Cutting back on cardio

honkytonks85
honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
edited November 28 in Fitness and Exercise
My personal trainer has asked me to start cutting back on cardio. I am a bit of a cardio addict and usually do about 6 hours of cardio per week. It has helped a lot with my anxiety and depression over time and I am loathe to cut it out. However she thinks cardio will interfere with my weight training. Can anyone tell me the science behind this? She has suggested 3 times a week at most, for 1 hour a day. And 3 days a week of heavy lifting.

Replies

  • rosema1268
    rosema1268 Posts: 6 Member
    I starting this process as well.. I've been doing a high energy kickboxing/dance cardio class every weekend religiously for 3 years. I love it, but.. The first month it was tough as nails but I lost 10 lbs. now it's still hard but defintely not like it was but I don't lose from it anymore ..

    Anyways the science part that I understood is that this kind of cardio ( classes type cardio) burns not only fat but muscle too. The best way to preserve your muscle gains while weight training and have fat loss is to do HIIT (high interval intens,training) you can get this in in 15 min or less twice a week after you weight train or on days you are not training..do not do it first though.. Less time -and better results. This is my focus. I've cut out my classes for now as I want results. Also be sure you are eating enough and good combo of protein, clean carbs and fat..
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
    I guess I am just concerned my depression will return if I cut out cardio. I'd be interested in understanding the process and why cardio would use muscle and not fat?
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    From personal experience, I saw better body composition results when I cut back on cardio and increased weight training. My food was fueling my lifting routine, which helped me maintain lbm. Not that you can't do cardio and get these results as well, but if you're doing so much that you can't recover to lift enough it might not be ideal. It's really up to you and your goals.
  • bodybuildchic32
    bodybuildchic32 Posts: 9 Member
    rosema1268 wrote: »
    I starting this process as well.. I've been doing a high energy kickboxing/dance cardio class every weekend religiously for 3 years. I love it, but.. The first month it was tough as nails but I lost 10 lbs. now it's still hard but defintely not like it was but I don't lose from it anymore ..

    Anyways the science part that I understood is that this kind of cardio ( classes type cardio) burns not only fat but muscle too. The best way to preserve your muscle gains while weight training and have fat loss is to do HIIT (high interval intens,training) you can get this in in 15 min or less twice a week after you weight train or on days you are not training..do not do it first though.. Less time -and better results. This is my focus. I've cut out my classes for now as I want results. Also be sure you are eating enough and good combo of protein, clean carbs and fat..
    honkytonks85 wrote: »
    I guess I am just concerned my depression will return if I cut out cardio. I'd be interested in understanding the process and why cardio would use muscle and not fat?

  • bodybuildchic32
    bodybuildchic32 Posts: 9 Member
    Lifting can make you happy too...if you like it :) I have depression and anxiety that get bad if I don't lift! I'm grumpy missing my weights and irritable. 20 minute cardio after lifting is great fat burner or do cardio during rest periods of sets.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    I use exercise to help treat my depression and lifting works as well as, if not better than, cardio. You can always add some back if you need to. And as long as you're eating enough, cardio won't interfere with lifting.

  • gdyment
    gdyment Posts: 299 Member
    What are you trying to do? Be a faster runner, bulk up a bit, get stronger at lifting heavy things, win a spartan, ?? Are you already at goal weight or close? In my experience you can run/cardio for 10+ hrs a week and you won't lose muscle unless you're also dieting.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,401 Member
    honkytonks85 wrote: »
    My personal trainer has asked me to start cutting back on cardio. I am a bit of a cardio addict and usually do about 6 hours of cardio per week. It has helped a lot with my anxiety and depression over time and I am loathe to cut it out. However she thinks cardio will interfere with my weight training. Can anyone tell me the science behind this? She has suggested 3 times a week at most, for 1 hour a day. And 3 days a week of heavy lifting.

    There is no reason you can't lift heavy and do cardio. All you have to do is adjust your diet to recover from both. If you want to see better improvements on your lifting, do your cardio after you lift. That way the worst case is reducing your cardio pace some if you're wiped out from the lifting.

    I strongly agree with @gdyment on his comments. Plenty of people do lots of cardio and lift. If your trainer can't understand how to adjust around that, it might make sense to adjust your trainer. Especially if they want their priorities to be your priorities. But you have to make your priorities clear as well, so if you told the trainer you want to see more composition changes, they might be leading you down the right path.

    If you express your concerns, they might even be able to set up some circuits and such that help some with both.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    honkytonks85 wrote: »
    However she thinks cardio will interfere with my weight training. Can anyone tell me the science behind this? She has suggested 3 times a week at most, for 1 hour a day. And 3 days a week of heavy lifting.

    So what have you told her your objectives are, and what do you want to achieve with your training?

    There are two possible points she's trying to make, one of which is valid and the other would suggest you need a new trainer.
    • You have a fixed amount of time and you need to balance the work you're doing within that, so an appropriate mix is 50/50
    • Cardio burns muscle - If this is her position then change trainer
  • Expatmommy79
    Expatmommy79 Posts: 940 Member
    I would put mental health above body composition. If cardio helps your anxiety and makes you anxious cutting back, then don't.

    You can do both. Eventually when the lifting starts to hurt a lot, you may naturally decrease the cardio. Don't stop if you aren't ready.
  • cw106
    cw106 Posts: 952 Member
    i agree with two above posters.
    sounds like you PT is in the lift heavy camp,and not in tune with your needs and goals.
    more PT s seem to be going this way,to the point that i re-jigged my programme with the PT manager to be less weight lifting focussed to more bodyweight and running specific resistance training.
    suggest you address your concerns directly with your PT first.
    stay happy and do what YOU enjoy.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    honkytonks85 wrote: »
    I guess I am just concerned my depression will return if I cut out cardio. I'd be interested in understanding the process and why cardio would use muscle and not fat?

    Cardio doesn't use muscle for fuel - that would be your fuel of absolute last resort. Otherwise the hardest training athletes would be the weakest!!
    But there can be interference to your recovery and performance from a high exercise workload. That would also be true if your workload was all weights or all cardio of course.

    It's perfectly possible to do both cardio and weights to a high level - not to an elite level though which demands no compromise. If you have a good fitness level personally I don't see 6 hours a week as "addicted" or excessive - but as a long distance cyclist I would say that! :smiley:

    As for the emotional support your cardio gives you it's quite possible you would get the same reaction from weights as you do from cardio - I get the same buzz from both. One option is to try the suggested 3 sessions of each approach for a while and see how you get on. Ultimately the PT can make suggestions but it's your decision.

  • jcmj3396
    jcmj3396 Posts: 8 Member
    Depends on what type of weight training you are referring to. If you are trying to gain or bulk, then yes that is a lot of cardio. Cardio burns a lot of calories therefore you need to cut back on cardio and increase your calorie intake. Their is a science behind eating healthy to replenish the lost nutrients during exercise, to see the best results, your meal plans need to be on point and consistent.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    edited January 2016
    I ride my bike every morning 50 min 20-23 miles for a similar reason you can always eat more if you start to lose to much weight works for me at maintenance for 5 months
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    honkytonks85 wrote: »
    My personal trainer has asked me to start cutting back on cardio. I am a bit of a cardio addict and usually do about 6 hours of cardio per week. It has helped a lot with my anxiety and depression over time and I am loathe to cut it out. However she thinks cardio will interfere with my weight training. Can anyone tell me the science behind this? She has suggested 3 times a week at most, for 1 hour a day. And 3 days a week of heavy lifting.

    Can you split your cardio so it doesn't happen during the same time segment as your weightlifting? As I do cardio at lunch and lift at night, they don't interfere with each other. If I did an hour of cardio and then immediately switched to lifting, my performance would definitely be affected.
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