Cardio without weight training will cost a lot of muscle though. Cardio after lifting makes the best use of cardio minutes.
Hey man glad you're back on track, sucks about the injury. I would say you have a good grasp already on what you should and shouldn't be eating, but sticking true to your diet will be the key. I really like white fish like tilapia for cutting down, and you might wanna get into some oat meal and sweet potatoes.
Thank. I'm currently only on Week 4 so I'll probably add an exercise for each body part in Sept. Honestly I've been sneaking in extra iso exercises for body parts (Chest/Shoulders/Legs) because I feel like I'm slacking. So yesterday for example was:
It's a fallacy to think cardio makes you lose muscle mass. There's no scientific proof that it occurs. Also, there's different types of cardio, but just long distance running. Hiit cardio that involves sprinting will get you lean and build muscle well too, just look at the physique of a sprinter. I'm saying that bringing your heart rate up will help burn fat if fat loss is your goal. If bulking up is your goal, then you don't care so much about how slim your waistline is and you won't focus on the cardio aspect.
Would you mind elaborating on that? I don't understand why it would be counter productive. If anything, cardio after a weight session is the most productive because your body is more willing to burn fat after the heart rate has been elevated for a while (the weight training). So if your goal is to get stronger and build muscle and also lower your bodyfat, then doing cardio after the weight training is not a bad idea at all
I just do 10min of cardio after workout at 4.0 - 5.0 speed to increase appetite cuz I'm bulking, idk why people think it makes you lose muscle mass, you'll lose if you don't eat enough and you're at a deficit. I don't know if that's considered high intensity though, I'm still learning each day about fitness as well. Sorta had to because I got diagnosed with Chrons Disease and I guess it became a life style for me instead of a chore.
So true. And the fish sounds awesome but, I'm on a bit of a budget so I just settled for a few bags of chicken breast. Thanks for the sweet potato idea though, I was trying to avoid starchy stuff but I forgot about sweet potato.
I know and it's killing me to stick to 2x2 right now lol. I tend to get caught up and try and push myself too hard though and I'm really making a conscious effort to avoid that right now. That being said though, what's a good benchmark to start trying to increase volume? As far as exercise variations go I do try and switch it up each week for each body part ex:
I think weight is a really shitty metric. But if you want to go that way BMI charts say 5'5' should be between 120-140. Honestly if you want a metric your best bet is to go by body fat percentage and even then your results will vary based on the tool you use. As a trainer I always recommend to athletes to take pictures of themselves and monitor their progress that way. The scale is junk, if you're building muscle and burning fat at the same time there's a good chance that the scale isn't going to drop like you hoped it would.
Cardio intensity is usually in terms of your heart rate. There's a range for your target heart rate and if you're pushing towards the upper end then you'll definitely know it. If you're using cardio machines it'll even give you your heart rate during the exercise.
My cardio mainly consists of intervals on the treadmill, swimming, or jump rope. 15-20min max.Cardio intensity is usually in terms of your heart rate. There's a range for your target heart rate and if you're pushing towards the upper end then you'll definitely know it. If you're using cardio machines it'll even give you your heart rate during the exercise.
Here's a chart:
Was coming in here to say this. Most Americans eat more protein then they need in their regular diet, using a protein shake is just going to reverse all the weight loss because all the excess protein will be stored as fat. If you want to know more check this link.
Oh yeah I already do that, been tracking forever, try to increase 5 pounds each week and 10 on heavy movements DL/Squat. My DL is at 175 for 3x5 aiming 185 next week, pretty good for my size IMO.
Excess just gets converted to carbs. I think protein shake is good, I use it often because of my circumstances but anything in excess will be stored as fat. Just lessen carb intake if you eating lotta shakes would be my best advice.
Hmm I'll see how I can track it, I don't have a monitor, I'll do cardio tomorrow and report back.Cardio intensity is usually in terms of your heart rate. There's a range for your target heart rate and if you're pushing towards the upper end then you'll definitely know it. If you're using cardio machines it'll even give you your heart rate during the exercise.
Here's a chart:
I'm old school so I'm used to checking by just taking my pulse at my neck, counting each beat for 10 seconds (use any clock) , and then multiply by 6.
I'd like to add that, depending on your metabolism and your work out, if your body can metabolize it and not store, most likely with someone who is more advanced in training would benefit from it than someone just beginning. So icksnay the protein at first, see how your body develops and judge from there if you want to or not. Variation in training is a factor. Protein shakes can benefit muscle recovery prior to actually being stored, especially taken at the right time. I dont take protein for no reason at any given time of the day, that would be excess. Whatever is done in recovery has just as much of a impact as being in the gym.
Maybe I should have been more specific. Do not do long cardio sets after a strength or weight training set. 10-15 minutes is fine. But doing a long cardio specific set of intervals running or heavy burning cardio for 30-45 minutes drags you further into a catabolic state depleting the time needed for glycogen and muscle protein synthesis to recharge. You may as well keep the muscle and strength gains you achieved then lose them just to burn more fat. Let the body recharge and do a heavy cardio session later in the day after you've recouped your strength.
Your cardio is just as important as the weight training. If you miss a day I would recommend doing some moderate cardio after your strength session like Decay II advised. You will not lose any gains if its a moderate session say 15minutes. But keep the heavy cardio away from strength training, 30 minutes or more of semi intense cardio. I would NOT do any make up cardio of an intense nature just before lifting. 10 minute warm up is perfectly fine to get the blood pumping and circulating nutrients. I usually warm up on an airdyne bike for 10 minutes before weight training. If I do any cardio after I will do 15 minutes of intervals to circulate the blood more and then call it a session. I weight train 3 days a week and do heavy cardio 5 days a week away from lifting. My cardio consists of Airdyne, interval running, boxing and jiu-jitzu. Cardio comes in all shapes and forms, if running is hard for you to get motivated for (which it is for many, lets face it, it can be boring) try some other forms like taking a martial art (if you interested in anything like that). Or try an airdyne bike, tread-climber, etc.