Every day cardio

[Kimbro11]

Im new to the forum and have been reading that excessive cardio is bad. Since I was 14, Ive been running over 2 miles a day.

I am a female, 22 year old, 5'2 and about 115 pounds.

Right now I am on a moderate lifting, high cardio plan. I am confused now as if this is ok to do as my individual plan or if Im being trained the wrong way?

Im pretty athletic, and am looking to tone up. Is there a cardio expert on here that can answer this?

Thanx
~~Kim~~

 

[Arnold]

Long duration cardio is ultimatley catabolic, you should not be concerend with the actual amount of calories that you burn while doing cardio. Use HIIT style cardio. (high intensity, short duration, e.g. sprinting)

"The problem with conventional, long duration, low intensity cardio is that it has minimum impact on increasing your resting metabolic rate. However, long duration, low intensity cardio will deplete glycogen stores. When this happens, you will start primarily utilizing lean muscle for your energy needs. Long duration cardio will break down muscle tissue." - by Paul Delia

 

[IronSlingah]

About the post above ive been running about 5 miles a day for the last 6 months however my sprinting speeed has decreased is this due to loss of muscle or the muscle changing from fast twitch to slow twitch?

 

[shortstuff]

Kim-

IMO up your lifting and switch to the HIIT and I bet you will see great results. Tightening of the legs and like Prince said an increase in RMR. Which means at rest you will burn more calories, which if you want to burn more calories you need to have more Lean Body Muscle.

 

[Kimbro11]

How effective do you think my training would be if I suggested to my trainer to do HIIT instead of low intesity long duration cardio and to keep lifting moderate?

I am on a high cardio, moderate lifting plan, and if I keep my plan the same and change my cardio, will this benefit me more?

(Thanx for all the suggestions so far Prince and Shortstuff by the way).

- Shortstuff, your cute too Maybe one day I'll put my picture up too.

 

[shortstuff]

ok will write you moer on my opinion

 

[trinsdad]

I do two 20 minute HIIT session 5x a week. 1 AM and 1 PM

 

[Arnold]

Originally posted by IronSlingah
About the post above ive been running about 5 miles a day for the last 6 months however my sprinting speeed has decreased is this due to loss of muscle or the muscle changing from fast twitch to slow twitch?

Yes, you're increasing red muscle fiber and decreasing white muscle fiber, so endurance is increasing but size and strength are decreasing.

 

[trinsdad]

Is there good middle ground somewhere Prince?

Someone who wants to be muscular but with endurance as well?

 

[Twin Peak]

This question cannot be answered with out context. Kim, what are your goals, and why do you do cardio.

 

[shortstuff]

yes, if you tell a trainer they don't necessarily hear what you are thinking

 

[Twin Peak]

9 out of 10 trainers are idiots.

 

[Arnold]

Originally posted by trinsdad
Is there good middle ground somewhere Prince?

Someone who wants to be muscular but with endurance as well?

you just answered your question, find some middle ground.

Obviously if you train like a marathon runner you will look like a marathon runner. If you train like a bodybuilder you will look like a bodybuilder.

If your goal is a combination of the two, then you will have to train 50% for bodybuiling, and 50% for endurance. (just a generalized example)

 

[shortstuff]

most trainers input your info into a computer and then tell you what the computer tells them. Unless they have some sort of outside training and truely wish to learn and teach themselves further, they only know the training they have sat through which for most gyms is usually a week of 9-5 lectures and then a multiple choice test.

 

[hardasnails1973]

my suggestion is to mix it up
1 session 45 minutes 60-70 % of max hr (elliptical or tread mill on incline)
1 session 20 minutes HIT ( 30 sec sprint - increase resisitance about 10 mets and work your way up ) 1-130 rest (about 5.5 mets )
1 minute intervals (1 minute up 1 minute down)

Rotate these 3 and that way you are using all three energy sytems.

 

[sawheet]

I do not do "daily" cardio, just play sports and do an occasional spin class. I like to do sport related cardio such as pylometrics. I am able to keep b/f low, if I do to much I become severly catabolic!!!

 

[shortstuff]

Listen to Hard-great info comes out of him, very very very intelligent!!!!!

 

[Kimbro11]

Originally posted by Twin Peak
This question cannot be answered with out context. Kim, what are your goals, and why do you do cardio.

Twin Peak,

My goals are just to tone up - I dont have any weight to lose, or to build endurance..

I run a lot, Ive done cross-country since I was in junior high school, so for about ten years now.. Im a runner.

My trainer has had me lifting a little bit, she understands my fear of giving up cardio. I know its good for me and its part of my life now. She has me changing my cardio whenever I feel like it is no longer a challenge. She is mostly helping me with weights, really.

I dont need to do anything drastic as I said before, but I figured I would get the proper instruction and genuine advice through people who have made this their way of life, U know?

Anyway, I was confused reading all of the threads insisting cardio was not good for muscle build up. In my case, I am not exactly trying to build muscle.

Thanx again for all the great advice.

 

[hardasnails1973]

sawheet its not the cardio that makes you catabolic its lack of caloires you are consuming and you ar not meetnig your nutitrional needs. If you do more cardio then simple eat more to offset it. my trainer will have my caloires coming into show at 4,000 plus with mimimal cardio. last 5 weeks he was eating 4500 calories before his show and was still losing weight and doing no cardio. he was 210 at jr nationals hes 248 at 5% less then 5 weeks later. While others are stuffing their faces with shit. he is taking advantage of this anabolic state and is growing like wild fire. i just emailed him other day at was betweem 6000-8000 caloires a day and still getting leaner no cardio

 

[Kimbro11]

Originally posted by hardasnails1973
my suggestion is to mix it up
1 session 45 minutes 60-70 % of max hr (elliptical or tread mill on incline)
1 session 20 minutes HIT ( 30 sec sprint - increase resisitance about 10 mets and work your way up ) 1-130 rest (about 5.5 mets )
1 minute intervals (1 minute up 1 minute down)

Rotate these 3 and that way you are using all three energy sytems.

Thanks Hardasnails..

ok let me try to understand how to mix up cardio..

45 minutes cardio on elliptical machine or treadmill with an incline- of max heartrate? (i dont think I know what you mean by this)

20 minutes HIIT (or HIT? which is correct?) - which is 30 seconds sprint? I thought I could run at 5.5 for three minutes and for two minutes every three minutes I could sprint increasing my speed at .5 mph starting at 6.5?

Im not sure what 1 minute intervals means.

Sorry- Im not hip and with it! lol

 

[hardasnails1973]

use bike for sprinting its safer for your knees. max hr for you is about 130-140 beat per minutes. Its HIT sorry . intervals just means that you increae the level from 2 to may be level 7then back it down to level 2 then up to 3 back and so forth .

 

[Kimbro11]

So far my w/o's consist of some weight training, some days cross-training (where I lightly work out every body part) and then 2 - 7 mile runs , whichever way I do it ranging from 20-45 minutes.

I will change steady running to what was suggested here. Does this sound about right?

 

[Twin Peak]

Originally posted by shortstuff
Listen to Hard-great info comes out of him, very very very intelligent!!!!!

No offense, but how can that be good infor if he has no idea what her goals are.

This applies to everyone who has offered advice.

 

[shortstuff]

all righty sorry

 

[Twin Peak]

Personally, I don't think ANY cardio is necessary based on your physique goals.

I don't think you receive and "health" benefits or fatloss that you cannot derive from resistance training alone.

I also disagree with Hardasnails about the comment regarding cardio not being catabolic. Of course it is. As is resistance training. As is a failure to meet nutritional requirements. So I don't really understand that statement. Nor do I understand why it would be important or helpful to increase food intake to offset the cardio, why not just skip it then.

Cardio, in my opinion, has TWO uses:

1) If you are training for any endurance purpose.

2) If you have been dieting extensively, and you further need to increase your daily/weekly calorie deficit, and your calorie level is at its bare mininum.


You can add pleasure, if that is your thing, its not mine.

 

[Kimbro11]

Twin peak, Are you suggesting I stop doing cardio? The amount Ive been doing since Ive been doing it hasnt done any damage to my physique that Ive noticed. I dont think I need to change my ways entirely, or do I?

 

[Kimbro11]

Originally posted by Prince

Obviously if you train like a marathon runner you will look like a marathon runner. If you train like a bodybuilder you will look like a bodybuilder.

Prince, what do you consider the difference between the two? Is it all a matter of how much lifting and cardio you do?

 

[Arnold]

Originally posted by Twin Peak
I also disagree with Hardasnails about the comment regarding cardio not being catabolic.

so do I.

 

[Twin Peak]

Damage? No I doubt no damage.

You seem to me to be in the category of doing it for pleasure.

You also don't seem to care much about muscle growth.

So for you I would recommend a health balance of the two, so long as you are continuing to enjoy it.

If you preferred lifting weights, or if your main goal was hypertrophy, I'd suggest you stop, or severly limit your cardio, since, as I said, every healthy and physique benefit that results from cardio can be more efficiently derived from weight training. The converse, however, is not true.

 

[hardasnails1973]

just saying you have 2 options either eat more and do more cardio or eat less and cut back on cardio. CArdio does have its place it the over all fitness goals. I prefer to moderate it and not go over board. 3 times a week is sufficient for me and I like to vary things so your body doesn't adjust. Just like some things in life and more is not always better. SO I am in agreement with you there and I do believe people should examine their eating habits and daily activity levels and adjust accordingly before jumping on the cardio kick. becuase liek with any thing else once your body is exposed to it. it will need it more and more to get the desired results. Soem people I know are running to this problem now