Supplements on Fasted Cardio

Before I begin this blog on what I personally take the days I perform cardio on a fasted stomach I'm going to address that on a different blog I will talk about the benefits of fasted cardio vs/s non fasted cardio. Either way, I perform them both, yet mentally I prefer fasted cardio as it gives me a pretty darn good reason to get out of bed and get my day started.

The truth is that I hate how many people would rather emphasize what supplements one should be taking over the simple fact of actually training or doing cardio to begin with. Supplements are always there to supplement or add on to a great nutritonal lifestyle and training regimen. They will never beat hard work no matter what. So when people ask me what I'm "on" I always answer ' I'm on a great high protein food regimen and consistent training schedule'. For some reason it upsets them as that's not the answer they want to hear but that's the truth. No one truly wants to hear the truth. So....as let's get back to topic. As soon as I get my ass out of bed the first thing I actually do is drink a glass of water. Just water. I know right? hard to beleive ha ha. This moistens my throat and kinda wakens me up a little. Secondly I start grabbing my supps. What are they? Below they are listed and why I take them.

5-10g BCAA - Branched chai amino acids are 3 amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine). BCAAs trigger protein synthesis and inhibit the breakdown of muscle cells. For any strength athlete, the key to getting stronger is to promote anabolism and simultaneously prevent catabolism. But the importance for me sice it's fasted cardio and I'm not consuming any calories is to prevent my body from breaking down (catabolism) my muscle.

3g Glutamine - You might be thinking? Why glutamine? isn't it a recovery specific amino acid? Truth is glutamine has several benefits beyond recovery (from what many studies have shown) but what I look for in glutamine in a fasted state cardio is that A.) It works in conjuction with the BCAA by reducing BCAA oxidation and therefore skeletal muscle catabolism and B. ) glutamine has been shown to help cell volume and hydration. (*some of these things have not been shown on studies but are all theoreical still based on some results on rats)

Caffeine - This one shouldn't come to you as a shocker, but how much you take depends on you. I personally take anywhere between 150-300mg that comes from a combination of a few products like Amino Energy. Caffeine simply works but beyond this I take it because on several studies it has been shown to release free fatty acids into your blood stream for the body to use as energy.

2-3g Argenine - Some might wonder why argenine since it's a "pump" supplement and Im not lifting. By dilating blood vessels, NO delivers more oxygen, blood and nutrients to working muscles. This not only effects energy levels, muscular volume and protein synthesis. you can see how this helps fat burning to certain extent as well.

Green Tea Extract - Depending on the morning I either take this separately in a supplement form of 500mg or I take it with my cafeeine product (amino energy) that already includes it. Beyond being a great anti-oxidant several studies back up the use of green tea extract in increasing your metabolic rate.

Finally...water...oncea again. I know! I drink all these supplements with 20oz of water (which can bloat you a bit if you aren't used to drinking that much water). But the body depends on water for it's survival and mechanisms, plus if you've just woken up you went to the bathroom, so it's good to replace water. Beyond that i'm sure you have heard that water helps you with your healthy metabolism, so it's crucial you keep hydrated before, during and after any type of workout.

So what about L-Carnitine? I know I used to use it as a fat burner in the past, why aren't you mentioning it here now. The truth is we all live and learn, but beyond that I like to research on my spare time what I am taking and if there's better ways to enhance it. On so many articles I've read latetly L-Carnitine (which comes in different forms popularly today known also as Carnipure) only truly does what it's intended to do with carbs. So I've actually started taking my l-carnitine tabs with breakfast. Carnitine transports fatty acids more quickly and throws them into the metabolic furnace. This means that the body is burning fat instead of storing it, but again, do a little research and you will find that it's not a fat burner like many think, plus it needs those carbs as a method of transportation.

Products I personally use to get these supplements in:

Optimum Pro BCAA + Glutamine

Amino Energy

I buy argenine on bodybuilding.com

#supplements #lifestyle #health #cardio #carnitine #argenine #glutamine #bcaa