Fasted vs. Fed Cardio for Fat Loss: Which is Better?

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Fasted vs. Fed Cardio for Fat Loss: Which is Better?

Rationale for fasted cardio for fat loss

A common strategy among those competing in aesthetic sports (e.g. bodybuilders, fitness competitors etc.) and those competing in weight class sports (e.g. boxing, wrestling, judo etc.) is to perform cardiovascular exercise after an overnight fast, waiting until after the exercise bout to consume breakfast. The basic premise for this practise is that low levels of glycogen (and/or glycogen depletion during the exercise bout itself) and insulin, shift energy utilisation away from carbohydrate for fuel, thereby allowing greater mobilisation of stored fat that can be used for fuel (fat oxidation).

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Beetroot Juice: Endurance athletes’ elation or another flop? (Guest Post by Mark Funnell)

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Beetroot Juice: Endurance athletes’ elation or another flop? (Guest Post by Mark Funnell)

It seems like you can't open a cycling magazine, read a running forum or speak to an endurance enthusiast without being drawn into a discussion about beetroot juice. With article headlines such as, “Power to the beetroot - PB up, BP down” and “Beetroot Juice: The Drink of Champions” becoming evermore common, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at some of the research and determine whether these claims are justified. As such, the aim of this article is to discuss all things beetroot and try to find out if it really is “The Drink of Champions”.

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Vitamin D and athletic performance: do you need to supplement? (Guest Post by Joe Matthews)

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Vitamin D and athletic performance: do you need to supplement? (Guest Post by Joe Matthews)

Vitamin D is a fashionable supplement to have in your cupboard. A quick online scout of popular sites sees headlines such as…

“Vitamin D the most underrated vitamin on the planet”

“Get lean by taking vitamin D – it raises testosterone and elevates metabolism”

“D is for domination” (personal favourite)

So, does it live up to the hype?

Here, we will briefly critique the current evidence regarding vitamin D supplementation and athletic performance.

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Nutrition Roundtable (ft. Danny Gruic, Luke Johnson, Matt Jones, Scott Robinson & Amrish Vasdev)

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Nutrition Roundtable (ft. Danny Gruic, Luke Johnson, Matt Jones, Scott Robinson & Amrish Vasdev)

This post makes a change from my previous ones in that I (or a guest) isn't writing an article with a particular topic in mind. Instead, I asked several guys within the fitness industry to answer a few questions, the answers of which I hope you will benefit from. There are many people I could have asked to be involved in this Q&A that I knew would have done a great job. However, in order for this post not to be too long, I narrowed it down to five people. The inclusion criteria was 'young, up and coming nutrition practitioners educated to at least degree level in sports science or related discipline'. If you would like to read more from each of the authors, a brief bio and links to their respective social media channels/websites appear at the end of the article.

Without further ado, let's get into the questions. I hope you enjoy reading the answers as much as I did. Thanks again, guys.

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Science vs. Broscience: a matter of economy?

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Science vs. Broscience: a matter of economy?

Many of you will have heard the term broscience thrown around over social media and have a gist of what the term stands for. Everyone who has been involved in the pursuit of muscle gain and/or fat loss would have been guilty of broscience at least once in their lives; I certainly have. As such, the purpose of this article is to try and sum up the differences between science and broscience. In doing so, it will hopefully convince you that some of the things you’re currently doing in order to reach your body composition goals are pointless or ‘bro’. The elimination of these unnecessary practices will therefore make your life easier with respect to attaining whatever goal(s) you may have. To keep this article short, and because I’m a nutritionist, this article will focus primarily on aspects of nutrition, as opposed to the training side of things.

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