How much cardio is too much?

I’m in the middle of a cutting cycle where I am taking in 2350 calories a day, 3 times a week HIIT (sprints on a treadmill), Joel’s 5x5 program, and 2 30-minute jog’s @ 9 mph. I would like to add a third 30-minute jog, but I don’t know if that’s too much. Do you guys think that would be too much cardio, and I would be sacrificing too much muscle? Any thoughts are appreciated.

You’ll never know if you are sacrificing too much muscle unless you measure it. Or if your strength levels start plummeting. Honestly, another 30 minutes is not going to make or break your program and it won’t be enough to drive you off the catabolic side of the cliff. Keep an eye on strength, recovery parameters and body comp if you measure it to really answer your question correctly.

You’ll never know if you are sacrificing too much muscle unless you measure it. Or if your strength levels start plummeting. Honestly, another 30 minutes is not going to make or break your program and it won’t be enough to drive you off the catabolic side of the cliff. Keep an eye on strength, recovery parameters and body comp if you measure it to really answer your question correctly.

There are a few other factors that need to be taken into consideration. First, how lean are you? Generally, the more you have to lose, the more cardio you can get away with. Second, are you supplementing with Mag-10 or 4-AD-EC? If you are, I don’t think the extra cardio would hurt. 2350 isn’t all that low, so I would suggest taking calories a little lower. Another option would be to just try to increase your activity level. I recently completed a cutting cycle where I went from 10% to 7.2% in about 19 days because my activity level at work was so high. Calories were between 1900 and 2100 throughout, and I supplemented with the old T2, MD6, and 4-AD-EC (last week only), but I’m convinced that the activity was the key factor. Amazingly, it didn’t seem difficult at all because it was work that I had to do. BTW, my training was 5x5 (4 days initially, 5 days of briefer sessions towards the end) with HIIT (3x per week), and cardio (2x per week). This is where the 4-AD-EC came in handy. Good luck.

Thanks guys. I’m not really too worried about losing too much more fat right now (I’m at 7.5%), I just enjoy my jogs. I am supplementing with Methoxy-7 right now, though. Thanks again.

Are you really jogging at 9mph…

My bad. What I meant to say is jogging at 9 minute miles, which would be 6.6 mph, not 9 mph, which would be 6.6 minute miles, and also would probably not be jogging. Good call.

Your body usually gets used to it if it’s not too much and just get lean MUCH faster. I do an hour a day/6 days per week moderate intensity and I know Mufasa does up to 2 hours a day 7 days a week when leaning up. Don’t fear it-just try different things and listen to your body…

If you like the jog, then by all means keep it in. It will do your more good if it is in rather than cutting it out for fear of LBM loss.