How much Cardio is best??

[MandieG]

Currently my goal is to lose BF....I'm not really intrested in gaining muscle at this point until I get my BF down....I really want to get myself down to about 140 lbs...I won't say what my current weight is as it's embarassing...

So how much cardio? I do lift weight and do the weight machines as it helps me burn more calories, but I am stuck at how much cardio to do...

RIght now I"m doing about 45 minutes combined on the bike, stairmaster, and elipticals, sometimes treadmill...

Thanks

 

[Daisy_Girl]

How many days per week? Intensity? How long have you done this cardio routine?

Cardio is not always necessary to lose BF. Losing BF is going to be 90% DIET dependent. If you have a clean diet, high in protein, you will likely lose BF. If you have a so-so diet you will likely NOT lose BF - no matter how much cardio you do.

That said, *I* am the kind of person that enjoys cardio and do not like NOT doing it. I recommend you lay off the long duration moderate intensity cardio for now. Do some HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) 3x a week. You can warm up 3-5 min, do intervals for ~20 min, cool down for 3-5 min. The intervals can be 1min HARD 1 min easy, or 30 sec hard 1 min easy, or 1min hard 90sec easy ...... whatever your current fitness level allows. Most impostant thing is to WORK during the hard interval and allow your self to recover during the easy.

HIIT will help keep metabolism raised longer than moderate duration cardio. Plus, it is not catabolic like most steady-state cardio is. But HIIT shouldn't be done more than 3x a week.

I would lift 3x/wk - HEAVY. Continuing to lift heavy will help maintain your muscle, which will help keep metabolism raised. Do a traditional Ch/Sh/Tri, Ba/Bi, Legs split.

For example.....

Mon: Lift Ch/Sh/Tri
Tues: 30m HIIT, Abs
Wed: Lift Ba/Bi
Thu: 30m HIIT, Abs
Fri: Lift Legs
Sat: 30m HIIT (OR, 30m moderate-high cardio), Abs
Sun: TOTAL REST


Post up your diet to see if we can tweak it.

 

[MandieG]

Thanks Daisy..........I usually get to the gym 5-6 days a week........here's a sample diet...

Breakfast - 5 eggs (4 egg whites 1 whole) with about 1/4 oz of cheese

Then I goto the gym

Lunch - Tuna or chicken with some veggies....usually spinache brocolli salad

Snack - apple or orange

Dinner - Chicken with brocolli tomatoes and some cucumber

That's the basic amount i have, when I say Chicken it's a skinless boneless breast, I don't weigh it, as I'm not really concerned with calorie intake with the protein. I drink ALOT of water too, and I'm using creatine after my workouts.

Any advice is welcomed....

My workout routine is:
Usually I do one body part per day....Like day 1 is lower body, day 2 is upper

Should I be breaking it up a bit more??

Just seems I've hit a plateau..so looking for ways to improve.....I will try to do the HIIT...see if that helps any.....

Forgot to ask, is Pilates any good? I'm going to try doing those as well to help strengthen my body and increase flexibility.

 

[mbrooke5]

Forgot to ask, is Pilates any good? I'm going to try doing those as well to help strengthen my body and increase flexibility.

Personally I feel better after I do either yoga or pilates...it gives your body a good stretch and getting in and out of the car is easier...and Pilates is great for traning your core if you do the exercises correctly. It is also good to vary your workout routine...sometimes you need some "light"days at the gym.

 

[FigureSkater]

Pilates is great. I've taken it on and off for quite a while now, and I've noticed that it has really helped my posture and carriage.

I tried yoga, but I hate how you're supposed to be so quiet...I can't do half the poses without lauging, (having my clumsy roommate there didn't help eiter) and I think that pissed off some people in my class who were trying to concentrate and get into the whole zen thing.

 

[Daisy_Girl]

Breakfast - 5 eggs (4 egg whites 1 whole) with about 1/4 oz of cheese

Then I goto the gym

Lunch - Tuna or chicken with some veggies....usually spinache brocolli salad

Snack - apple or orange

Dinner - Chicken with brocolli tomatoes and some cucumber

I can't remember your stats, but this doesn't seem like a lot of food. What times are you eating? Remember, you want to eat something every 3 hours or so. Plus, I would add some protein to your afternoon snack. I wouldn't eat fruit so late in the day (sugar), but if you do, I would add some cottage cheese to it or natty peanut butter.

 

[MandieG]

I can't remember your stats, but this doesn't seem like a lot of food. What times are you eating? Remember, you want to eat something every 3 hours or so. Plus, I would add some protein to your afternoon snack. I wouldn't eat fruit so late in the day (sugar), but if you do, I would add some cottage cheese to it or natty peanut butter.

Thanks Daisy....I've been playing with my diet a little bit, and seems when I eat this I have the most success.....

Reason for the fruit later in the day, is it keeps me going at night, I usually work until 11 or midnight then I'm up again at 7 am with kids......

I will try to add some peanut butter see what that does. For some reason if I eat alot of calories I stall or gain fat....fustrating as heck....

 

[Daisy_Girl]

Thanks Daisy....I've been playing with my diet a little bit, and seems when I eat this I have the most success.....

Reason for the fruit later in the day, is it keeps me going at night, I usually work until 11 or midnight then I'm up again at 7 am with kids......

I will try to add some peanut butter see what that does. For some reason if I eat alot of calories I stall or gain fat....fustrating as heck....

If the fruit at that time works for you, then keep it in there. Adding a little protein and fat to that meal might help your energy levels and make it "last" longer. You don't have to add a lot of PB - even just 1/2 tbsp can help - that will give you about an additional 70cals, maybe 3-4g protein and maybe 7-8g fat. Not very much in the scheme of an eating plan. Keeping up with the kids will help burn that off! lol

 

[MandieG]

ok the HIIT training is KILLING me LOL.......It's alot more work than what I was doing.....

Daisy now that it's summer the kids want to be outside playing, so I'm definatly burning alot chasing them and kicking the ball etc......

I tried the natty peanut butter today and it's good......I really like it....I had it on my apple