WHY CARDIO makes you FAT!

[Nelson Montana]

Adding 20 sets to my weight workout interferes with my recuperation more than 20-30 minutes on the bike will. You can argue that for the next 10 years too.

I said 20 more minutes, not 20 more sets.

20 extra minutes of weight training will interfere with your recuperation but 20 extra minutes of aerobics won't? That's ridiculous.

 

[brownpaperbag04]

OK lets get something straight...NOONE every said "doing" cardio makes you fat.... However, it makes you more susceptable to fat gains than weight lifting and certainly makes people gain fat faster if they stop doing it and do not adjust their diet....which many people don't. That's why you hear of people "starting to run again" or "starting to do stairs again." It's because when they stop doing their cardio and don't adjust their diet, they gain all the weight back.

The whole reason people have been knocking cardio is weight lifting has EXACTLY the same positive effects (plus more) as doing cardio, but doesn't have it's negative effects...

 

[Lao Tzu]

i've heard the story that muscle burns 50 calories a pound, but what about all the EFers who have 60 lbs more muscle than the average person on the street? The guy who has a LBM of 210, he doesn't burn 6000-9000 calories a day.

 

[brownpaperbag04]

most "average" people also don't eat 6000-9000 calories a day.

 

[Lao Tzu]

most "average" people also don't eat 6000-9000 calories a day.

i think the average caloric need of a man is about 3000 a day. a man who is 200 might have a LBM of 150 or so. Someone with a LBM of 210 (60 lbs more muscle, therefore 3000-6000 extra calories) probably doesn't eat 6000+ calories a day.

I don't know when the muscle caloric expendature levels off but i'm sure it does sooner or later. I've talked to Paulos on AIM and even though his LBM is about 200 (50 lbs more than an average male) he doesn't lose alot of weight at 2400 calories a day.

 

[Dial_tone]

I said 20 more minutes, not 20 more sets.

20 extra minutes of weight training will interfere with your recuperation but 20 extra minutes of aerobics won't? That's ridiculous.

Actually, you said 20 minutes of weight training nonstop. If a set takes 45 seconds that ends up being about 20 sets (if not more) by the time you switch stations. If I do 20 minutes on the bike after a chest/delt/tricep workout it doesn't stress my chest, delts and triceps one iota. Let's take it one step further. If I do 20-30 minutes of low-moderate intensity 80-90rpm spinning on the bike after a leg workout it actually improves my recuperation by helping move lactic acid out of the leg muscles.
Take a look at the training routines of track cycling sprinters. These guys have upper bodies like a normal guy but lower bodies like a state champion level bodybuilder. They all do 30 minutes of spinning right after a squat workout. Nelson Vails (Olympic Silver Medalist) was about 5'9, 190'ish and squatted about 550lbs....not bad for a "scrawny cyclist". It certainly didn't hurt his recuperation much.

 

[IronFist]

This is an absolute ridiculous post. Plain and Simple. If I was a moderator, I'd woud have deleted it WAY before it could get out of control, which is obviously has done. Here it is. Cardio is benefitial for dropping excess bodyfat (and possible some hard earned musle if done incorrectly.) It's extremely mundane and takes pure dedication to do it often enough for it to be benefitial. If nothing else, it's also key for a healthly heart and lifestyle. NOW, we aren't talking running a triatholon or taking to the streets for 30+ miles. A mere 30 minutes on the treadmill or eliptical will do many fat bodybuilders justice. I, for one, use it only when I feel it's necessary to get down to 5-6%bf. Currenty, I'm about 8%. I train my ass off and will toss in a little cardio 3-4x a week for shits and giggles so I'm not sucking wind when I need to drop a few more % points and do it 5-6x a week. Just for clarification, my bench is around 350 and military around 225, so I'm not too much of a pud. I see too many fat ass bodybuilders who train (well, thats what they call it, they are in the gym) using 5x5 and talking on their cell between sets. They are the ones I hear say "CARDIO? F- CARDIO!)

Anywho, point is to each his own. Many of my comp. bodybuilders do little-no cardio up until about 4 weeks out. Some, do it all through bulking and cutting. We all metoblize fat and calories differently......so don't generalize shit by saying Cardio will make you fat.........toss it in a little bit and see if you don't FIANLLY see that thing called a six pack hiding under your chub......

I've got to agree with ya. Many bodybuilders don't do cardio but that is because they diets are close to perfect. They know exactly what to eat and how their body reacts. Now for the rest of us wannabe bodybuilders who don't have our diets down to an exact science, we do some extra cardio to lean out...

 

[jboldman]

OMG, could you point out exactly where in this article it says that subjects in good aerobic condition are more likely to gain bodyfat? Whatever happened to critical thinking and the ability to understand what one reads!

Once again, no one here is advocating aerobics over weight training. Get it? NO ONE IS ADVOCATING AEROBICS OVER WEIGHT TRAINING! Try using that as a starting point and perhaps things will be less confusing to you.

jb

you guys "recoup" by riding a bike? ...shouldn't you recoup AFTER your done with your workout? ...don't you consider the biking part of your workout?

anyway, here is some of the info I was reading about how cardio is more susceptable to fat gain. ...I thought it was simply obvious because of the fact that cardio doesn't perminately raise your metabolism like lifting does....but oh well...for those who need something to read...it's a summary of an article from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Hopefully that institution is qualified enough to satisfy skeptics.
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In a recent study, scientists looked at the question, "If you are in good aerobic condition, will you burn fat at a higher rate than people who are not aerobically fit?" The answer in this study was a surprising "No." Researchers gave 50 gm of fat for breakfast to trained and untrained individuals. They then measured energy use and fat oxidation postprandial. There was no difference. There was also no difference between the two groups at 6 hours and at 18 hours after the meal.

 

[jboldman]

I am not sure that you do not have a point here. My problem is the threat of overtraining since i am an older lifter. When you say add 20 min of high rep, which muscle groups do you do? Just pick some that have not been worked lately. In my case, i work out one bodypart a day, what would i add for the 20 minutes?

As has been oft pointedout, cardio is simply low intensity exercise and high rep training would qualify. Also, what if you do the 20 minutes at a different time than your normal workout?

jb

I said 20 more minutes, not 20 more sets.

20 extra minutes of weight training will interfere with your recuperation but 20 extra minutes of aerobics won't? That's ridiculous.

 

[JKurz1]

just got back from doing 30 minutes on the eliptical on an empty stomach! Boy, HOPE I didn't lose all my musculeeessss!!!!

I'm BLASTING Shoulders tonight too.....Maybe I'm fat now, but I'll be ripped after tonight!