What is Fasted Cardio? How Can Fasted Cardio Help You Burn Fat Faster?

The fastest way to lose fat is through caloric restriction, but that doesn't mean you have to starve yourself.

In fact, fasting — or not eating for a period of time — can actually increase your metabolism and help your body burn more calories. This process is known as fasted cardio. It happens when your body breaks down damaged cells and replaces them with new ones.

In this article, we will take a look at how it works.

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What is Fasted Cardio?

Fasted cardio is a type of exercise you perform in the morning after an overnight fast. You should have at least 12-16 hours of fasting before your workout. It can be referred to as a fasted state, or fasted training — and this type of exercise has proven to help people lose fat faster than exercising on a full stomach.

In fact, studies show that exercising in the morning on an empty stomach may burn more fat than if you worked out later in the day after eating breakfast or lunch first.

That's because working out on an empty stomach causes more fat-burning hormones to be released into your bloodstream as fuel for the muscles during exercise — which means you will burn more calories while working out.

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What happens in fasted cardio?

During exercise, the body breaks down fat and glycogen (stored glucose) to fuel your muscles.

The body can only store a limited amount of glycogen in the liver and muscle tissues. When you consume a low-carbohydrate diet, you deplete those stores even further, leaving you with no alternative energy source other than fat during exercise.

Fasted cardio has been shown to increase the number of calories burned during exercise as well as improve insulin sensitivity for better fat loss results.

Here're a few aspects and benefits of fasted cardio:

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Helps burn fat without need for carbohydrates or glycogen

Fasted cardio refers to doing your exercise on an empty stomach, which means you have not eaten anything in at least 5-6 hours before starting your workout.

The reason why fasted cardio is effective for fat loss is because it uses fat as fuel, instead of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are stored in your body as glycogen and are used during exercise to produce energy for the body.

When you’re fasting, any glycogen stores are already full so there isn’t enough available for your body to use during exercise. That means the only fuel source left for working muscles is fat.

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Impacts hormones, which helps regulate metabolism

The increased production of fat-burning hormones is what helps you burn more fat during exercise. Fasted cardio also increases the amount of post-exercise muscle protein synthesis, which can help improve the body's ability to burn fat throughout the day.

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Can help strip away belly fat and lead to improved body composition

When you do fasted cardio, your body is burning fat for fuel and producing ketones, which are produced when the body burns fat instead of carbs. The goal of doing this type of exercise is to burn more calories than you take in, reducing overall body fat percentage over time.

To get the most out of fasted cardio sessions and achieve optimal results as quickly as possible, it's important to make sure you eat healthy foods before and after each workout session.

If you're just starting out with this type of training regimen, it's best if you start with shorter workouts at lower intensities. Gradually increase both the duration and intensity as your fitness level improves over time.

You should also make sure that all exercises performed during these sessions are low-impact ones, such as walking or jogging on low inclines rather than running on flat surfaces or hills. This choice will help prevent injury while providing enough resistance for muscle-strengthening.

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Takeaway

Fasted cardio is a type of exercise you perform in the morning after an overnight fast. During exercise, the body breaks down fat and glycogen (stored glucose) to fuel the muscles.

Fasted cardio helps burn fat without the need for carbohydrates or glycogen. This cardio form impacts hormones, which helps regulate metabolism. Fasted cardio can help strip away belly fat and lead to improved body composition if done correctly.