I am thinking of adding cardio into my weekly workout schedule in order to try to reduce bodyfat.
My current plan looks like this:
Monday Upper body weights
Tuesday Lower body weights
Thursday Upper body weights
Saturday Lower body weights
The weight training is fairly low volume, with an emphasis on strength development.
I also do:
Wednesday - Ab work (6 sets)
High intensity interval training - 20 minutes (2mins easy, 1 all out , progessing on a weekly basis)
Friday - Same as Wednesday
I am interested in adding some light cardio to aid in fat loss (and even to help in recovery) but am puzzled as to how to add it in.
Do you think i should
(a) perform a long session first thing in the morning (45 minute walk) and maybe ingest a little protein beforehand (twice a week maybe??)
(b) 20 minutes jogging moderate pace after upper body workouts after my weights workouts
(c) maybe you would have some other suggestions.
Finally,
I am perfectly willing to go the long haul on this one, I’m not worried about seeing instant results, as i am more concerned with maintaing, and imroving, muscle mass and strength (more so the strength).
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Pat
I am losing body fat at the moment too. I did lots of reading on this subject and came to the conclusion that for me a balanced approach is probably worthwhile. So far I have dropped around 20 lbs of fat, scale weight drop of 16 lbs with lean mass increase of 4 lbs over about 2.5 months. I have a stationary bike in my living room and cycle about 4 times a week in the morning before going to work. Then I lift 4 days a week. I have seen significant changes in both my strength and heart/lung capacity by doing this. So for me “cardio” is just an excercise for the ol’ ticker and a good way to burn off calories. I change my cycling routines frequently from constant 45 min sessions one week to doing intervals the next week. It breaks up the boredom. A few times last week I ran 12 flights of stairs carrying dumbells as a change for my morning workout.
As far as running goes - I can’t run long distances because I get terrible knee pains, swimming on other hand is something I will probably get into next summer.
I would suggest picking something that you enjoy doing, is convenient and is challenging, then mix and match your heart excercises. A heart rate monitor is a great tool as well.
Ciao Pat, you are already performing a lot of physical activities ! Therefore I don’t think a good idea to add 1 hour aerobic 3/4 times a week if you want to preserve your muscles. So perform 3 times/week the 20 minutes interval training. The stomach should be empty so for example 1st thing in the morning or after the upper body workouts or in the off days. BB is not an equation with one solution, you have to experiment. Perhaps for fat loss is even more important the DIET.