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Drunken_Weasel
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is there such a thing as too much cardio?.. I was thinking instead of making it 2 times a week.. why not about 45 minutes a day.. will it help to shed fat a bit faster.. is it unhealthy in any way?
Is there such a thing as too much
- Thread starter Drunken_Weasel
- Start date
casavant
New member
Fuck yeah. 2 times a week is definitely not enough if you want to really shed the shit off. Work your way up to 4-5 times a week, 45 minutes- 1 hour per session. Keep your protein high and your carbs moderate. Eat clean. Keep on weight training but ease up on the poundage a bit and drop your number of sets to avoid injury and overtraining. You'll get results.
T
The Shadow
Guest
no at a moderate pace that is fine - moderate pace - 10-15 calories per minute
big_bad_buff
New member
Drunken_Weasel said:
if your trying to burn off the fat go for it, that's what cardio is for, the more you do it, the more fat your going to burn if your diet is proper. might want to move this to the training forum.
Drunken_Weasel
New member
Ok, thanks guys.. I won't be able to make gains on my Lifts though right, because this would be "cutting"?
the nature boy
New member
the problem is that too much cardio (however much that is) will raise cortisol levels. increased cortisol levels means muscle loss if I'm not mistaken.
vinylgroover
New member
It solely depends on your metabolism. If you have a fast metabolism, then yes you can do too much and it will actually have the reverse effect of slowing your metabolism.
If not, then 30-40mins 4 times per week won't hurt you.
If not, then 30-40mins 4 times per week won't hurt you.
Night Fly
New member
Drunken_Weasel said:
You may make slight gains, but not really enough to make a difference in anything. When you do that much cardio your body doesn't have the energy to focus on the weights anymore.
If 45 min everyday is too much for you..you could cut it down to 4 or 5 times a week and give yourself 2 or 3 days free from it. Just another option.
Drunken_Weasel
New member
Night Fly said:
You may make slight gains, but not really enough to make a difference in anything. When you do that much cardio your body doesn't have the energy to focus on the weights anymore.
If 45 min everyday is too much for you..you could cut it down to 4 or 5 times a week and give yourself 2 or 3 days free from it. Just another option.
Well.. my metabolism isnt the best.. I also get well over 8 hours of sleep a night, and give myself extra energy with Ripped Fuel.. just trying to find a way to gain muscle, or atleast keep muscle and lose my huge gut at the same time.
casavant
New member
Drunken_Weasel said:
Man, don't make "The Bowflex Mistake". That's where someone (understandably) wants to look like the dude on the Bowflex commercial all at one time from a standing start. You just cant' do it, and your attempts are going to end in frustration. Right now, from everything I've read about you, you really want to lose that fat. That is, I think it would be safe to say that losing the fat and not gaining more muscle for the time being is preferable to gaining some more muscle but having it covered in a sheath of fat. And what about the third option- of gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time? Put that dirty bitch out of your mind, because for all practical purposes it is not an option at all. Just toss it out, kick it to the curb, don't think about it again. Pick one goal- lose the fat and retain most of the lean tissue you have, or gain the muscle and keep the fat- actually, you'd probably gain some fat. I would suggest you lose the fat. That will give you a clean slate to work with, and it will get you much more pleasing responses from those around you as well. Once you pick one, you can give it your full attention and effort. Try to do both at the same time, and you don't get either one done to any significant extent and you end up frustrated as hell.
Drunken_Weasel
New member
Ok cas.. I just get too far ahead of myself.. Would it be bad to train hard and heavy, on my training split while trying to cut then? Not expecting muscle gain, just would like to keep training, as it is good exercises, and in hopes of keeping my LBM the same. I will be running at least 5 nights a week, and I am still watching my carbs, and drinking a crap load of water. Should I continue to take creatine as well? Will it help to preserve my LBM maybe?... I don't mind the water retention.
Drunken_Weasel
New member
2Thick said:
I have no access to swim.. no pool, no friends with pools.. public pools are closed.
I just want the most effective, and fastest way to lose so I can bulk... I am sitting at about 225 now (was 215, i think its water retention), not sure body fat.. but Im guessing I wouldnt have a gut around 175 or so.., maybe 185.
sermon_of_mockery
Snurd Nurdler
hey weasel,I was at one time a overweight kid,and I brought my wieght from 230,to a whopping 170,and really lean.It was a collaberation of diet,cardio,weights,and patients!A year ago I was at around 180 lbs,broke my wrist and was out of the game for a good 3 months.All I could do was cardio,which i hit every morning for about 30 min.I got WAAAAAAAAAAAAy too skinny.I lost tons of lbm,and was just a rail.Keep the protien high,carbs moderate,and mix weights with cardio(4-5 times a week)that should suffice.Be patient.
Drunken_Weasel
New member
sermon_of_mockery said:
I have made MASSIVE (forgive the pun..) progress with just diet changes.. I have come from 280ish.. But, I seem to have hit a patuea, and am in a bind in my mind on whether i want to lose the fat, and sacrifice what little muscle I have, or bulk, then come down.. I really am not sure.. I'm leaning more towards cutting hard.. and sacrificing some LBM. How long did it take you to go from 230, to 170?
Still need to know If I shoudl keep taking Creatine, or if it will hinder my progress...
casavant
New member
You can still go pretty hard on the weights. I just would't recommend a lot of singles, triples, and so forth on a calorie restricted diet while doing lots of cardio.
A lot of these other guys probably know their stuff better than me on most of these finer points. But please, stick with one or the other. It will make things so much better in the end.
I'm out for the night. Y'all take 'er easy.
A lot of these other guys probably know their stuff better than me on most of these finer points. But please, stick with one or the other. It will make things so much better in the end.
I'm out for the night. Y'all take 'er easy.
Drunken_Weasel
New member
casavant said:You can still go pretty hard on the weights. I just would't recommend a lot of singles, triples, and so forth on a calorie restricted diet while doing lots of cardio.
A lot of these other guys probably know their stuff better than me on most of these finer points. But please, stick with one or the other. It will make things so much better in the end.
I'm out for the night. Y'all take 'er easy.
Thanks man.. I am trying to figure out if i want to bulk or cut.... arggg.. I think i will cut..
So your also saying that i should be doing higher rep weight training instead of heavy, low rep training?
sermon_of_mockery
Snurd Nurdler
I did it clean,so it took me a few years bro.It took you a long time to put it on,it will take a while to take it off, remember that ok.My weak point was patients.My freinds were all lean,and in shape,and I was dragging behind.But if you do it slow,you'll keep most of the lbm you already have.Creatine I did'nt take until I felt I was fairlly lean, because I felt it would make me hold water,and look bigger,which I did'nt want.Drunken_Weasel said:
Drunken_Weasel
New member
supernav said:Cardio is the way to go. I run 3 miles or so, full sprint 6 to 7 times a week. I'm at 5'10" 164. I'm sure i lost muscle, cuz i could get beat up by a squirrel right now. But i'm sure i can easily gain the muscle back if really wanted -- but all my buddies are big, so i don't need to be big, i'm protected by them.
-= nav =-
Kind of debating this now in my mind too.. It may be worth losing LBM to get all this fat off of me.. I can always gain back muscle.. I am also not that short on muscle.. so maybe I can spare some..
Truthfully, the main thing that drives me to lose so fast, and hardcore is that I hate my looks because of my weight.. Always have, and even though I have become better, My outlook on myself has not improved that much.. I am patient in a way, but in a way not. I want self confidence, and this is the only way I am able to gain it.
vinylgroover
New member
Weasel,
That's admirable and understandable, but don't forget what you are going through now is a 'life' change. Patience is the key.
Personally, i hate the terms bulking and cutting, and for someone who has just dropped 40 or 50 pounds and has suffered from body image problems, the last thing you should be concerned about is 'bulking'. You have enough body mass to work with as you are without having to take creatine and so on.
To me, bulking and cutting means looking like a slob for 9 months and looking good for 3. Is that what you want? At 225 pounds, you have the necessary foundation to build muscle naturally and without supplements for a long time to come. That applies even at a bodyweight of 215 pounds.
Do your cardio early in the morning if you can to maximise the fat burning process, say 3 times a week at moderate intensity for 40 minutes, and evaluate from there. If you think you eed another session, add one more in, but be objective. Too much cardio can be counterproductive.
That's admirable and understandable, but don't forget what you are going through now is a 'life' change. Patience is the key.
Personally, i hate the terms bulking and cutting, and for someone who has just dropped 40 or 50 pounds and has suffered from body image problems, the last thing you should be concerned about is 'bulking'. You have enough body mass to work with as you are without having to take creatine and so on.
To me, bulking and cutting means looking like a slob for 9 months and looking good for 3. Is that what you want? At 225 pounds, you have the necessary foundation to build muscle naturally and without supplements for a long time to come. That applies even at a bodyweight of 215 pounds.
Do your cardio early in the morning if you can to maximise the fat burning process, say 3 times a week at moderate intensity for 40 minutes, and evaluate from there. If you think you eed another session, add one more in, but be objective. Too much cardio can be counterproductive.
Drunken_Weasel
New member
vinylgroover said:
I am definately not a morning person though.. i cant even crash till atleast 2am.. I usualy crash later, and end up getting up from 1pm-2pm.. should I consider this morning? And wouldnt that make me eat more throughout the day?
I am definately not gonna bulk now.. I am determined to get rid of this guy, and I know you say be patient.. but I am going to try to do this as quickly as possible.. tsk tsk.. The thing is.. Ive lost quite a bit pretty quickly, and that was without cardio, so I think this "cardio" thing
should work out well.. I guess ill just keep you guys posted.
casavant
New member
Drunken_Weasel said:
"High rep" is a relative term. I rarely use rep ranges above twelve on a work set if I'm going for higher reps. I'm talking more like 8-12 reps/set, with a weight that takes you to failure or pretty close on your last reps. After a good warmup, of course.
As far as doing cardio in the morning and "not being a morning person"- the point is that you do your cardio as soon as you wake up, regardless of the actual time of day, and without eating more than a protein shake or something without carbs (I feel sick eating thermogenics and doing cardio on an entirely empty stomach, but you can do that too if you can handle it). The idea is that you have been fasting (hence the term "break- fast") the whole time you've been sleeping, so your body is forced to tap into fat reserves for energy much quicker than if you did your cardio later in the day. Add to that the fact that Ripped fuel, ECA stacks, and even plain old caffeine cause your body to release fatty acids into the bloodstream so they can be burned for fuel, and you have a potent weight loss combination.
Also- hunger is a GOOD thing. It means your metabolism is up and running. Feed yourself pre-cooked meals at regular intervals containing the right combinations of nutrients, and the fat's going to start shedding off. Go to the store and buy yourself some little tupperware-style entree dishes. Glad makes those neat little ones that are cheap and reusable. Grab yourself some of those and get in the habit of cooking your meals the night before so you'll be set for the next day. Yeah, this takes a little time and dedication, but nothing worth doing ever comes easy and a lean body is more than worth it. It really doesn't take that much time, though- chicken breasts in an oven or on a Foreman grill only take fifteen-twenty minutes. Have your rice and vegetables going on the stove or in the microwave at the same time. Then you just divide it all up into neat little meals and stick it in the fridge. Once you get your shit together and start to see changes on an almost daily basis, the momentum will build on itself and you'll be unstoppable. Doing things half-assed, rather than full steam ahead, is the easiest way to get burned out. Not vice versa.
Think about all the life that you probably have ahead of you. Think about how you want to live that life. Like they say, we don't get a dress rehearsal. Do it to it, bro.
I have to hit the gym for now, but I'll be back in a few hours. Catch ya later.
Drunken_Weasel
New member
casavant said:
Thanks Cas! You have been a great help. I will be trying to undertake all you have told me.
One more question for you, or anyone else that cares to share... ALA.. would this be a wise thing to take, or atleast try? I have been reading on it, and it seems it could help to retain my LBM aswell..
DealsMorte
New member
The Nature Boy said:
Your not mistaken.
