Is working out before breakfast more effective?

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to lose weight and I read working out when you wake upis the best and following it with a protein rich breakfast. I am drinking green tea now to get a boost before I go. I plan on interval running for an hour, then ab workouts and weighted squats/donkey kicks/side leg lifts. Afterwards I'll have a couple egg whites with spinach. Maybe a handful of raw almonds and some clementines too if I'm hungrier?

[redeyemindtricks]

Uh... you just used "intervals" and "an hour" in the same sentence. That is very concerning.

You should do some googling of HIIT (high-intensity interval training). Any workout that's worthy of the title "intervals" should take no longer than about 15 minutes, and preferably should take 10 to 12 minutes.
If you even CAN do the workout longer than that, then you are not working out at the intensity needed to reap the benefits of interval training.

Anything you can do for an hour is just low-intensity cardio (unless you are an élite athlete who can actually do medium-intensity cardio for an hour, but then you wouldn't be posting this question here).

Low-intensity cardio is okay IF (1) you are overweight, (2) you are doing it as a very short-term part of a very intense cutting program where you don’t mind also losing muscle mass (e. g., in the build-up to a fitness competition).
In any other situation, low-intensity cardio will probably just be pointless. Unless you weigh ALL yr food, you will almost certainly eat extra calories to make up for the amount that you burn during cardio (which, especially for women, isn’t very much anyway— an entire hour of cardio is usually worth about 1 slice of deep-dish pizza).

In fact, the reality may be even worse than that.
Ever seen women who have slim upper bodies, but weirdly much hip and thigh fat?
I’d bet $1000 that ALL of those women are cardio addicts.
This is a problem that’s unique to women: Low-intensity exercise (cardio) tends to mobilize fat from the upper body— but then, when you eat again, yr body preferentially puts the fat back on the LOWER body.
So, eventually, most of yr cardio-queen types end up with this weird body type where they have a nice slim upper body — sometimes even with a good amount of abdominal definition — but cellulitey legs.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11706283
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10802396
The first of those studies is the background for the differential fat burning. In the second one, note how the exercise didn’t even touch hip/leg fat. (Those were postmenopausal women, but, fat burning doesn’t change much after menopause.)

So…
(cont'd)

[redeyemindtricks]

* If you are 30lbs or more overweight, then, doing low-intensity cardio is fine here. if you are in that situation, though, then the difference between fasted vs. not fasted won’t make that much of a difference tbh.

* If you are close to yr goal weight, then, this is a decent plan, but you should do interval training (REAL interval training, of the HIIT variety). The low intensity cardio is a waste of yr time unless it’s something that you genuinely love to do.

* If you are already pretty slim and you are looking to lose “stubborn” fat, then, you might have to add yohimbine (available from health food stores and/or online), 30-60mins before the fasted interval training, to help peel off that stubborn fat.
This means that basically all you’ve got left is the fat depots on yr hips/thighs/ass, and everything else is pretty much gone.

(contd)

[redeyemindtricks]

Also:

* You shouldn’t do weights right after intervals, unless that’s THE ONLY time you can possibly ever do them. If you can do that on a different day at a different time — like, after eating at least some protein 1-3hrs before, and at least 25 grams of carbohydrates in the preceding hour or two — then, do that.

* Sets of 20 are good as warm-ups, but, nope. There’s no such thing as “toning”. If you want good muscle tone, you should lift weights like a boy. Heavier weights, shorter sets.
The squats are a good idea. If yr gym has a Smith machine, then, to emphasize the glutes you should squat in this configuration:
www.milliondollarbabyfitness.com/.../...-squat.jpg
(smith machine only because you’d fall over backward if you tried to do that with free weights.)

The norm should be 3 sets of 8-10 reps, but, you should go a bit under (5-8 reps) and a bit over (12-15 reps) that, once yr workouts start to feel stale.

[redeyemindtricks]

For more on the body-fat thing, you can read this interview between Tom Venuto and Lyle McDonald:
www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/members/471.cfm

Lyle's a freaking genius. (He's also a reclusive super-introvert with zero people skills, which is why he isn't as rich or famous as he should be... but, I digress.) If you want to nerd out on this stuff more, you should look into getting his books.

In that interview, pay attention to the last paragraph in particular, where he articulates the point I made above, about re-distribution of bodyfat. Srsly, this is a girl-only problem, and most male athletes and coaches don't know anything about it (why would they?). So, you should take any and all fat-loss advice from men with a grain of salt, until you do some homework on it.

[ConsultantIsBack]

Many, many people believe fasted cardio is more effective than regular. I believe the research out there is still inconclusive if fasted cardio is more effective or not. I am of the opinion it is, but that's just me.

Maybe @redeyemindtricks knows where the research is at currently.

Either way, sounds like you are doing all the right things, the workout plan and those foods. Look up H. I. I. T. routines as well, those are EXTREMELY effective, with HIIT you can accomplish more fat loss in less time than your typical casual jogger you see in the gym. Good luck!

[Asker]

Is 5 sets of 20 with 5 pound weights good? I have a flat booty and want it to be toned for summer.

[ConsultantIsBack]

5 pounds won't do much of anything, you have to lift HEAVY to accomplish muscle tone. Don't worry about becoming "too muscly", most girls lack the testosterone and hormone profile for that to ever even happen. No one accidentally becomes jacked by having one too many workouts lol.

www.girlsaskguys.com/.../a23316-how-to-get-a-squat-booty

[Asker]

So 10 pounds and maybe less reps?

[ConsultantIsBack]

For what lift?
how about more than 10 pounds and 5 sets of 20/until failure?
seriously you have to go heavy

[Asker]

for some reason then i feel like I'm doing less haha. in my mind saying i accomplished 100 squats sounds better than 50 with more weight but you're probably right

[ConsultantIsBack]

X number of squats with heavy weight is wayyyyy better than 100 squats of little/no weight. I'm not probably right, i am 100% right on this, i promise you. Good luck!
But you have to just tear your muscles apart, dont just do a couple dainty little squats with heavy weight and call it good.

[redeyemindtricks]

"No one accidentally becomes jacked by having one too many workouts lol."

ikr? I mean, like that thread a couple days ago where that one dude kept srsly trying to argue that sophie arvebrink is natural haha smh.

some women can pack on a decent amount of muscle easily, but, those are the women who are built like fire hydrants to start with. for the rest of us that is not an issue, unless we are attacked in a back alley by someone who stabs us repeatedly with pins full of testosterone cypionate. LOL

[ConsultantIsBack]

@redeyemindtricks ya most girls dont have the hormone profile to become muscly, some have the genetics tho (serena williams lol). Do you think jacked girl models like Michelle Lewin take test/anavar?
I'm sure they are on var

[redeyemindtricks]

This is kinda one of those "If ya have to ask..." things.
Obvs they'll play the deny, deny, deny game, because any and all sponsorships they have will depend upon it.
And the competitions themselves are (sometimes) drug-tested, but, let's be serious here, this isn't MLB where there's a whole 162-game season during which random drug tests can happen at any time. You'd have to be pretty stupid to fail a drug test that can only happen on 1 specific calendar day. lol

The real confirmation comes from the length of time the girls spend in photo-ready state.
Even if it's theoretically possible to look like Michelle naturally, that would only be sustainable for mb 1-2 days out of every 2-3 months. It'd be exactly like being stage-ready.
If she is photo-ready for more than a couple days quarterly (or mb a couple days a month, if she's young enough), then, drugs.

[ConsultantIsBack]

@redeyemindtricks So agree with what you said about testing for those pro competitions, like Mike O'hearn being mr natural LOL what a joke. Natty leagues mean nothing in my opinion. It's like a lesser known NPC.

[redeyemindtricks]

Oh, yeah, I know him. He's pretty much exactly my husband's age, and, uh let's just say I know pretty well exactly what it takes to keep HIS body looking like that (minus some of the weird uncanny-valley levels of dryness). Hehe.

I don't know him that well, just met him once or twice. Last I knew, I think he was starting to see one of the fitness girls who lives in NYC. Relationships that start out long-distance = <3

[BeerFarts]

Yes, I always work out in the morning. Before my workout, the only thing that I have is black coffee. I usually eat about 30 minutes after my workout.

Ray almonds are high in protein so they're good for muscle recovery. That's a good snack to have. Your fitness plan is on point. If you follow it, you'll be on your way.

[Asker]

following it is the hardest part! i seem to have a cheat day every 3 or 4 days. It should be once a week.

[BeerFarts]

Yes, as with all fitness plans, starting and staying focused are always the hardest part. However, once you start seeing results, you'll be motivated to continue.

[Asker]

Is 5 sets of 20 with 5 pound weights good? I have a flat booty and want it to be toned for summer.

[BeerFarts]

Yes, it's a good start. Once you get used to it, you can increase the weight for faster results.

[redeyemindtricks]

20 reps aaaaahhhh
mb as a warm-up... not as an actual workout.

Have you seen distance runners? they're "in shape", but they don't have the kind of booty pop (or any other muscle pop) that yr talking about.
When you do sets that have sooooo many reps, that's the type of muscle fibers yr starting to work toward.

Also, almonds are not a high-protein food... lol Almonds only derive about 10-15 percent of their calories from protein. (1 ounce of almonds has about 180 calories, of which about 20-25 calories come from protein)
That's lower than white bread, even.
Almonds are a good source of unsaturated fat, which is necessary to keep yr sex hormones from plummeting when yr on a diet, and fats can also help you from getting hungry af... but, no, not a high- or even a medium-protein food.