How much Cardio

[mmaruri]

I know it is next to impossible to lose fat and gain muscle. So my plan it to lose fat and keep as much muscle as posible.

How much cardio and at what % of my max VO2 or heartrate should I do to lose fat and try to keep as much muscle as possible

[4banger]

IMO you should do HIIT, sprint as fast as you can for 30sec to 1min and jog for 1.5 o 2mins to get your heart rate down, repeat for 20-30mins. That's the best method for producing GH wich will burn way more fat that the exercise itself.

[Alex(AJ)]

i would say no more than 1-2hrs. total/week; that seems to work for most

[mustang GT]

I'm always saying this on this forum...don't forget to take whey protein 20-30 minutes before your cardio to prevent muscle breakdown so that you keep most of your muscle.

[cassius]

Tough question to answer because everyone is different. I would suggest you do whatever you feel comfortable with, as only you know how your body will respond. If you lose too much weight then obviously you are doing too much. Alternativly, if you have excess bodyfat then you need to increase the amount.

Also, I believe it is possible to build muscle and lose bodyfat at the same time. It's all to do with maintaining the correct balance.

[mustang GT]

Originally posted by cassius
Also, I believe it is possible to build muscle and lose bodyfat at the same time.

I agree. You can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Think about it, muscle burns fat, so you gain muscle, and the muscle burns fat so therefore people can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.

[Jock]

I also sort of agree with you but you'll get people who take what we're saying out of proportion and start thinking they can be 300lbs and absolutley shredded after just a few weeks.

But you cannot gain A LOT of muscle as well as lose fat, this is just impossible.

Jock

[mustang GT]

Originally posted by Jock
I also sort of agree with you but you'll get people who take what we're saying out of proportion and start thinking they can be 300lbs and absolutley shredded after just a few weeks.

Yup, I agree with you cause it's next to impossible to become 300 pounds and shredded without taking steroids.

[guimond777]

You can always balance it out. I believe you can lose fat and gain muscle. Maybe not ALOT of muscle, or ALOT of fat burned, but i strongly believe you can burn/gain at the same time. It just balances it out. think of it like this,

On a scale of 100%, you can burn fat at 60%, but u'll gain muscle at 40%, or 30% and 70% etc etc....it all balances out, the more you do of one the less you'll do of another, but nevertheless u'll still be doing some good to it. Or am I wrong? :confused:

And yes, muscle burns fat, if u grow ur muscles and work it around cardio the muscle u gain will help burn the fat, and if u lose muscle from the cardio, the weights u do that week will help keep it...its a pretty good cycle. You probably wont get fast results, it might take longer, but it keeps things balanced.

This is just stuff i've gathered from research, if i am wrong do say so

[mustang GT]

Originally posted by guimond777
You probably wont get fast results, it might take longer, but it keeps things balanced.

What way is for the fastest results?

[Jakanden]

I'm always saying this on this forum...don't forget to take whey protein 20-30 minutes before your cardio to prevent muscle breakdown so that you keep most of your muscle.

I believe that different people respond differently to empty stomach cardio vs. protein before cardio.

I personally respond much better on ES cardio and do not have the muscle loss that alot of people have associated with it. I also have much more energy throughout the day. Of course if you go to long on ES cardio, you are going to have muscle loss, but I have found that 20-30 min Interval cardio works best for me.

Again this is just what works for me and it may affect other people differently.

On the original question, i do 20-30min, three times a week.

[Wink]

Hi,

I'm in the same boat: I need to continue building muscle while trying to get cut/loose body fat...

I can tell you right now that it's not easy. It's acutally harder than gaining muscle alone. You're basically "burning the candle at both ends" so to speak... just try not to burn out by over doing it on the cardio.

If you over do it on the cardio, you'll will inadvertantly burn off some of the muscle you so desperately fought to put on, so try to do no more than 3 sessions of cardio a week.

What I do is cardio first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach. Have at least 8-16 oz.(1-2 galsses) of water and do as follows:

ONLY 20 minutes of INTERVAL cardio as stated below--

- Do a 2 minute warm up on your machine of choice: treadmill, stationary bike, eliptical trainer, stairstepper, whatever...

- Immediately after a brisk 2 minute warm-up you increase the intensity 1-2 levels. Sustain that for 1 minute.

- After the 1 minute IMMEDIATELY up the intensity 1-2 more levels. Sustain that for 1 minute.

- Continue up-ing the intensity every minute until you are working as hard as you can. (It would help to either have a watch that beeps to alert you each time a minute has elapsed or pay close attention to the display timer on the equipment you're using.)

- Sustain your MAX for 1 minute, or as long as you can, and then drop back down to the "warm-up speed" that you used to begin the session.

- Sustain the "warm-up speed" for 1 minute and then start the process all over again until you have reached 20 full minutes of interval cardio.

- After the 20 minutes of up and down, drop the speed and cool down for 3-5 minutes. Stretch.

- Stay hydrated THE ENTIRE TIME! Drink at least 8 oz. of water after your cardio session as well.

- IMPORTANT!! Try to not eat anything for an HOUR after the cardio session because if you do eat your body will switch from burning fat to digesting whatever you just put in it's stomach. You don't want that!

You want your body to continue burning fat for energy/food, which it will do for up to an hour after your cardio program because it has nothing else to burn seeing as how you had an empty stomach and any glucose/glycogen that was left over from the prior night's meal, stored in your muscles(or still in your stomach depending on how long ago you last ate), would have DEFINATLEY been burned off during the intense cardio session and your boady will only have fat to utilize. PERFECT. Don't interrupt that if you can help it.

NOTE: if you can't do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, it's okay, just make sure you do cardio AFTER an intense strength training session.

Doing cardio after a strength training session helps because the glycogen stored in your muscles(or glocose in your stomach) will have been burned off(or ALMOST burned off) and you're body will now have to use fat to fuel your cardio workout!! Sneaky, yes?

The information I posted above was obtained from a good book I came across called:
"Body-For-Life" by Bill Phillips

It's a recent publication that I found in Barnes and Nobles last week and I have been following it ever since. I would suggest you take a peek at it and just look at the cardio tips. You don't need to buy the whole thing.

Save your cash and bring a pen and pad to the bookstore to take notes. That's what I did. LOL! Money is tight right now!

Best of luck and I let me know if the info helped!

[Lil'Lifter]

Originally posted by mustang GT
I'm always saying this on this forum...don't forget to take whey protein 20-30 minutes before your cardio to prevent muscle breakdown so that you keep most of your muscle.

I did that one time and can you say shizit your pants I thought I was going to explode. Mabey this is just me, but personally I can't run after having a shake.