Cardio training should be included in everyone’s journey towards fat loss. Cardio can be fun, and sometimes it can be just dreadful. People perform cardio many different times during the day. Some perform it in the morning, some at lunch time, some after a workout, and some just before heading to bed. So when is the best time out of all these? Performing cardio on an empty stomach can burn 300% more fat than if you were to perform cardio in a non-fasted state. If you were to consume carbohydrates prior to cardio you would have to bust it out for 30 minutes before all the glycogen stores are burned, and begin to burn fat.

You want to burn the stored fat, because that is the fat that you see directly under the skin. If you are eating a deficit of calories during the day your body will handle those calories by itself. Also, another benefit is the accelerated fat burning after the cardio session. Some people wait 30 minutes after a cardio session to eat their first meal. Another benefit is that it gives you a sense of accomplishment for the rest of the day. If you were to wait all day knowing that you had to fit in a cardio session some time during that day you wouldn’t feel that accomplished for the most part of the day, would you?

Do you know what the main problem with performing cardio in the morning on an empty stomach is? There isn’t much motivation when you wake up, and don’t eat. So here are some things you can do to get the motivation to perform cardio in the morning:

1. Have a cup of coffee. Coffee doesn’t have any calories so it’s fine to have a cup of joe before doing cardio.
2. Set goals. By setting goals you know you will be disappointed if you don’t reach them – so you will get out of bed, and hit the treadmill.
3. Read something motivating. Reading motivational material will help you can excited, and help you get focused.
4. Listen to music that motivates you. I usually try to find a few songs that really get me motivated, and listen to them first – that really gets me going.

Most of you might say “Oh well, I’m not a morning person”. Sure then, but don’t be disappointed when you don’t see the results you desire. I was never a morning person either, but once you start getting into a routine your body will start getting used to it just like everything else. Even though I’m not a morning person I just get up anyway. I know the effort will be worth it. Getting down below the 10% bodyfat level is hard thing to do, and requires effort such as waking up when you don’t want to. You’ll get in the groove after the first few weeks, and it will be second nature.

Tell me what motivates you to do cardio in the morning.

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As a part of a workout routine I always like to add an ab routine. Every week I fit in about 3 ab routines. Mostly on the days that I do cardio only. I also like to do abs on an empty stomach right before I do cardio to burn more calories. It’s important to never substitute an abs workout for a chest, back, legs, shoulders or arms workout. If you’re doing abs instead of the more important workouts you will find yourself falling short of your goals. Ab workouts can also be performed directly after a workout, but I prefer the morning.

Crunches – 4 sets of 15-25

The way to properly perform crunches is

1. Lay down on your back, and bend your knees with your feet flat on the floor
2. Cross your hands over your chest so your thumbs are slightly touching your chin
3. To begin the movement first imagine how you are going to do it. You want to movement so that you are moving your chest towards your pelvis (hence ‘crunching’ your abs)
4. As you begin to move towards your knees contract your abs, and exhale. Also remember to always keep your head up during the movement.
5. To go from start to finish is not a very far distance, so always focus on moving your chest towards your pelvis.
6. At the top of the movement hold the contraction for a few seconds then go back to the beginning position.

Bicycle Crunch – 4 sets of 15-25

To perform the bicycle crunch

1. Lay on your back with your hands behind your head.
2. Life your shoulders as if you were doing a crunch
3. Bring your knees up perpendicular to the floor, with the lower legs parallel to the floor.
4. Begin pedaling by kicking your left leg forward and bringing in the knee of the right leg.
5. Bring your right elbow close to your right knee by crunching to that side while exhaling. Remember to twist with your waist, and not your elbow.
6. Go back to the starting position and immediately do the same thing with the opposite leg.

These are just two examples of exercises that you can do for abs. There are all kinds that can be performed. There are tons of videos on how to perform the various ab exercises on YouTube. Before my cardio I usually only do two or three exercises. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes to fit in an abs routine.

With a full body routine, and proper nutrition your bodyfat will lower. Compound exercises such as deadlifting and squats work the abs tremendously. The more your bodyfat lowers the more you will be able to see your abs. You could be doing abs everyday, but if a full body routine or your nutrition is not right your bodyfat loss will suffer. When this happens you start to lose faith, and you don’t want that to happen.

I would like to hear what you perform for abs, and what works for you.