http://www.extension.iastate.edu/nutrit ... drate.html
it says here that muscles can't borrow glycogen from other muscles. So if I do long cardio, I don't have to worry about my upper body getting eaten by my leg muscles.
in order to burn fat at all, you need cortisol, right? I think it is highest in the morning because you've been living on fat all night.
But to burn fat, you need reduced glycogen levels.
OK, so I do long cardio to burn off the glycogen. Or do some first thing in the morning. Either way, I need the cortisol. I think the intensity of the cardio determines if the body just uses fat, or needs to grab protein as well.
I think I'll eat first thing in the morning, so my upper body muscles get their glycogen back. Then I'll do 20 minutes of HIIT with my lower body, on a bike or incline tread mill, or get a few sets of hams in there. Then I'll take some branch chain amino acids and glutamine in a drink, and do another 30 minutes of steady paced fat burn at 60% my max heart rate. Maybe even go longer than 30 minutes. Then I'll take my time, drink water, take 3-4g of hydrolysed whey protein, and finally my post workout drink to get my glycogen back up. But it will be a small drink, followed by a meal.
actually, I'll do this later in the day, so it is as far away as possible from my upper body workout from the previous day.
OK, I'm content now. And I know what to drink after my weights session.
I'm going to go to the gym and see if I can even bench 95 pounds with my arms tucked.