Cardio Happy?

[stcroix]

Hey guys,

Well after leading a very sedentary lifestyle for 24 years I have just opened thyne eyes to the wonderful world of working out!

Currently I'm 18% BF, have smaller muscles than my grandma, but am 2 weeks into the new regime and loving it.

Anyway, my goal is to cut as much fat off me as possible in the next 18 weeks while relying on some hopeful 'beginner gains' for muscle gains ( and to hopefully beat that grandma in an arm wrestle

My little concern is that I might just be loving it a little too much, yes I'm already at the obession stage with the weight training, but I've noticed my pet hate - cardio - has become rather enjoyable as of late. So much so that I think I may be pushing myself outside the quintessential 'fat burning zone' - This is what I'm having trouble figuring out;

I purchased a Polar heart rate monitor to help me with this but I just don't know where my zone is. Apparently, according to my age and weight (200lb) I should be working around 137 - 152 bpm. But my resting heart rate is pretty high (around 90 while sitting at my desk at work - caffeine I guess!) and my morning heart rate fluctuates between 75 - 80 bpm).

When I'm on the cross trainer at the gym for 45-55 minutes 4 days a week, ipod pumping some great tunes, I get quite carried away and really sweat it out, sometimes pushing the heart rate to 165 -170 bpm while averaging about 158. (And I'm loving it and can't seem to slow down)

Can someone help me figure this out once and for all? The last thing I want to do is start eating into that precious (even if rather non existent) muscle mass I'm slowly aquiring, and waste my fat burning time not actually buring fat.

Help much appreciated

Thanks!

(PS -I love this forum by the way - yet another addiction! Props to you all)

 

[Epiphany]

What exactly are you trying to figure out?

Too much of anything is not a good thing...and you seem to be aware of that. You didn't mention your nutrition at all either, that's a HUGE part of the equation.

Imo, you need to first make sure you're taking in enough calories/protein to build the muscle you're trying to build...then make sure you're doing just enough at the gym. If I were you, I don't think I'd be doing much cardio at all...since you have so little muscle on you, it would be a good idea to gain some...your metabolism will increase just by doing that alone. Once your diet and workouts are in order, you could add the a.m. cardio to lose the fat you haven't lost at that point.

Basically...to some it all up: eat clean but make sure you get enough PROTEIN and non-refined carbs (especially post w/o,) work HARD at the gym (NOT long...just hard!), and then adjust accordingly.

Good Luck!

 

[vachelle72]

I would ignore any advice to eliminate cardio. It seems everyone is so concerned about putting on muscle that they forget the heart is a muscle ! It will do you no good to be "cut" if you keel over from a heart attack

I find it hard to believe that you are maintaining a consistent BPM of 158 for 50 minutes , this is very difficult to do.

But with that said , your body will not go after the muscle if it has plenty of fat to "munch" on , and unless you are already very lean , or doing hours upon hours of intense cardio , a loss in muscle is not a factor.

 

[tay1506]

I would consider doing both of what they said depending on how long u have to workout. List how much time u want to spend working out, weight, age, height and what u eat everyday and if u are seriouse about actually doing what it takes i will tell u everything i have learned from these forums and from experience!

 

[BOWTECH]

If you are feeling ok with the cardio you are doing go for it. Your body will go to its fat stores first for energy. If you are at 18% do not worry about cardio eating up your Grandma size muscle! lol......Go balls out! Good luck!

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

Uh, the heart is worked plenty from anaerobic activity such as lifting as much as, if not more, than cardio. People don't seem to understand this, though. The heart is a muscle - and it's used when you're doing squats, deadlifts, rows, OHPs, benches, chinups, dips...

I don't think much more need be said. A solid lifting program, with some dynamic warming up and flexibility work thrown in should cover the bases for most all people.