When to do cardio

[brownpaperbag04]

OK well I broke down several weeks ago and started doing cardio because I found out I have high cholestoral....and I'm only 21!!! It's higher than both my parents who have been prescribed that lipitor stuff. Anyway, my doctor just said to try cardio to see how much it helps. ...This was a huge suprise since I've lost half my BF since this summer (down to 10%) w/o doing hardly any cardio. Anyway, I don't want to die of a heart attack at the ripe age of 22 or something...so I switched my workout routine to the body for life one and i'm doing stationary bike 20 minutes per day with a pyramid type workout.

I've also read that it's best to do cardio in the morning on an empty stomach. Any truths to that? ...My doctor wants me to do at least 20 minutes EVERY DAY...if I do how much will this impact gaining/keeping muscle? Would it be better to do the cardio right after my lifting or do 2 seperate sessions several hours appart? THX!

 

[Bulldog_10]

You don't necessarily need cardio every day...as long as you're active. Brisk walking for 20 minutes would be good enough to positively effect your cholesterol...among other things.

As far as when to do it, I'd do it after your strength training routine. Not early in the morning, that's actually very catabolic. Just keep your calories up and the extra cardio won't effect your gains. Figure out how many kcals you're burning during your cardio sessions and add that many cals to your diet. Also, might wanna drink your post-workout protein shake during the cardio session if you decide to do it right after your workout.

 

[Daisy_Girl]

First off, was your cholesterol test a FASTING test? (not eating ANYTHING except water and/or black coffee for at least 12 hours before the test)

 

[brownpaperbag04]

Daisy,

yeah it was 3 months off a cycle and fasting...I didn't have anything but water for actually MORE than 12 hours because my appointment was in the afternoon. I also was on CKD when I got tested...my doc said that the massinve amounts of meat I was eating might have had an effect on it. ...but I was under the impression low carb diets actually LOWERED your cholesterol levels... oh well...anyway at least my LDL levels were pretty good.

Bulldog,

thx for the info...

 

[Daisy_Girl]

Okay - just wanted to make sure.

What kind of meat have you seen eating? Low carb diets may lower your cholesterol, but you might need to watch the types of meat you eat. Red meat (as yummy as it is!) is typically higher in saturated fats. So I would limit that. Stick with things like chicken or turkey.

Agree with Bulldog - do Cardio after Weights. For good heart health (not just fat loss), it is recommended to get your heart rate up for 30min like 3x a week. And this can be split throughout the day - so like Bulldog said, just stay as active as possible.

There might be OTC Supps that can help. Doesn't R-ALA help with this...? Maybe others can chime in on something here.

Also, if BOTH your parents have high cholesterol (medicated too) then it is likely that you will always have high cholesterol. Genetics is tough to fight here. You can DEFINATELY take steps to get as healthy as possible, but just know that even with all the proper steps, you might always have high cholesterol.

 

[Bulldog_10]

Okay - just wanted to make sure.

What kind of meat have you seen eating? Low carb diets may lower your cholesterol, but you might need to watch the types of meat you eat. Red meat (as yummy as it is!) is typically higher in saturated fats. So I would limit that. Stick with things like chicken or turkey.

Agree with Bulldog - do Cardio after Weights. For good heart health (not just fat loss), it is recommended to get your heart rate up for 30min like 3x a week. And this can be split throughout the day - so like Bulldog said, just stay as active as possible.

There might be OTC Supps that can help. Doesn't R-ALA help with this...? Maybe others can chime in on something here.

Also, if BOTH your parents have high cholesterol (medicated too) then it is likely that you will always have high cholesterol. Genetics is tough to fight here. You can DEFINATELY take steps to get as healthy as possible, but just know that even with all the proper steps, you might always have high cholesterol.

Yep...genetics plays a HUGE role in cholesterol...can be up to like 95% genetic. So it's possible that even with cardio and a good diet, it will still be high. Let us know what happens though, it will be interesting.