Strength training first or cardio on empty stomach first?
I’m a light weight body builder who has always done cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Did a 1/2 marathon last year and was very successful. Now going back to body building but I want to change my workouts. I would like to strength train 1st thing in the morning and do cardio later in the afternoon. Will I see the same success?
There are a body of experts who will tell you that during a base building period; say your “off season” and pre-season time that exercising to build a foundation on an empty stomach will help you become more efficient at burning fat.
That said, it implies that you need to do that so that your endurance is better and those doing it are reaching for long distance experiences where they want to have to take in less food and avoid stomach issues along the way.
It doesn’t sound like that’s a good fit for you.
If you did well with your race, and it sounds like you did, are moving back into a body build focus, I’d recommend fueling for both. Now that you have the foundation, you’d tend to risk loss of lean without proper fueling.
A little time off or easy period makes sense also if the race was a new reach for you. Allow your body the recovery it needs, then fuel it sensibly for workouts and you can observe the results and tweak where necessary!