Thread: Cardio Every Day?

When I'm training (recovering from a triceps tear) I do 60 minutes fasted on non-training days keeping my heart rate about 140bpm. On training days I do 30 minutes post workout keeping my heart rate about 120-125bpm.

Cardio is great for overall health, I have 3 pieces of cardio equipment at home which make life really easy.

Originally Posted by justhav2p

First time including Cardio in my training routine.

I have been doing 30 mins on weight lifting days and 1 hr on non weight lifting days.....

too little? 4 days a week 30 min ... 3 days a week 1 hr.

I am cutting if that helps.

I do cardio three days a week - opposite of the strength training days

Originally Posted by Anabolic5150

When I'm training (recovering from a triceps tear) I do 60 minutes fasted on non-training days keeping my heart rate about 140bpm. On training days I do 30 minutes post workout keeping my heart rate about 120-125bpm.

Cardio is great for overall health, I have 3 pieces of cardio equipment at home which make life really easy.

^^^
That's what I do when I'm in my "cutting" phase. If your bulking hard, then you want to keep it to 20-30 minutes 2-3x a week.

Cardio = Cardiovascular, so it's aimed towards your heart. Incorporate it after a workout because your glycogen stores are already depleted.

You could also increase intensity of the training days, shorter rest, superset or triset to get a cardio effect. This would be much harder if you were trying to get strength gains, but for muscle mass would be fine.

Originally Posted by djlance

^^^
That's what I do when I'm in my "cutting" phase. If your bulking hard, then you want to keep it to 20-30 minutes 2-3x a week.

Cardio = Cardiovascular, so it's aimed towards your heart. Incorporate it after a workout because your glycogen stores are already depleted.

i was watching a dorian yates interview and he strongly disagreed with that. his preference was to keep cardio separate from weight sessions. after weights u need to let them recover straight away so if you do cardio right after ur just prolonging the recovery.

OP said he was in a "cutting" phase. That is why I said to do cardio afterwards. If he was in a "bulking" phase, I would said to keep it separate.

You do what you feel is most beneficial to your body and your goals.

Start out with 3 days a week then up it as you go.And add din minutes so you wont plateau

Originally Posted by justhav2p

First time including Cardio in my training routine.

I have been doing 30 mins on weight lifting days and 1 hr on non weight lifting days.....

too little? 4 days a week 30 min ... 3 days a week 1 hr.

I am cutting if that helps.

Too Much

One of the problems with cardio is it cuts into your recovery at some point.

Cardio on Lifting or Non- Lifting Days? | Exercise Biology

Another problem with performing cardio is it promotes AMKP (Activated Protein Kinase).

The Good News

AMPK appears to promote burning fat.

The Bad News

mTOR increases muscle mass in a multitude of way, it creates an anabolic enviroment for muscle growth.

However, AMPK blunts mTOR (mamalian Target of Rapomyosis).

Cutting Fat And MUSCLE Mass

The result in performing extensive cardio is you end up decrease body fat at the expense of losing muscle mass.

grotto72

As he noted (as well as the article posted above), seperately preforming resistance training days and cardio days is a more effective method.

1 Hour Of Cardio

An hour of cardio isn't an effective option, even on your non-weight training days...unless you are a endurance athlete.

Diet Is The Key

The real key to cutting body fat is diet.

Kenny Croxdale

Originally Posted by djlance

OP said he was in a "cutting" phase. That is why I said to do cardio afterwards. If he was in a "bulking" phase, I would said to keep it separate.

You do what you feel is most beneficial to your body and your goals.

During "cutting phase" it would be more important than ever to get quality recovery since the goal is to keep as much muscle while running a low calorie diet. You want growth promotion to be as high as possible to counter your body's tendency to break down muscle.

If I'm mistaken, please correct me.

I don't see a point in cardio daily unless you are trying to lose a specific amt of weight fast. If you are "maintaining" cardio daily seems unnecessary.

Originally Posted by Gissurjon

During "cutting phase" it would be more important than ever to get quality recovery since the goal is to keep as much muscle while running a low calorie diet. You want growth promotion to be as high as possible to counter your body's tendency to break down muscle.

If I'm mistaken, please correct me.

No your correct man. I'm not saying one thing is right and the other is wrong. For me, I always do fasted cardio in the morning and lift at night. If I can't do that, I'll do cardio after a light workout such as abs or specifically on my days off from weights.

Some guys metabolisms and ability to hold onto LBM are genetically predetermined. This is why it's hard to give solid advice because everyone is different.

Originally Posted by djlance

For me, I always do fasted cardio in the morning and lift at night.

Fasted Cardio Ineffective

I was in that camp at one time. However, not any more.

Research along with empirical data indicate otherwise.

Does Cardio After an Overnight Fast Maximize Fat Loss? : Strength & Conditioning Journal

"...the literature does not support the efficacy of training early in the morning on an empty stomach as a tactic to reduce body fat. At best, the net effect on fat loss associated with such an approach will be no better than training after meal consumption, and quite possibly, it would produce inferior results. Moreover, given that training with depleted glycogen levels has been shown to increase proteolysis, the strategy has potential detrimental effects for those concerned with muscle strength and hypertrophy."

Kenny Croxdale

Originally Posted by Kenny Croxdale

Fasted Cardio Ineffective

I was in that camp at one time. However, not any more.

Research along with empirical data indicate otherwise.

Does Cardio After an Overnight Fast Maximize Fat Loss? : Strength & Conditioning Journal

"...the literature does not support the efficacy of training early in the morning on an empty stomach as a tactic to reduce body fat. At best, the net effect on fat loss associated with such an approach will be no better than training after meal consumption, and quite possibly, it would produce inferior results. Moreover, given that training with depleted glycogen levels has been shown to increase proteolysis, the strategy has potential detrimental effects for those concerned with muscle strength and hypertrophy."

Kenny Croxdale

Interesting....
However, for the activities I participate in (biking and running), I could never stomach eating something before cardiovascular workouts. Maybe it is just me, but at during my most intense months of training (april-june), I can usually down some sort of food before hand.

I am not going for size as most guys here are, that is why I have followed both fasted and non-fasted cardio for a few years.

(reps coming your way for the article)

Originally Posted by djlance

Interesting....
However, for the activities I participate in (biking and running), I could never stomach eating something before cardiovascular workouts. Maybe it is just me, but at during my most intense months of training (april-june), I can usually down some sort of food before hand.

I am not going for size as most guys here are, that is why I have followed both fasted and non-fasted cardio for a few years.

(reps coming your way for the article)

Thanks.

Food Prior To Workout

I understand your reluctantants to consume food prior to an intense workout.

There are certain food that I cannot consume prior to a intense workout. Milk is at the top of the list.

Biking And Running

VO2 Max at one time was viewed as the key component of success in aerobic events.

However, scientist now consider lactate threshold to be the consistent predictor of success in endurance events.

Occlusion Training

One of the most unorthodox training around now is Occlusion Training.

My initial reaction was like most when I first saw it. "This is nuts!"

However, once you get past the "Shock Factor", you realize the application is similar to method that are now considered "normal".

Lactate threshold training

There are various method of Lactate Threshold Training.

Occlusion Training is one of them.

A prerequisite to understanding Occlusion Training is first to understaning how Lactate Threshold Training will increase performance.

Kenny Croxdale

As already mentioned, this volume of cardio may negatively impact your ability to maintain size more than you would think. I'm assuming that when cutting you want to maximize muscle mass maintenance as much as possible, so this seems suboptimal in your case.

Cardio at this volume seems unnecessary, as you can help create the necessary caloric deficit through dietary changes. I do, however, support doing more cardio than your average lifter performs, as it is great for overall health.

so many opinons, hard to tell what to do