Too much cardio?

jax_006
jax_006 Posts: 87 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just trying to get a sense of how much cardio I should be doing or what is considered too much? I do spinning as my form of cardio and I can be on there sometimes for up to 90 minutes 3-4 days per week! Frankly, I could do it every day given no time restrictions or injuries because I enjoy the sweat and burn. This is only very recent of the last 2 weeks where I upped it from 45-65 minutes to 90 minutes mainly to see how far I could push my body and mind. Usually doing low intensity steady state while on the spinning bike with some small intervals of more high intensity.

Any insight would be helpful as I don't want to overdo it while I also do 3-4 days of strength training. (i.e. I don't want to lose my muscle tone because of too much cardio but I am still needing to shed some fat). I understand fat loss comes from diet and I have that under control, this question is strictly from a fitness perspective. Should I focus more on strength training and decrease cardio for what I am wanting to achieve? Or continue what I am doing?

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    There is such a thing as too much cardio, but 90 minutes 3-4 days a week isn't it.

    If you don't want to lose muscle, just make sure you aren't under-eating.
  • JoshuaMcAllister
    JoshuaMcAllister Posts: 500 Member
    You would need to outline what you are aiming to achieve if you want an answer to your question. Without that I'd say if you are enjoying spinning 3-4 days a week alongside the strength training, continue it certainly won't hinder any progress.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    There is such a thing as too much cardio, but 90 minutes 3-4 days a week isn't it.

    If you don't want to lose muscle, just make sure you aren't under-eating.

    ^Agreed. Also would add make sure your getting enough protein (0.8 g per pound body weight).
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    jax_006 wrote: »
    I understand fat loss comes from diet and I have that under control, this question is strictly from a fitness perspective. Should I focus more on strength training and decrease cardio for what I am wanting to achieve?

    What are you trying to achieve, fitness-wise?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    +1 to the above, adding: As long as you don't start feeling fatigued or burnt out - i.e., as long as it's sustainable for you over the long haul.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    You are doing a lot more cardio than is necessary to meet just about any goal I can think of (unless your goal is to see how much time a human can spend in a spin class).

    That doesn't necessarily mean you are doing "too much", but what you are doing right now, you are doing to feed an "exercise fix". If you are doing it to achieve a constant workout "high" and are not injuring yourself, missing appointments, or too tired to have sex, then it may not be worse than any other hobby.

    However, if you are doing it to lose weight, then you are probably working against your goals. At some point, too much exercise either imposes too much stress on the body, or affects eating habits, or leads to a reduction in overall daily movement--all of which work against you.

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