JW Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I want to lose bodyfat% but not at the expense of muscle mass.I need cardio to get the body fat away but how much is too much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillipeb Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training Most people recommend HIIT training, I am unsure how much time will maximize the benefits of this training as it differs based on body type. Also check out the cutting threats about the diet they follow and why to help you in your goals. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganEssentials Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I'm not a big cardio guy, but for me, I've found that moderate intensity work for no more than 30-35 minutes is ideal for losing fat without muscle loss. I usually just power walk on a mild incline of around 3 degrees at around a 3-3.5 mph pace and that does the trick, but I do occsaionally incorporate some HIIT-ish work with doing 2-4 minutes moderate walking, then 1-2 minutes of steep incline, then back down to easier walking, repeat about a half dozen times. I've done the real HIIT-style in the past (most often on a stationary bike), but never found it to be any more beneficial than standard cardio work for my own needs, but a lot of people swear by it, so give it a shot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbomite Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I do quite a bit of cardio and don't notice it slowing down muscle gain too much. Some people will tell you to do it early in the AM before you eat but that, in my opinion, would burn more muscle than fat. I run after I've eaten twice at least, I have a treadmill but I prefer trails or parking garages. As long as you eat big with lots of carbs the morning before the run, cardio shouldn't impede on muscle progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I have a treadmill but I prefer trails or parking garages. I never thought of a parking garage, that's a good idea.I've thought of going to our tallest building and climbing that stairs.It's only about 23 floors I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggieprincess Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I want to lose bodyfat% but not at the expense of muscle mass.I need cardio to get the body fat away but how much is too much? If you are trying to preserve lean muscle, low intensity cardio is best. I was doing 2 hours of running a day and I was a "skinny fat" girl until my trainer ordered me not to run anymore and to do low intensity cardio. That is when my body changed dramatically and I started seeing muscle tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsorlando Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 It's funny how this is so different for so many people, just like a lot of other aspects of fitness. Anyway what is working for me is running 3 times a week. When I started to run I was kind of worried I would also lose whatever muscle tone I had, and I don't have much lol. But the opposite pretty much happened, I got a lot stronger, especially in my quads. I started seeing more definition in my muscles, and getting a smaller all over look. I do some sort of weight training five times a week, and I run for about 30-40 minutes 3 times a week, I also do a few other cardio activities that aren't quite as hard as the running. Personally I think you'd be alright not doing cardio for longer than 30-40 minutes, this is just one opinion though, so experiment and see what works for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I second the low intensity cardio. I lost fat pretty quick when I started cycling but it pretty much took starvation to lose my muscle mass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodhiDave85 Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I want to lose bodyfat% but not at the expense of muscle mass.I need cardio to get the body fat away but how much is too much? If you are trying to preserve lean muscle, low intensity cardio is best. I was doing 2 hours of running a day and I was a "skinny fat" girl until my trainer ordered me not to run anymore and to do low intensity cardio. That is when my body changed dramatically and I started seeing muscle tone. When you saying running, do you mean jogging? Is jogging considered low intensity cardio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Jogging is low intensity cardio...if its a pace you can hold running relatively easy for an hour I'd call that low intensity...for cycling I'd say 3 hours. Really its heart rate based though...you should be around 65% of your threshold heart rate(where you use more oxygen than you can take in). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsorlando Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Well then, when I run it is Definitely low intensity lol! But I still get a good workout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 I want to lose bodyfat% but not at the expense of muscle mass.I need cardio to get the body fat away but how much is too much? If you are trying to preserve lean muscle, low intensity cardio is best. I was doing 2 hours of running a day and I was a "skinny fat" girl until my trainer ordered me not to run anymore and to do low intensity cardio. That is when my body changed dramatically and I started seeing muscle tone. 2 Hours a day???? my body would disintegrate!!!!! what is your cardio choice now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 I find this to be a very confusing topic. some people like high intensity intervals, some like low intensity cardio,some bodybuilders feel that a 20 minute walk is enough. Do you think that it is body-specific? (what works best for one person, doesn't necessarily work best for another?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Other things like diet and other training will also determine how much muscle you gain or lose, which might explain why people are having different results - not everyone's diets and weight-training will be the same to start with. When I was in my best shape, I was doing about 30-60 minutes on the exercise bike about 5 times a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lean and Green Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 veganpotter wrote: Jogging is low intensity cardio...if its a pace you can hold running relatively easy for an hour I'd call that low intensity...for cycling I'd say 3 hours. Really its heart rate based though...you should be around 65% of your threshold heart rate(where you use more oxygen than you can take in). What is it with running potter? I find it baffling how I can go out whenever I want, irregardless of training and easily clock in 8+ hrs on a bicycle nonstop whereas after 1 1/2 hours of jogging, I feel like death. Even in my optimal running shape, the 1/2 marathon was a struggle. With jogging, I need so much more training to condition myself properly to go on for awhile, cycling just flows. Is it because your hr is way more elevated on a run/jog as opposed to cycling where it's lower? That's the only thing that could come to mind... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I wonder if it might be because of the fact that you don't have to support your entire body when running. Even though you're working hard on a bike, you're still seated. I'm the opposite. I can jog for a while without getting tired, but I can barely last any time at all on a bike. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lean and Green Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Interesting Mike. Guess everyone is different? I had to train hard to work up to run a 1/2 marathon, real hard. Cycling, I didn't have to do much to up the mileage and time. It just came naturally. I have never rode more than 150 miles at a clip but I bet i'd be able to if I wanted to no prob, just always got to my destination by that time and wanted to chill. Dunno, wish I was better at running though; I have truly always wanted to do the nyc marathon. Hopefully I will be able to for next yr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 I find running much more difficult than cycling due to the high impact nature of the excercise. All that constant pounding is pretty rough on the joints. I used to run distance but have scaled way back to about 25 minute maximum in order to preserve those aching ankles and knees. have you ever tried a cycle and immediately follow it with a run?Great workout!Feels like you're legs are jelly when you start running! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I have truly always wanted to do the nyc marathon. Hopefully I will be able to for next yr. That would be awesome! It would very cool to look back one day and know that you actually ran in the NYC marathon. That would be something to tell the grandkids . Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodhiDave85 Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I find running much more difficult than cycling due to the high impact nature of the excercise. All that constant pounding is pretty rough on the joints. I used to run distance but have scaled way back to about 25 minute maximum in order to preserve those aching ankles and knees. have you ever tried a cycle and immediately follow it with a run?Great workout!Feels like you're legs are jelly when you start running! The other day I did 2 hours of swimming, upper body workout, and then went on a 5 mile jog( back to back to back) A guy in his car stopped to ask me if I was okay because I was flopping around so much. Surprisingly my legs were not the issue, my shoulders and chest just completely gave out. I'm sure I looked like pretty goofy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggieprincess Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 I want to lose bodyfat% but not at the expense of muscle mass.I need cardio to get the body fat away but how much is too much? If you are trying to preserve lean muscle, low intensity cardio is best. I was doing 2 hours of running a day and I was a "skinny fat" girl until my trainer ordered me not to run anymore and to do low intensity cardio. That is when my body changed dramatically and I started seeing muscle tone. What kind of low intensity cardio did you do? I switched from jogging/running to treadmill walking on an high incline, Stepmill and sometimes recumbant bike and elyptical. I did more Incline and Stepmill to target the back half of my body... I miss outdoor cardio though. I've started incorporating walking stadium bleachers, skipping a step each time for 1/2 hour which is a medium intensity cardio. It's been a nice addition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjari Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Actually I'm not that worried about this anymore, since I'm a beginner, but I'll ask it anyway. Can 1,5 to 2 hour cardio 6 times a week be a showstopper for gaining muscle mass (or fat )?I'm not into gaining huge muscles, but I lost a big amount of mass from my arms because of some weeks without proper food and would like to get them in 'balance" with my other body parts. The cardio I'm doing is mostly walking, with jogging in the middle. In future it'll probably be mostly jogging. I definitely need this, because it's good for my appetite and mental balance. I've actually doubled my food intake since I started doing this I've been doing some strength training at the same time, but it's currently more learning than actual exercising.Oh. My goal is getting more fit, no bodybuilding or monster mass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dontxhide Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Actually I'm not that worried about this anymore, since I'm a beginner, but I'll ask it anyway. Can 1,5 to 2 hour cardio 6 times a week be a showstopper for gaining muscle mass (or fat )?I'm not into gaining huge muscles, but I lost a big amount of mass from my arms because of some weeks without proper food and would like to get them in 'balance" with my other body parts. The cardio I'm doing is mostly walking, with jogging in the middle. In future it'll probably be mostly jogging. I definitely need this, because it's good for my appetite and mental balance. I've actually doubled my food intake since I started doing this I've been doing some strength training at the same time, but it's currently more learning than actual exercising.Oh. My goal is getting more fit, no bodybuilding or monster mass. I would say this is a show stopper for gaining huge muscles, but if your lifting and getting in enough food your muscles will get leaner, and maybe a little bigger. I read that for 30 minutes, 3-4 times a week as long as you reach between 60-70 percent of your max heartrate, you loose fat. I havent tried that yet, as I have been doing more HIIT exercises, which have been helping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjari Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Here is a picture of the problem area. Results of the training probably take much more time to show up, but some of you might guess why I'd be happy with some fat, too http://edu.koillismaa.fi/~ascizo/prob.jpgYup, that's not the same arm in both pictures, but I didn't feel like playing more with a bad camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dontxhide Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Here is a picture of the problem area. Results of the training probably take much more time to show up, but some of you might guess why I'd be happy with some fat, too http://edu.koillismaa.fi/~ascizo/prob.jpgYup, that's not the same arm in both pictures, but I didn't feel like playing more with a bad camera. Hey, if you want size, check this out: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/irontamer5.htm Its called the squats and milk program, but i call it the squats and eat a lot of vegan food program. Either way it worked for me. Works for most. Adding a little cardio wont hurt, but if your looking to gain weight dont overdue it. This program put about 15-20 pounds on me in 6 weeks. Im sure a lot of it was fat, but Im cutting right now and getting rid of some of it. I went from 190-210 in 6 weeks just eating heavy and following this plan ~shrugs~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now