cardio in the evening?

[lucretiamottcuh]

so i'll be returning to good ol' school this monday. i've decided to take small steps to cut down on the bad foods i shouldn't be eating. i also wanted to add in some cardio at least 3-4 times a week (meaning, when i'm not swamped with homework). i'd love to start doing cardio in the mornings, but considering i wake up at 5:30 in the morning...i wouldn't wanna lose any more sleep than i already do. so i was wondering, would it be ok if i did cardio in the evenings? i'll be starting up track and field (field events for me, shotput and discus) and that means i'll probably be working out everyday after school (around 2:30 or 3 till i dunno when). i'm sure cardio would help a bunch with this....any replies will be appreciated!

[RickB]

Yes, it's okay to do that. But cardio first thing in the morning is definitely the best time for fat burning. As long as you keep your carbs in check though, the evenings should work okay for you too.

[lucretiamottcuh]

yeah, i really would do it in the morning if i could...
but thanks, sounds good to me :)

[The Loaf]

if you do cardio after any other type of working out, it is important that you replenish your carbs first. resistance training -- and field events are power training, which really tax your energy -- depletes glucose, so you will need to keep those levels in check.

have a glass or two of juice and perhaps a piece of fruit. these simple carbs will keep you fueled (this can be argued).

as for the cardio you do after practice, keep it low intensity, long duration. any intense work can be saved for the weekends when your not using resistance.

[Fed372]

look, I don't mean to come off like an ass but get up a lil earlyer and run/walk for a half hour 45 mins as many days as you can. In the very beginning for me I was putting in 60 to 70 hour work weeks and operating a home based business AND finding time to exercise. I would go to work @ 8:30 or so in the morning and get home about around 10:30 that night 5 to 6 days a week. So I got my ass up at 6 sumtimes 5 am to get that extra half hour to 45 mins of cardio in FIVE days aweek... Not to mention The hour and a half I spent in the gym 5 days aweek.

The benifits to AM cardio are great. Infact I think they are way better then the PM Cardio... I am sure your days full of school work and homework and everything, BUT I also would be willing to bet that there is some point in your day where you do absolutely nothing for about the same amount of time that you could be running or walking. So simple move that nothing time to early in the day and run/walk.

Sorry again if I come off hard but It takes determination and disapline to do it. There were many of weeks when all I did was Run/work/Lift/sleep. Thats all I did. But you know what. The payoff was what kept me goin.

[RoaringMad Mac]

Studies have shown that PM cardio especially if done in HITT style raise the metabolism late in the afternoon.

Loaf is correct in refueling especially after doing reisistance training but there is a fine line here. It really depends on how hard you have trained. For me I do cardio right after my Resistance training but I do it low intensity and longer duration. A quick boost of simple sugars will allow you to go longer in most cases.

[kickboy]

Great post Fed, fitness is not a resolution it’s a way of life.