicts who have the relatively low percentage of subcutaneous fat. The time of training doesn’t matter for those who have average or above average percentage of body fat. What is important is to have cardio training.

A good variant is having a meal about two hours before training if it lasts more than 45 minutes. It is better to choose complex carbohydrates with low GI. (What GI is we wrote in the article ‘Glycemic Index of Food’). Such a combination allows you to control insulin levels, and energy release will be gradual and sustained. This can help you to burn more calories during training.

Intra-Workout Nutrition

During cardio training you should, or even must, drink water. Otherwise it may cause disorder of water and sodium balance and this, unfortunately, leads to deplorable consequences.

Sometimes you can find on forums that sweat it’s a fat burning during training. It is a drivel!

Body reacts on increasing the temperature levels and release water for cooling. It is not related to fat burning. Tips to wear a lot of clothes or wrap yourself in plastic film (yes, it’s happens too) threaten to turn into big problems with heart.

Post-Workout Nutrition

During aerobic training calories are burning like sinners in hell. This process continues the very short period after finishing the training. So we don’t recommend you to eat immediately post-workout.

Somebody advise wait for 45 minutes, others - two whole hours. Second variant is obviously from ‘professionals’ who can transform fat into muscles. Such a long time without nutrition is the straight way to catabolism. The breaking down of muscle tissue is not what we need for healthy fat loss.

The best way may be to deliver such a nutrient as whey protein or egg whites within half an hour of completing the workout and add complex carbohydrates after next 45 minutes. Also you can go another way. Thus, Chris Aceto, bodybuilder, international nutrition coach and writer advises eat whites immediately post-workout and carbs only hour and a half later.

So, these are simple tips about nutrition before, during and after cardio. I hope that everybody, who wondered about that question, have found an answer.

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