My question is how much is enough, and how much is too much? If your main goal is fat loss,can you do too much? I ask this because I recently had a slow period at work and had some extra time and started to do cardio for 50mins. to an hour 5 days a week for 3 and a half weeks and it seemed like I hit a total stall as compared to the steady results of 3 to occasionally 4 times a week at 25-30 mins. I even made sure to keep my calories at the same level as before even though the extra cardio did tend to make me a bit hungrier.So that is why I am curious to know if there is a point of diminishing returns with cardio the same as there is for lifting.
I think cardio is way overrated. I use to do it 5-6 times a week in the AM before breakfast and lift in the evenings. I have recently stopped all together and logged better results. I have since picked up a bit and seen modest returns but I think lifting with short rest is best.
That being said. I travel a bunch and have days that I cannot get to a gym. Not easy to find one in Latin America or Europe. I do guilt cardio. That is I run after a cheat meal or when I have been sedintary all day long. Keep my metabolism up. Try eating protein and unsaturated fat prior to long cardio bouts that might kick up liposis and lower catabolism.
I have been beginning to think this way after seeing my steady progress stop once I kicked it up to the higher amount. Now I am going to do it 3 or 4 times a week and see if things start back on the right track.
I find almost any amount of cardio completely stops my gains in the gym. I prefer to do interval training instead.
My friend didnt you read the last issue of T-mag? There was an intriguing article on “Cardio Cycling”. See Below
Week 1: 2500 kcal, 45% protein, 35 carbs, and 20 fats. Cardio 3 times at 20 min.
Week 2: 2300 kcal, 45-35-20 Cardio: 3@25 min
Week 3: 2300 kcal, 45-30-25 Cardio: 3@20 min
Week 4: 2200 kcal, 50-25-25 Cardio: 4@15 min
Notice how i kept the total calories consistantly higher while systematicly lowering the carbs and moderately adjusting aerobic activity. By doing it this way your BMR has a chance to stabilize, and the infrequent and moderate cadrio sessions remain productive instead of counter productive.
Sounds to me like your suffering what i call the “dieters plateu”. How many times have i heard women whine and cry about how they run two hours a day,eat like a bird and still cant lose weight. The solution is a simple one.
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Increase protein in relation to total calories and take the remainder from the carb count for the day. ex: 45p-35c-20f to 55p-25c-20f. This will cause a moderate thermogenic effect temporarily increase BMR.
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Keep to moderate cardio. Over doing cardio will lead to muscle loss.
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Think muscle sparing (emphasize weight training over cardio).
the more lean mass you maintain through your fat loss cycle the faster you burn extra calories hence resulting in a potentially lower body fat percentage. -
Be patient and progressive. make small adjustments to diet and training protocols. Avoid major shifts as the body will corespondingly resist. coax the body slowly into doing what you want it to, to maximize fat loss.
I’d say an hour 5 times a week is too much. I usually do 25 minutes 3-4 times a week. I have been doing my cardio almost always before lifting as to warm up my body and crash my glycogen levels. I can’t lift as much after cardio, but I do push myself harder and put the muscle under more stress this way. I’ve noticed that with the T-Dawg diet I can maintain mass and even build while burning fat-under this training schedule. I’m also using Tribex to counter fatigue and mass loss. Use even more carbs before the workout on high cardio days. You do not want to run the muscle down, just the fat. I’ve also been looking into digestive enzymes for more food absorbtion. Greater food absorbtion so far has enabled me to control my caloric intake with much more reliablity. I not only have more energy with less food, but I also recover more quickly.
Try decreasing time and increasing intensity.
Example: Bike interval sprints.
Perform 2min moderate activity followed by 10sec sprint. Repeat for 10cyles.
To increase intensity 90s moderate followed by 15s sprint.
Variants: treadmill, rowing machine, running etc;;;;
If i can help in anyway let me know.
ThankYou
Coach Hale
Thanks for the feedback and the suggestions everyone.
Unless your a female, I would not imagine calling approx 2500 calories a high amount of calories
I would say that doing cardio 4x30mins is ample. Although there is a thought to longer sessions of cardio. Do cardio 3x30min on lifting days. To budge the stubborn weight, on a non-lifting day, do 75-90mins. Keep your carbs low that day. You may see results with this format, and it will not affect strenght as much.