Should I leave out cardio altogether?
ashleearoha
Posts: 165 Member
Hey guys, I am trying to build more lean muscle while losing some body fat. I am wanting to get down to about 16 to 18% body fat (I am between 19 to 22% at the moment). Ive been concentrating on intense strength training an hour at least 5 times a week. Lately I have been trying to incorporate some cardio such as HIIT and interval training but I have heard that I should avoid cardio if i am trying to increase lean muscle?
Does anyone have any ideas? Anyone with similar goals?
Does anyone have any ideas? Anyone with similar goals?
0
Replies
-
well u don't have to do much cardio...just drop carbs, get on a strict diet, and hit the weight room hard
0 -
well u don't have to do much cardio...just drop carbs, get on a strict diet, and hit the weight room hard
Why?0 -
ask scott heman,josef rakich,joe donnelly or any other certified trainers.well u don't have to do much cardio...just drop carbs, get on a strict diet, and hit the weight room hard
Why?0 -
Reasonable amounts of cardio won't cause you to lose lean muscle. You are already quite lean, and can easily lose muscle. Consistent hard strength training, adequate protein, and avoiding an excessively large calorie deficit will help you keep the lean mass you have. LISS cardio will allow you to eat more, and has some health benefits. But it won't affect your lean muscle mass to a large degree, positive or negative.
Regarding HIIT, I wouldn't do it at all, because it is difficult to program correctly with strength training, and frankly not worth the trouble in my opinion. However, many people say they are doing HIIT, but they mean they just run a little faster sometimes. For example, if you can do it for 45 minutes, you are certainly not doing HIIT.0 -
ask scott heman,josef rakich,joe donnelly or any other certified trainers.well u don't have to do much cardio...just drop carbs, get on a strict diet, and hit the weight room hard
Why?
I don't want to, I am asking you.0 -
I know of at least one certified trainer who would disagree with the carb dropping comment ... I am not a trainer so I am not speaking of myself-- I have just seen multiple posts that disagrees with that concept.
Now back to the original question. Moderate cardio will serve to help reduce body fat (by increasing calorie burn and enhancing a calorie deficit which is essential in the body fat reduction equation)... now, cardio is not essential... it will just help. If you are keeping it to a moderate level, by all means do it... It does the heart good and it is really about fitness anyway. By all means, lift heavy.0 -
ask scott heman,josef rakich,joe donnelly or any other certified trainers.well u don't have to do much cardio...just drop carbs, get on a strict diet, and hit the weight room hard
Why?
I don't want to, I am asking you.
Don't drop carbs!! How fast and far is your car going to go with no fuel. The body is not that much different.
Cardio is beneficial for your heart and well being for sure, but not the backbone of any lean muscle building program.0 -
No, you should do some type of conditioning. I dunno why you're lifting 5+days a week on a deficit.0
-
I honestly don't do cardio o.o We should though.0
-
No, you should do some type of conditioning. I dunno why you're lifting 5+days a week on a deficit.
I have to agree with this. It sounds a little excessive.
0 -
Thanks guys!0
-
No, you should do some type of conditioning. I dunno why you're lifting 5+days a week on a deficit.
I have to agree with this. It sounds a little excessive.
lifting five days week is excessive??? Care to clarify why that is?
I lift five days a week with minimal cardio …0 -
nothing wrong with working out 5 days a week? along as your not overdoing it & getting in all your meals. & i say stick to cardio, adjust the amount of cardio as necessary . Good luck0
-
I really notice the difference in my lifting when I'm cardiovascularly fit. Having muscular and anaerobic endurance really goes a long way to an excellent lifting session.
Saying that, I avoid too much over lactate threshold cardio now on bulks for three reasons.
It is possible I am burning muscle rather than fat.
I am not recovering properly from heavy lifting.
I try and bulk as clean as possible (little fat gain as poss), and that requires pretty exact numbers. The more activity I do, the harder it is to get the numbers right. Muscle needs excess calories to build. I don't want to risk being at maintenance or accidental cut. I also don't want to over do it and gain too much fat.
It's still debatable whether I can recapture my previous fitness after this winter of bulking. I thought it would make me a better athlete, yet at the moment I am not.0 -
It depends on you. I can't lift a straight week without gaining. So I mix it up with cardio. If I do too much cardio, I look like a skeleton with a saggy skin on it.0
-
No, you should do some type of conditioning. I dunno why you're lifting 5+days a week on a deficit.
I have to agree with this. It sounds a little excessive.
lifting five days week is excessive??? Care to clarify why that is?
I lift five days a week with minimal cardio …
My initial reaction is that having only two rest days per week from heavy lifting seems a bit minimal for muscle recovery, let alone adding cardio on top of that.
However, I am open to hearing other perspectives on the subject that differ from mine. I am still new to lifting so perhaps I am wrong. I don't have an issue with being corrected with respect and learning from others.0 -
ask scott heman,josef rakich,joe donnelly or any other certified trainers.well u don't have to do much cardio...just drop carbs, get on a strict diet, and hit the weight room hard
Why?
I don't want to, I am asking you.
Don't drop carbs!! How fast and far is your car going to go with no fuel. The body is not that much different.
Cardio is beneficial for your heart and well being for sure, but not the backbone of any lean muscle building program.
Depends on your fuel. Not everyone chooses to run on carbs.0 -
well u don't have to do much cardio...just drop carbs, get on a strict diet, and hit the weight room hard
She's trying to increase lean mass. Why would she drop carbohydrates???0 -
No, you should do some type of conditioning. I dunno why you're lifting 5+days a week on a deficit.
I have to agree with this. It sounds a little excessive.
lifting five days week is excessive??? Care to clarify why that is?
I lift five days a week with minimal cardio …
My initial reaction is that having only two rest days per week from heavy lifting seems a bit minimal for muscle recovery, let alone adding cardio on top of that.
However, I am open to hearing other perspectives on the subject that differ from mine. I am still new to lifting so perhaps I am wrong. I don't have an issue with being corrected with respect and learning from others.
No 5 days a week is not excessive, that's about the average frequency for most.0 -
Don't focus on it if you're trying to gain. I'd just do the minimal required for heart health. Personally, I do it once a week at most at the moment.0
-
Hey guys, I am trying to build more lean muscle while losing some body fat. I am wanting to get down to about 16 to 18% body fat (I am between 19 to 22% at the moment). Ive been concentrating on intense strength training an hour at least 5 times a week. Lately I have been trying to incorporate some cardio such as HIIT and interval training but I have heard that I should avoid cardio if i am trying to increase lean muscle?
Does anyone have any ideas? Anyone with similar goals?
If you like cardio you can always do some light stuff on your rest days.0 -
Unless you are in your first 3 months of weight training, pick a goal, one or the other. Not to say it is impossible to do both, but it certainly isn't the most efficient way. Also don't go low carb if you decide you want to gain.0
-
Hey guys, I am trying to build more lean muscle while losing some body fat. I am wanting to get down to about 16 to 18% body fat (I am between 19 to 22% at the moment). Ive been concentrating on intense strength training an hour at least 5 times a week. Lately I have been trying to incorporate some cardio such as HIIT and interval training but I have heard that I should avoid cardio if i am trying to increase lean muscle?
Does anyone have any ideas? Anyone with similar goals?
You are looking to increase lean mass whilst losing body fat. Generally if you are eating a calorie deficit this cannot be done (only in exceptional circumstances). However by resistance training you can increase your lean mass percentage (i.e maintain lean mass and loss body fat).
Is your goal to look bigger - if so you need to train eating more calories. Or for your muscles to look toned - keep doing what you're doing (make sure you've got enough protein in your diet and you're giving yourself enough recovery period between lifting).
Good luck0 -
Whenever someone advises another person to attempt to gain mass without carbs, I roll my eyes and point them to this Alan Aragon quote...Protein is the bricks. Carbs are the brick layers. Fat is the cement. Micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc) are the weatherproofing.
Low-carb diets are not ideal for mass-building by any stretch of the imagination. You can do it without, but why would you want to if it's not optimal?
OP: Good pros and cons here - http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/cardio-and-mass-gains.html
16% BF is low, by the way. Unsustainably low for most women, I'd say. 20% or thereabouts is a great percentage. You're already very lean if your pic is current.0 -
You want to exercise your cardiovascular system for health reason. However, you can get good results with sorter amounts of HIIT as you mentioned. If you are doing more HIIT strength training, which keeps your cardio up anyway, you don't need much or any more.0
-
And don't drop carbs. Just adjust the balance of carbs, fats, and protein.0
-
HIIT is awesome.. don't cut out cardio or carbs.0
-
I run a mile for sprints and then lift. I am lifting 5-6 days a week. I haven't cut out carbs completely but I have cut a lot of the processed carbs. You need some cardio just to get your heart healthy and to push blood through the muscles to warm them up. Everything is going to be based on how your body reacts to the workouts. My body needs the cardio to build the lean muscle and then the weights to maintain.0
-
Lots of low carb phobia on this board but, to each their own.
As for OP it depends on your body and how your body holds on to fat and muscle. I am a naturally curvy woman who is able to gain and retain muscle relatively easily, but also able to gain body fat like no one's business (don't you have that?). From experience I've learned that other than heart health benefits cardio does little to help me reach my fitness goals.
I lift 5 days a week on a low carb diet and am looking and feeling better than I ever have in my whole life! I will adjust my rest days to how my body is feeling and try to walk or other light cardio on those days to keep myself moving. After a lifting session I'll squeeze in 10-15 minutes on the stair master and I walk my dogs 3-5 days a week. Other than my stair master and walks I do almost no other cardio unless I decide to enjoy a bike ride or some indoor rock climbing. I have been interested in HIIT myself but don't know enough about it to give advice, although I feel like dynamic movements would overall work well in your overall cardiovascular health so they might not be a bad idea.
I used to be a cardio bunny, always on the treadmill or elliptical lifting maybe 2-3 days a week and restricting myself on a low fat, high carb diet. I got pre-diabetes, was depressed, felt foggy and tired and was struggling with my weight. Ultimately I just don't enjoy cardio like I enjoy lifting so it was a challenge to go to the gym, I dreaded it and wasn't getting results to make all the drudgery feel worth it.
I'm now eating a high fat, low carb ketogenic diet after performing independent extensive research from recent peer reviewed studies. I'd be interested to see the evidence and research supporting a low fat, high carb diet that's not being pushed by the FDA, American Heart Association or food and drug companies that are benefiting from keeping the status quo. Through my diet not only have my health problems (including diabetes) gone away but my lifting friends admire how cut I look, all gains no losses. Do I think the keto diet works/ is practical for everyone? No, but do I think it's a legitimate school of thought for eating and am always shocked at how vehemently people resist and demonize my diet. Everyone's body is different, mine happens to run efficiently, thrive, and gain muscle on a high fat, moderate protein, and low carb diet, if the OP decides to give it a try more power to her!
Good luck finding a solution to your problem but I feel like you're already at a very desirable and attractive body fat percentage and look~0 -
No, you should do some type of conditioning. I dunno why you're lifting 5+days a week on a deficit.
I have to agree with this. It sounds a little excessive.
lifting five days week is excessive??? Care to clarify why that is?
I lift five days a week with minimal cardio …
My initial reaction is that having only two rest days per week from heavy lifting seems a bit minimal for muscle recovery, let alone adding cardio on top of that.
However, I am open to hearing other perspectives on the subject that differ from mine. I am still new to lifting so perhaps I am wrong. I don't have an issue with being corrected with respect and learning from others.
I lift five days with Saturday being 100% rest day and wednesday I do HIIT (10 minutes) and ab work (30 minutes)….0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.1K Introduce Yourself
- 43.7K Getting Started
- 260.1K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 419 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.9K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.5K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions