cardio question help

vcatmb44

So i have been going to the gym now for a few weeks about 4-5 days a week and i always do at least 30-45 min of cardio then i do like 15 min of stregnth training. I thought cardio will make me lose fat quicker but am i suppose to have days where i skip the cardio completly and just do stregnth training?? and do u think that will help me lose weight quicker??

ProTFitness

Great Article I wanted to share with those not quite sure how to get a great workout done for FAT LOSS!
stronglifts.com

How to Lose Fat with Cardio: Long Duration Cardio vs HIIT
Jun 18th, 2009 by Mehdi |

Cardio is the most popular way to lose fat. But is it the best? And should you do long duration cardio or HIIT? Empty stomach cardio or not? This article will teach you how to really lose fat with cardio


Wrong Ways to Use Cardio. Cardio only speeds up fat loss. You can lose fat doing strength training & eating healthy only. 2 common cardio errors are:

Neglecting Strength Training. Don’t try to lose fat doing cardio without strength training. Excessive cardio burns muscle, causing the skinny-fat look. You need strength training to prevent muscle loss & build muscle. Check StrongLifts 5×5, it only takes 3x45mins/week.
Eating Unhealthy. Cardio without healthy nutrition is a waste of time. A healthy diet will make you lose fat faster. Apply the 8 nutrition rules.

Long Duration Cardio. This is cardio for 30-45mins at a steady state. On a machine or long runs outside. Pros & cons of long duration cardio:

Burns Fat. 30mins long duration cardio burns about 500kcal. This allows you to create a caloric deficit without dropping your daily calorie intake.
Increases Endurance. If you’re out of shape, long duration cardio is the easiest way to increase your cardiovascular fitness.
Boring & Time Consuming. For maximal fat loss you’ll need 3 sessions of 30-45 mins per week. This can be boring & repetitive.

HIIT. High-intensity interval training. Example: alternate 60sec jogging with 30sec sprints for 15mins. Pros & cons of HIIT cardio:

More Efficient. Burns more fat and increases your cardiovascular fitness more than long duration cardio does.
More Fun, Less Time-Consuming. Takes only 15-20mins and is much more fun than 30-45mins long duration cardio.
More Difficult. HIIT will make you puke if you’re a beginner with zero endurance. HIIT can also mess with your recovery.

Long Duration Cardio or HIIT? If you’re a beginner with 20-30% body fat, lose fat using long duration cardio. This is physically & mentally easier than HIIT. Couple this with strength training & healthy nutrition.

Your endurance will increase once you can Squat 1.5x your body-weight for at least 1 rep. That’s 300lbs if you weigh 200lbs – with your hips going lower than your knees. When you can do that, you’r ready for HIIT.

Realize that although long duration cardio is less efficient than HIIT, it burns fat. While our body fat might not go down as fast, it will go down. And since long duration cardio is easier, you’re less likely to skip workouts or quit.


How to Do Long Duration Cardio. I recommend long duration cardio if you have zero endurance. Remember: cardio without strength training & healthy nutrition is useless. Do StrongLifts 5×5 & apply the 8 nutrition rules.

Moderate Intensity. 60-70% of your max heart rate (which is 220 – your age). So if you’re 20 years old, that’s between 120-140bpm.
3x45mins. Start with 15mins straight post workout without eating in between. Add 1min each workout until you can do 45mins.
Elliptical trainer. Most people enjoy the elliptical trainer most. But anything works: rower, stationary bike, outdoor runs, …

How to Do HIIT. The point with HIIT is to get out of breath. If you’re doing it on a machine: choose a resistance that allows you to go as fast as you can when sprinting. But better is to go outside and have fun. Some ideas:

Sprints. You can do these on a machine, but outside is better. Alternate 60sec jogging with 30sec sprinting. Repeat for 15mins.
Burpees. 5 sets of 10 burpees with 30sec rest in between. Always try to beat your previous time. Build up to 10 sets of 10 burpees, then to 100 burpees in a row. Make sure you do a Push-up from the floor.
The Bear. Do without resting 1 rep Power Clean, Front Squat, Overhead Press, Back Squat & Behind Neck Press. Repeat 4x without resting. This is your 1st set. Do 5 sets with 30sec rest in between. Build up to 8 sets of 5. When that gets easy, start adding weight (5lbs/2.5kg). Video.

When to Do Cardio. Most people don’t have time to train 6x/week. Those who can often burn out physically & mentally after a few weeks.

Post Strength Training. Harder, but you have more rest days and can do more cardio. Example: MO/WE/FR weights first, then cardio.
On Rest Days. Include days for total recovery: 3 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 1 day off. Example: MO/WE/FR weights, TU/SA cardio.

What About Empty Stomach Cardio? While it can be more effective for fat loss, I don’t recommend empty stomach cardio for 2 reasons:

Time Consuming. You have to train 2/day since your Squat would suffer if you’d do cardio first. Means more driving back & forth and showering.
Lower Back Health. Your spines hydrates at night. This makes it more prone to injuries. Your spine needs 1 hour on waking up to dehydrate. Loading & bending your lower back during that 1st hour is risky. Best is to have a solid breakfast, then do strength training and then cardio.

Do You Need Cardio for Cardiovascular Fitness? No, read this & this post. Strength training increases cardiovascular fitness. Personal example:

I have a sedentary job. I do strength training 3x/week. No HIIT, no runs, nothing. You can follow my training log for more info.
Last time I went for a run, I ran (not jogged) for 30 mins. Most people I know can’t even handle 15mins. When I went ski-ing, endurance was never holding me back while it was with some of the other guys.
Unless you do sports that need endurance (MMA, boxing, rugby, …) you don’t need cardio. Strength training will increase your cardiovascular fitness above average. Increase your Squat and you’ll see. The proof is in the pudding.

Check this article out. Hopefull it will help with what your looking for

vcatmb44

great tips thanks

lloydrt

vcat, I dont know how big your buttocks are, but I gotta tell ya, I lost tons and tons of weight on mine.........I had a huge one, my waist was 52, and now getting near 36 inches, which is normal for a man my age and size, etc.......

I lost plenty of weight behind my thighs, on the back side and built up calves as well.......I did cardio for the first 6 months or so, that was all ,and lost over 74 lbs during that time
Im now just doing the strength training which is great, but that cardio really takes off weight.......My Dr was the one who told me to lose weight, then work on the weight training part

I know were all different, and some will train on weights as well as cardio, and if that works for them, great, but for me, cardio was my first priority...........I could barely do 10 mins, and today, I worked out for 3 hours......Im working out of the house today, thats why I was able to spend that much time..........

Im doing cardio about two thirds my work out, and for me............its working , Lloyd

Amarillo_NDN

Strength training is important since the muscles are what actually fuel the metabolism. More muscle mass, more fuel that is burned by the body. Of course that is not to say as a woman you have to get bulky, but to tone up so that the fat between muscles are replaced with the muscles that were lost.

xDeannaGarciax

I used the HIIT method and have dropped 35-36lbs since end of April, I did cardio 3-4x a week and strength 2-3x a week. Over the last month I have cut down on the cardio and focused alot more on toning and strength now that I'm pretty close to my goal. I've found that I lost more weight doing only 30min of cardio a day on a machine or jogging, I'd get my heart rate up throuhg other activities throughout the day/nite here and there too though, through power walking, running up and down the stairs, cleaning real hard. But most days just 30min of hard cardio since I found out about HIIT! It's the only way to go if you ask me! Good luck!:flowerforyou:

losingitwithjess

Losing fat is 80% diet and 20% cardio. In order to lose fat doing cardio you need to do high interval training. Which essentially means.. do 2 mins walking then 2 mins running... on the treadmill.. oh and change it up.. do not do the same thing everyday...

If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got, and you'll always feel what you always felt! There are many articles online pertaining to cardio and weightloss..


Good Luck!

lloydrt

vcat, one of the reasons as well I do so much cardio is to help with my own cardio......I finally, finally, got my heart rate up to 160 Tuesday, and that was a mile stone..........

I have exercise induced asthma, and I had to start out slow.....really slow, and then build it up from there. I use a bronchiodialator before I work out, and that is the importance for cardio on my asthma

I gotta tell ya, since I have been exercising, my symptoms of this exercise induced asthma are less and less...........its kind of scary, to be on the tread mill with a heart rate of 140 or higher, and really grasp for air................but the more and more I push myself, the easier it is for me , and esp when I m out in the real world, and climb stairs or walk fast........no more short breathness or fast pulse............I used to kind of panic when I had shortness of breath, but now its almost gone............hopefully

Hope all these replies help you........Good luck Lloyd

Sumatra

I love cardio and have been doing it almost everyday for more than 100 days (there have only been 2 days when I haven't done any cardio at all). I've lost about 45 lbs. I have been told by Drs that your body really does not need a rest from cardio, but it does from strength training. I have been doing ChaLean Extreme for a little more than a month now and I am seeing really fantastic changes in my body. My muscles are looking GREAT and I'm actually eating more while still losing. We know that muscle burns fat, so I would say do not neglect weight training! Also, doing a lot of cardio, you will see your weight drop, but doing strength training also will help reshape in a different way. I say do both!

piquilter

When I initially built up my endurance on cardio I would try to keep my heart rate up high the entire time & a couple different trainers told me I would burn more fat if I kept my heart rate down. At the time that just didn't make sense to me. I had metabolic testing done & found that I do in fact burn a lot more fat with my heart rate in the 120-132 range. My hrm backs that up also. The equipment I was using this morning has a weight loss/cardio mode which shows me 2 different heart rate ranges & adjusts it's resistance according to whether I choose weight loss or cardio. I'm not sure exactly about the exact numbers but do remember that it's 65% of peak heart efficiency(? not sure exact term it uses) for fat burn & 85 or 90% for cardio. Sorry I can't remember exactly, but I know lower for fat & higher for cardio. Varying what you do is also good, which is why besides straight cardio I also do strength training & circuit training. It makes the body use different muscles & it can't just settle into "oh its the elliptical again" mode. I have also been told that you should give yourself a day between strength training for muscles to recover or if you do it every day, alternate upper body one day & lower the next. Congrats on the exercise schedule you've got going :happy: :flowerforyou:

LotusF1ower

I have been told by Drs that your body really does not need a rest from cardio, but it does from strength training.

I wouldn't be able to train continuously on cardio and I would dispute the advice that the body really does not need a rest.

I don't know why they have come to that conclusion, because our bodies welcome rest once or twice per week, overtraining is a very real problem and numerous injuries have occurred whereby people have not taken breaks.

All depends what sort of cardio though. I guess if somebody were spending half an hour on the treadmill for instance, walking at a speed of 3mph, they would be able to do that every day until the cows come home. However, if somebody were running on the treadmill at a fast running pace for an hour, followed by an hour on the elliptical and then the rowing machine, it would probably be advisable to have a couple of rest days per week. How and when else otherwise, would the body be able to repair itself from heavy training sessions.

lloydrt

picquilter, I started the gym about 5 months ago, and could only handle the tread mill. I was just to big ( 341) and too self conscious at that time, and fortunately, the cardio room was to the left when you walk in, and not many people there at five thirty in the morning

My Dr made me take all kinds of heart tests, the one with the dye, the doppler of blood flow in my heart chambers, an MRI of my heart......you name it, he had it done and they all showed I had the heart of a 25 year old........

He finally had me go to a pulmonologist , and sure enough I had asthma........This pulmonoligist insisted I start cardio, for asthma, you gotta run and get moving..............you gotta move

Ok, so my tread mill has a counter , and when I started in April, Id only get my rate up to 100, .......then 120, 130 and now Im routinely, at 140 + ...........My breathing was shallow because I wasnt getting enough oxygen in my blood, and thats why I was so short breathed, or I had shallow breathing............My weight was causing my breathing problems, and brought back the asthma that I had when I was a kid......

Now its a thing of the past., thankfully.......

What is your highest heart rate, and what is normal for you?

The equation for heart rate is...................255 - your age, and then 60% - 80% of that...........

Ive had mine up to 160, and I literally thought my heart was coming out of my chest, as well as barely being able to breath, but then in 3 minutes, I was back to normal............go figure, huh.............Good luck, LLoyd

Ellem86

I'm a real cardio junkie but I have forced myself to incorporate more and more strength training in my workouts as I have got closer to my goal weight. It makes sense to me that you need cardio to lose the first big tranch of weight and after that you need weights to sculpt your body into the shape you want it to be.

Lloydrt - I had asthma as a child and this has mellowed to exercise induced asthma with age. I also use an inhaler before workouts. Since I started working out in January it's got so much better that using an inhaler for a 45 minute spinning class is now more of an option than a necessity for me. One thing I did find was that my inhaler seriously pushed up the numbers on my heart rate monitor - I regularly hit 191 - 196 bpm in a workout, with 196 being my maximum heart rate using the 220 - age (24) formula. As I don't feel unwell when I hit those numbers I prefer to think it's just my heart rate combined with the inhaler going crazy!

lloydrt

ellem, thanks for the information. I know that this last blood pressure medicine I have been weaned on, has a "channel blocker", its referd to as a calcium channel blocker, but from what Ive read about channel blockers, is that they (channel blockers) dilate the arteries, and by dialing the arteries, the blockers allow more oxygen in the blood, which requires less stress on the heart, i.e, the heart rate........it doesnt have to pump as much to make up for the lack of oxygen in the blood, which fuels the heart. The harder the heart works, the more oxygen it requires. I think that is why mine decreases in the 150s or so.......

Im being taken off of high blood pressure meds in Dec ,hurray.........I save 30 bucks a month, and then no more asthma meds.........hurray

So, see , not only am I going to look great, and feel great, but Im going to save 60 bucks a month being thin........

Too cool.......thanks Ellem, good luck to you as well on your weight loss journey............Lloyd

piquilter

lloydrt : Gosh that is tough question lets see, if I do the math.......it would be between 118-158. At 158-160 it becomes difficult to talk :laugh: & then I know I've either been talking about something that was really annoying to me (like my job before I retired :happy: ) or something I'm really fired up about I have also found that some days I have a tougher time keeping it down for whatever reason. A trick my trainer taught me to lower it is breathe in through your nose & blow out through your mouth. I have major back issues so the treadmill is out for me, but luckily I have a lot of no impact options.

brice02

Wow, this is great information! Thanks for sharing!

natural8016

Bump