A long, long, time ago in a place far away people used jogging as their cardio of choice for leaning up for bodybuilding purposes. Then came a study that said jogging was too catabolic. People started to recommend stationary bikes as the perferred method of getting lean. Well I tell you what I seem to get more lean by jogging on a treadmill for 20 minutes at a time than 30-45 minutes on a stationary bike and with no more loss in muscle. Are these “experts” wrong? Instead of increasing my time I just try to jog faster. Hey, I want to look like a bodybuilder not a long distance runner. What does everyone think?
generally speaking any activity that gets your heart rate in the right bpm zone for an extended period of time is just as good as any other. the disctinction comes when you factor in the amount of muscle being activated during the activity. the LESS muscle that is activated the harder you have to work to get your heart rate up. the more intensly you work the more glycogen you burn as you increase the risk of working anaerobically and longer durations are harder to achieve. the MORE muscle that is activated the less intense you have to work to reach the appropriate bpm zone, the less glycogen you burn as the risk of working anaerobicly is decreased and longer durations are more easily achieved. that’s why cross country skiing is so good because you get so much muscle involved that you can work with less intensity in your bpm zone for very long durations. find a balance that works for you and you should be set. kevo
Thanks Kevo.
Short and sweet…I run 30-40 minutes 5X/week and I bench 390, squat 450 and dead 500. To top it off I am 37. Eat enough protein, and you will not lose muscle. Period!
I’m an advocate of running for cardio because I can burn a lot more calories in a shorter period of time than on a stationary bike. I’ve gone from a 36" waste to a 33" waste in less than six months by adding 20 minutes of running after my weight training sessions.