Heavy Cardio vs. Light Cardio

[sirskeletron]

I have a question I haven't been able to find a clear answer to. I have heard that doing heavy cardio like joggin long distances or for long periods of time not only burns fat but breaks down muscle as well. This is why a marathon runner is way skinnier than a sprinter. I heard that it is better to do very light cardio like power walking. You probably have to do a hell of alot more to burn the same amount of calories but it is only fat that you burn and you minimize on the muscle that is broken down. They told me the slower you do it the better the outcome will be. Is this true...?

This kind of puzzles me a little bit because you see like people in special forces and stuff that go through like 6 months of training of nothing but everyday really heavy cardio shit and they are still big not skinny like a marathon runner. Is it because a marathon runner wants to be skinny so he doesn't have to drag much weight 25 miles...?

And boxers and fighters period, they are all pretty descent sizes too and they tend to. they are no marathon runner. And they do alot of cardio things to improve endurance in a fight but still have plenty strength.. So really my question is how you go about training for both endurance and strength (and mass) if endurance is breaking down the muscle you are building..??? Would you do cycles of strength building and endurance building or would you mix it together (maybe the breakdown of muscle is slower than the creation during heavy cardio and strength training) to get the right mixture of both fast and slow twitch fibers..?? Or maybe this is not even true.. I dunno I am confused, but I certainly don't want to do any heavy cardio if it's just gonna take away at my hard earned muscle, I'd rather just keep the fat and stay stronger, or maybe do like 2 hours of walking every day, But man that's time consuming!! Thanks for any help!

 

[BOOEY]

I used to wonder about this to, but what I find works best is, forget all the technical crap. Use cardio as a way to burn cals. Once you're in a caloric deficit, then you will be burning fat. Diet is key. When I start cutting, I don't do any cardio for the first few weeks, I just try to get my cals down slowly. Once I get to the point I can't drop them any lower, I'll throw in some cardio. The most important thing to do is to refuel afterwards with protein and high GI carbs (like dextrose). As long as you're not too much in a deficit, and you time your protein intake correctly, you shouldn't be burning muscle. Most people on cutting diets feel they are losing muscle because they look smaller in the mirror. This is not the case. They are losing fat, so of course you're going to appear smaller.

 

[KIAN]

When you consume food, the carbohydrates are broken down and stored as Glycogen in the liver and in musle tissue throughout the body. When the liver and muscle tissue become saturated it is stored as fat around the body. When you exercise, your body draws on these glycogen reserves as a source of quick energy. When these reserves get low or are depleted, which occurs when the activity is prolonged (i.e.: distance running), your body starts tapping into your fat reserves as a source of energy. If your BFP (body fat percentage) is very low and your body doesn't have a sufficient source of energy then the body starts stripping protein from muscle tissue and you begin to lose mass.

You have to create a balance between your nutritional intake and the level of activity you are involved with. If you want to lose fat and maintain mass then you will have to increase your protien intake, decrease your carb intake, increase your level of activity, and lift very heavy. But it is a very delicate balancing act. With the lower level of carbs in your system, you are telling your body to look elsewhere for a source of energy but you are really going to have to push yourself during this time.

 

[Tom Treutlein]

Unless you've got a pretty high level of body fat, tapping into fat stores through glycogen depletion won't do much of anything. The key thing is calories. If you're eating an excess of calories, you won't lose weight.

As for heavy vs. light - I'd stick with HIIT. It gets the job done quicker, and will teach you to be explosive. Plus, in the end, it burns off more calories. A raised metabolism for the day, you say? Sounds good to me!

Make sure, though, you have something to eat before training. A shake or something to satieate you after a session of cardio or lifting is fine, but you'll reap more benefits from a pre-workout shake, contrary to popular belief.