How much cardio should I be doing?

nissa5575 · July 2015

I feel pretty confident in my strength training routine, but am unsure on how much cardio I should be doing a week? I workout 5 days a week and combine strength and HIIT cardio, however, am reading that cardio is best if not done every day? Some say that you should do cardio in am and strength in pm, but, unfortunately, fitness is not my full-time job so I need some realistic guidance. Any input?

DoogCampbell · July 2015

Go by how you feel. If you are doing a decent strength program and then HIIT that should be more than enough for anybody. All I would say is that as the strength program gets harder be prepared to reduce your workouts and give yourself time to recover. If your strength program is not getting nay harder then you need to look at what you are doing as a solid program with built in progression should be taxing you to the point where you dont want to do HIIT everyday...

kirsty3865 · July 2015

Hi there.
I'm currently upping my fitness to join the RAF as a PTI. How do you set out your strength training? Eg. Leg day, arm day etc.?

I do a lot of exercise. Roughly 20 hours per week give or take a few. My weekly routine is as follows...

Monday: 1. gym - leg day (strength only) 90 minutes 2. Ballroom dancing 90 minutes
Tuesday: 1. Gym - core training and steady cardio 90 minutes 2. Ballroom dancing 90 minutes
Wednesday: 1. Gym - arm day and HIIT training 90 minutes 2. Karate 90 minutes
Thursday: 1. Gym - core training and steady cardio 90 minutes
Friday: 1. Gym - leg day (strength only) 90 minutes 2. Karate 90 minutes
Saturday: rest
Sunday: rest (sometimes karate)

Basically if you don't include my dancing and martial arts training I do 3 days with cardiovascular and 2 without. HIIT training with arms and steady or LISS training with abs.

There isn't really a better time of day to do cardio. But I tend to try and do my HIIT training on an empty stomach to make it fasted cardio. This makes the body work harder therefore burning more calories.

It all depends on what you're aim is. I hope this lengthy reply has helped. Feel free to ask me any other questions

Kirsty xx

msf74 · July 2015

What are your goals - in other words what do you hope to achieve with cardio which you believe your current routine does not provide?

ExRelaySprinter · July 2015

I alternate weight training and running days, so Monday i run, Tuesday i lift.
I also do a short HIIT workout (15 mins) on my lifting days - Sunday is my rest day.
Lifting helps me build muscle and cardio ensures i can basically eat what i want (within reason

).

nissa5575 · July 2015

My goal is weight loss. In reality, I have only been working out consistently and restricting calories for 2 months. So far I have lost 10 pounds, however, I imagine most of that is water weight. Now that I am in the routine of going to the gym and working on my diet, I def see gains in strength and I see definite toning in my biceps and legs. Im always reading up on fitness and health and my first major goal is to lose another 40lbs.

nissa5575 · July 2015

So, basically, I am wondering if I should be doing more cardio than 30 minutes 5x a week?

ExRelaySprinter · July 2015

I would say yes.
I'd up it to 60 mins 5 x per week and do strength training when you can.
Cardio burns more cals than strength, so imo is better for weight loss.
You can always up your strength training once you get to your goal weight.

AsISmile · July 2015

Nope.
For weightloss the most important part is your diet.
Exercise is for your cardio vascular system. Plus it allows you to eat a bit more while still being at a deficit. It is not for losing weight.
In theory you could lose all that weight without ever setting a foot in a gym.
If you are already doing strength training I would definitely not do more cardio. It is totally possible to overdo it.

Also, what time of the day you exercise is irrelevant. Just be aware that the second exercise you do is influenced by the first.
You could also consider doing strength 3x a week and cardio 2-3x a week. Both are beneficial.
But it really unnecessary to work out two hours a day.

labohn91 · July 2015

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/FitnessBasics/American-Heart-Association-Recommendations-for-Physical-Activity-in-Adults_UCM_307976_Article.jsp

For health 40-150 minutes depends on goals and intensity.

Walking is cardio and is quite easy to fit in.

msf74 · July 2015

Up to you really. Given your stated goals that sounds fine. A better use of your time would be drilling down on diet.

Additionally cardio could act as a buffer against unwittingly over eating / inaccurate logging or you may just prefer the eat more do more approach but it is up to you. You certainly don't have to do it.

bellesb169 · July 2015

If you aren't seeing the results you want with the 30 minutes 5x a week of cardio I think the simplest thing to do is up your cardio by an additional 15-20 minutes for a few weeks to see if that makes a difference.

999tigger · July 2015

Its up to you. If you arent seeing the results you want the either eat less or move more. They will both influence the deficit. Be aware that to directly affect the deficit with cardio takes a lot of exrcise to burn 3500 calories for 1lb weight loss(notwithstanding its not a perfect conversion). If you are going to do a lot of cardio then make sure you fuel it, pay attention to the accuracy of burns as well as ensure you are able to recover sufficiently.

galgenstrick · July 2015

I start reaching overtraining symptoms at 5x weight lifting and 3x 20 minute HIIT sessions a week while cutting, so I make sure to take a deload week every 30-60 days if I'm doing that.

erickirb · July 2015

What??? Cardio may burn more cals, but you don't need to burn more calories to lose weight, you can just cut cals. eating 1500 cals would be the same as eating 2000 but burning 500 from cardio. it is OP's choice on how to reach the deficit. eat more and do cardio, eat less, or a combo of both, which it looks like they are doing

I would actually suggest less cardio. 2-3 times/week 30 mins/session is enough, unless you are training for an endurance event. Cardio takes energy that could be better used to recover from strength training. recovery is more difficult in a deficit.

Marcus_2015 · July 2015

You should target up to ~2 lbs of weight loss per week... whatever that takes from a calorie / exercise regimen.

Everyone is different. You also need time to recover and rest.

R

amaried621 · July 2015

I would do as much cardio as you want - maybe switch up the types of cardio you do every few weeks so that your body doesn't get used to the type of workout you are doing. Also - there are optimal heart rate zones for fat burn so I would determine what your range is if you are interested in burning fat. I think it's between 65-80% (somewhere around there) of your maximum. For men you take 220 - age and then the percentage of that and it's 226 - age for women.

brandiuntz · July 2015

If you're seeing results, I'd say you're fine with what you're doing. You can adjust down the road if it feels too easy or your fitness goals change.

There's nothing wrong with cardio 5x a week. Nor strength training that much. It's about the routine itself. Strength training is best if there's a rest day for the muscle group worked in between sessions. For cardio, too much high impact can lead to injury.

erickirb · July 2015

Not quite, with only 38 lbs to lose she should be aiming for 1 lb/week, 2lb/week is good if you have 75+ lbs to lose.

Kotuliak · July 2015

Some of this is true, in theory. But the opposite is also true.

For weight loss, the most important part is not the diet, but CICO.
Cardio IS for losing weight - it burns calories, thus it participates in CICO.
In theory you could eat same as before and still lose weight with cardio that offsets your calorie intake.

Given that cardio burns calories AND is also good for your cardio-vascular system I think it is best it to include it (in moderation) in a weight-loss program.

lithezebra · July 2015

That depends on what you're doing for cardio, why you're doing cardio, and how high your intensity is. 30 min x 5 is great for your health, and is easier to stick with than longer sessions. Doing HIIT for an hour five times a week is a recipe for over training.

An alternative to doing long cardio sessions is to do your 30x5, and increase your activity level in general, with more walking, more dancing, more frisbee, more standing and less sitting.

_The_Lone_Wolf_ · July 2015

Im currently on T25 in the morning and Insanity Max:30 in the evening and it sucks!

runningkel · July 2015

Obviously there's not a definitive answer.

Keep tracking all your food, that's most important. If what you're doing fitness-wise works, stick with it. When you stall/plateau, change it up. Getting healthy should be a sustainable lifestyle change...there's no need to kill yourself trying to do two-a-days or sweating for hours a day!!

Personally, I run 4 days a week (with one being a short recovery run), try and XT on the bike/stairs one day, and throw in a strength training circuit 2 times a week. It works for me and I have kept it up for years, so I stick with that schedule and play with speed, exercises, etc.

Mr_Knight · July 2015

If that 30 minutes is all running, you're looking at about 25km -> 1900 calories/week burnt for a 200 pound body. I don't know what you mean by "HIIT", other than you're almost certainly not actually doing HIIT, based on your description, but whatever it is it will almost certainly be lower burn than running. Typically, a lot less.

So my suggestion is to figure out what you "need" to burn, and work out a plan from there.

nissa5575 · July 2015

1 pound a week? Not 2? If this is the case then I feel better about my progress!!!

nissa5575 · July 2015

Thanks everyone for the input!!!

How much cardio should I be doing?

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