Cardio Roll Call

I noticed that in a recent thread that TT stated she is doing AM fasted state cardio. I know I saw recently where being in a fasted state is not necessary to burn fat effectively and that insulin will not blunt use of fat as an energy source when one is performing cardio. However I still do AM FS Cardio when I can but do mix it in with non-fasted from time to time. I just wanted to get an idea of who all does cardio, who doesn’t, who does it on an empty stomach, who does it after eating, and everyone’s results and experience.

Currently, I sprint at night after my workouts, then I jump rope on offdays while watching tv (10 foot ceilings sure are nice). I do this all at night. I’ve done the morning workout thing, but I just always felt exhausted and couldn’t do very much. Cardio sucks, but it sure is good for ya.

i do both fs a.m. cardio and regular cardio after a day of eating…

Cravell, I’m glad you raised this for discussion. I’m looking forward to people’s thoughts.

For a long time I have been of the position that more is NOT better, that you shouldn’t do more than four 30-minute sessions of cardio per week (some HIIT, some steady state). Obviously, I’ve changed my position.

If you were to do a search on T-Forums “substrate Marion” (without the quotes, of course) and read the “Coffee Before FS Cardio” thread, you’d see that Joel posted cites/studies that prove the food taken in before a workout doesn’t affect substrate utilization (i.e., fat vs. glycogen). Based on those studies, he said he no longer does FS cardio, but now takes in a meal before his AM cardio.

So why have I gone against all of the collective T-Mag wisdom? Personally, for a very long time I’ve not been able to budge my BF%, and I knew that when BB’ers are cutting for competition, they tend to do some serious cardio. John Parillo, also, was an advocate of the nutrient partitioning benefits of cardio, even for his guys that were bulking and eating 6K, 8K and 10K calories.

Bottom line, I decided to put it all on the line. I’ve been doing FS cardio for 6 weeks. 3 weeks ago I added in a second session on evenings I don’t lift. In 31 days I dropped 5 pounds of BF (not weight), put on muscle and droped my BF%. I consider 1.5 hours of cardio per day to be excessive. However, it has NOT worked against my goals of dropping BF and putting on LBM.

I must say, however, that it’s not just the cardio. My diet is close to perfect. The cardio I do is longer duration (45 minute sessions), moderate intensity (70% of MHR), and I always take BCAAs & Glutamine (15g) before and during my cardio sessions. I also owe some of my LBM gains to HST. It’s just a case of hitting it on all cylinders.

I do it whenever I can get it in. Morning upon wakeup before breakfast is my goal, but baby devin rarely agrees with my goal.

So then I resort to doing it post workout on those days, and on off days whenever I can.

I’m getting results, think it’s a combo of everything though and no way can I tell if morning cardio is better than after workout or not.

Right now, a little bit of everything.

-Running Man: 1-2/week/off days

-Jump Rope: HIIT style

-Mod T-Mill: much like TT

I favor the latter though, as Lonnie has also stated, it seems to cause the least interference with my LBM gains and strength. I’ll usually go 50 min post workout or 60 min on off days.

Personlly, I found that what works best for me is to split my cardio sessions between pre-workout and post-workout. Example, I typicaly workout in the morning, so I do half (typically 15 minutes) of my cardio before I work out, which also allows me to get a good warmup/sweat going. Then, while I workout I sip on a protein+carb drink, then finish off with another 15 minutes of cardio, followed by my post workout protein+carbs. I saw better results than either fasted state cardio or post workout cardio using this method, not to mention the ‘bore factor’ is much easier to take in two 15 minute doses than a straight 30.

Thanks TT.

Due to my hectic travel schedule I tend to cycle my cardio by necessity and seen good results.

Usually I go 2 or 3 weeks with 4 days a week of lifting and moderate cardio (to preserve my endurance). Then when I am traveling and there is no good gym I run in the AM and PM or hit the crappy ass bike at the crappy hotel gym and do some light resistance work. This has helped me bust trough some plateaus.

Unfortunately, those weeks that I am traveling and doing all the cardio are the weeks my diet takes a turn for the worst. Wish I could have it all for a couple of months.

Since I am currently on a mission to put on some quality mass, I have cut down my cardio significantly.

Awhile back I USED to do 20-30 minutes of cardio after every lifting session and on my “off” days…I would do 3-5 mile runs.

Now all I do is the following:

On my training days (I usually train in the mid-afternoons), I go for nice leisurely walks in the morning before I eat breakfast to give a kick-start to the ol’ metabolism. All I do is walk around my quaint little town for about 25-30 minutes and enjoy the fresh morning air.

When I do train in the afternoon, I will follow my workout with about 5-10 minutes of low to moderate intensity cardio on the eliptical machine. However lately, I havn’t even done this too much as I will go and mow my lawn instead!

I do HIIT twice a week for 15 minutes per session. Tueadays I do fasted state IBUR training at the local high school track, but I do ingest some BCAA’s and some glutamine about 30 minutes prior to help keep my LBM. The other HIIT day is Sunday after my back routine.

I haven’t done any steady state cardio sessions in MONTHS, and I have had little to no fat gain

HIIT style. Historically, this is the best way for me to maintain or lose excess BF.

Therefore, I listen to my body and do what works for me. AND I’ve seen waaaay too many competitive bodybuilders look sensational about a month out from a show, only (due to excessive cardio), come into the show all flat/stringy. So, I’m wondering if more should consider HIIT rather than long, steady state cardio.

Anyways, I’m going to begin the “Running Man” soon (next week). I feel sprint sessions will put my conditioning into that “insanely fabulous” mode. We’re also going to begin running stairs (once a week). AND I’ll maintain my rope jumping (twice a week, 20-minutes each). Oh, and can’t forget the addition of Renegade style agility/speed work.

Hot damn! Fun summer for me!

Patricia - are you and Ko running stairs at Mt Tabor?

Chris: Yes!

You wanna join us?

Tod and Julie also run those stairs, which is why we’re going to begin. That’s one reason; the other is that Mt. Tabor is pretty close to us.