Optimum Cardio?

[shm353]

My doc likes bike marathons and recommends that I do 45 mins of cardio everyday for general fitness. I use a stationary bike. I'd rather lift weights and use leftover spare energy for cardio. I'm relatively fit at 52 an not overweight so I basically use cardio more for heart but do want to reduce BF% a few notches. I'm not lookin to win a mini marathon

I did not ask the guy because, well, like, he's just a... doctor, uh, you know..duh!

Is there any advantage to doing 45 min everyday as opposed to lets say 45 min. only three days a week, as long as the heart rate remains elevated. Is 45 mins even really necessary? What is most effective?
Does the law of diminishing returns apply to cardio or is there an accumulative effect from doing more. Does maximum cardiovascular health reach a pleateu or does the body benefit by doing more and more? Like Lance Armstrong the genetic freak? god love him! Am I nit-picking?

America! Fuck yeah!

 

[CowPimp]

There is supposedly an inverse relationship between activity levels and rate of all-cause mortality. However, I think it would be fine to replace a few days of cardio with resistance training. You could also perform circuit training and combine your resistance training and cardio into one workout. There are benefits to resistance training the cardio does not promote to the same degree such as strengthening of connective tissues and improved bone density.

 

[shm353]

Thanks Cow,
Good point about the connective tissue.
My joint could use some extra conditioning!.
I'm really more into bulking right now and any time spent on cardio kind of reduces my intensity. I use it too warm up, get blood flowing.
Maybe I'll put cardio on the end of the workout!
Gee, I think I just answered my own question.

 

[squanto]

id recommend a few (maybe 5) minutes of cardio before a workout, to get blood flowing, as youve been doing. but for your "real" cardio, i prefer doing it after a workout, but only for 10-20 minutes. 45 minutes of cardio after lifting weights seems like overkill.

if youre bulking, it may be helpful to do cardio in the morning, and lift weights at night. this is because a workout that is too long may not be as beneficial as a shorter workout for muscle gains.

i'm no doctor, but i have the opinion that 7 days a week of any type of training is bad. this can lead to injury and be stressful, and you'll just get mad at yourself when you need to take a day off, because you're "not doing what you're supposed to do". do yourself a favor, take at least one day off a week.

 

[Tough Old Man]

How about 2 days of HITT cardio and 2 days of a low impact type cardio. Hit the weights 3 days a week. I'm 53 and the above is what I do.

Mon and Thurs cardio
20 min's..1 min fast, 1 min slow = 1 set...for 10 sets

Tues and Fri cardio
45 min's eliptical keeping my heart rate between 60-65% if max

Weights..... Mon, Wed and Fri

 

[soxmuscle]

i've recently been doing some intense walking at 3.5-4.0 mph on the highest level of incline. what do people think of this?

 

[shm353]

Great advice,
You guys are great. Keepin' it fresh!

Thanks