I began to change lifestyle in March with diet and weight training, in April cardio workouts came into the picture. Although it isn’t end of May yet, I have been studied the results of my all interval trainings in this narrow 3 month. My problem is that I still have a high percentage of body fat, so I’m looking for a method that I can lose the fat-ring around my stomach.

The question is: When?

So far, I was running only on rest days, late in the afternoon, before dinner. This method usually gives me 2 occasions a week, because after the leg-day even the walking caused problems. Sometimes I was unable to run on my scheduled day, because I was fatigued by the work or by the gardening. After one hour with the wheelbarrow, somehow I do not feel the urge to jump on the treadmill.

I read a lot about what time would be ideal for cardio, to burn fat at the very best moment, but do not lose too much muscle. As always: how many stars in the sky, so many opinions!

What has attracted my interest is the early morning, fast-paced HIIT training, directly post-uprising. On the one hand there is no distracting or influencing factor, there is no wheelbarrow, there is no stress. I’m still fresh in the morning and on the other hand we are in a different condition biologically in the morning as well.

In our body, cortisol levels are higher in the morning and lower in the evening. Testosterone is also high in the morning – as most men experience. 😉 However, in the evening the proportion of testosterone compared with cortisol is higher, so the anabolic state is stronger, that is, it is more suitable for muscle building.

Cortisol is a hormone that helps to regulate blood glucose levels in a variety of other functions, so as to enhance muscle breakdown, i.e. hasten the catabolic processes if needed. Testosterone is just the opposite: by incorporating the protein and thereby increasing the muscle weight, which covers the anabolic processes.

So for me, the morning time is maybe more ideal than late afternoon. Hence on Monday it’s time to get up around 6 o’clock and after the morning routine I’ll jump onto the treadmill for 30 minute. Then I drop the kids into the school and head for the job. The plan is that I’ll do this at least 3 occasions a week, but maybe 4 if I can run at the weekend.

Hope the results will be shown in the measurement.