Fat Loss Hack: Fasted Cardio

How to lose fat, FAST w/Fasted Cardio

I included the video below for people that would prefer watching vs reading.

When it’s time for me to go into fat loss mode & I want the results QUICK, a strategy I like implementing into my routine is fasted cardio. There’s pros & cons to this so let’s start with the reason why it works & why I like it. Fasted cardio means performing a type of exercise, cardio, when you have no calories in your system. I personally like black coffee (or a preworkout supplement) followed by BCAAs (Branch Chain Amino Acids) during my fasted cardio sessions.

The way I perform Fasted cardio is in the morning followed by a protein shake + breakfast (the longer I do fasted cardio, the hungrier I am afterwards). This is my first “workout” of the day. Later in the day when it’s time to workout again, this is when I’ll strength train. This combination, strength training & fasted cardio, helps me speed up the process of losing body fat. Why not just do cardio all the time then? Because there is no resistance to cardio, therefore the body is moving but the muscles are not being challenged. Strength training burns calories by building muscle & burning fat at the same time. Cardio burns calories by simply moving so you can burn fat but that process is much slower & less effective than strength training especially when supported with adequate protein intake.

Understand that for you to lose weight, at the end of the day, you have to be in a calorie deficit for an extended period of time. To lose body fat, not only do you have to be in a calorie deficit, but you also need to be a on a high protein diet because if you don’t closely track your macros (macronutrients), your muscle mass will decrease which will inversely increase body fat. The goal is to look better naked, don’t sabotage your progress by burning a sh*t load of calories & not replacing them with enough protein. A high protein diet is what will help you retain as much muscle as possible while weight is dropping.

My favorite forms of fasted cardio include:

1. Walking on a treadmill:

a.     Incline 15%

b.     Speed 3.0-3.5 mph

c.     Duration: 30-60 mins

d.     30s on/30s off (meaning holding the bar for 30s then not holding it for 30s (I get bored fast))

2. Stairmaster:

a.     Level 9 & 10 (Blink Fitness Gym)

b.     40s on/20s off

c.     Duration 30-60 mins

3. Elliptical

a.     Level 10-12 (Blink Fitness Gym)

b.     duration 30-60 mins

Pros:

• Low intensity cardio is good for active recovery.

• Burns a lot of calories w/o stressing the body or risking injury.

• I feel clear-headed afterwards.

• Use this technique around cheat meals/days.

Cons

• More time in the gym.

• Boring (I’m usually on YouTube to pass the time by)

• Can burn muscle if fasted cardio session is too long (going past your fasted state into hunger)

Advanced Level Fasted Cardio

If you made it this far, thank you. I’m also going to include something I do after my low intensity fasted cardio exercise: HIIT! After 30-60 mins of low intensity cardio & I still have some energy left in the tank, I like to do sprints to finish the job off. Why? Because I’m crazy most likely. I’m one of those people who like to see sweat to know that I had a good workout. This isn’t necessary to claim “good workout vs bad workout” but for cardio, I like to see the effort drip.

Treadmill Sprint Workout:

• 30s/60s (30 seconds sprinting/60 seconds resting)

• Incline: 2-3%

• Speed:

  • 9.0 mph x 4

  • 10.0 mph x 3

  • 11.0 mph x 3

  • 12.0 mph x failure (Energy still here is most likely a result of cheating the night prior)

  • Duration: 15 mins-ish.

If done properly, this is what you should look like afterwards (click here)

Enjoy. Try it out. Let me know what you think :)