How much Cardio is Too Much?

I've just returned to BodyBuilding.com after being through some tough times. For the past 7 months I've gained 20lbs of bad weight. Now I'm back with a vengeance and I'm hitting the gym hard!!! I've been working out for 2 weeks now and I've already lost 8lbs. However, I did this by doing cardio twice. Before and After my weight training. I use a basic 5 day workout week which is as follows:

*Note* All Cardio is done on a Precor Elliptical machine@ levels 8-10 on the interval setting.

Day 1: Cardio 20min, Chest, Triceps, Abs, Cardio 20 min
Day 2: Cardio 20 min, Back, Biceps, Calves, Cardio 20 min
Day 3: Cardio 20 min, Hamstrings, Quads, Abs, Cardio 20 min
Day 4: Cardio 20 min, Shoulders, Traps, Abs, Cardio 20 min
Day 5: Full Body Powerlifting 1 set/ 3 rep max (No Cardio)

My friends are worried that I'm doing too much. They're betting that it will cause my body to burn muscle as well as fat. I disagree Because I consume a protein shake while training. After the workout, I cook a lean piece of 4 ounce steak with wheat rice and a spinach salad. I drink 64 ounces of water daily. I get plenty of sleep. Also, the preworkout cardio is only temporary until so that I can lose my beerbelly and start to strengthen my core, which is my abs! I would appreciate your thoughts on this. Both Positive and Negative comments are welcome. Thanks...

it will help lose the belly if your at a calorie deficit, which also means you may lose some lean mass, you can rely on muscle memory to help you gain muscle and trim fat for a little while, but in the long run a caloric deficit always will equal muscle and fat loss

[QUOTE=Omnipharious;802803421]They're betting that it will cause my body to burn muscle as well as fat. I disagree Because I consume a protein shake while training.
[/QUOTE]

If you're eating below maintenance, the amount of muscle you loose is determined by how you train. Just like how much muscle you gain when you're eating above maintenance is determined by how you train.

[QUOTE=Omnipharious;802803421]so that I can lose my beer belly
[/QUOTE]

The best way to loose a beer belly is to stop drinking beer.

I don't know because I will NEVER have the "doing too much cardio" thing. My problem is the opposite. My advice is keep your energy for your weights, lift as heavy as possible then do all the cardio you need to at the end of your weights. If you lift really well you can rely on low impact cardio for 20 minutes a day only 3 times a week. You gained 20lbs in 7 months why not take 3.5 months to lose it. What is the rush? If you go to hard you'll get tired, bored and burnt out and then you'll just put the weight back on again.

[QUOTE=Omnipharious;802803421]

My friends are worried that I'm doing too much..........

..... I would appreciate your thoughts on this. Both Positive and Negative comments are welcome. Thanks...[/QUOTE]

Is what you're currently doing moving you toward [i]your[/i] specific goal?



If so, nothing else matters; continue to march until such time as you [i]aren't[/i] seeing the progress [i]you[/i] want.

[QUOTE=ironwill2008;803158211]Is what you're currently doing moving you toward [i]your[/i] specific goal?



If so, nothing else matters; continue to march until such time as you [i]aren't[/i] seeing the progress [i]you[/i] want.[/QUOTE]

This.let the mirror and tape measure be your guard.

I would say even one second of cardio is too much. Cardio is a horrendously inefficient way to get lean.

[QUOTE=ironwill2008;803158211]Is what you're currently doing moving you toward [i]your[/i] specific goal?



If so, nothing else matters; continue to march until such time as you [i]aren't[/i] seeing the progress [i]you[/i] want.[/QUOTE]


damn! beat me to the punch again....

Bill, you are on such a roll here.....

I think that's too much cardio.
You cannot dictate to your body where to loss body fat.
Training to add muscle mass and formulating a diet to achieve muscle growth would be a better goal.
What are you trying to do, look like skinny and think you are looking muscular?

any

great advice in this thread OP. Take your time. There is no rush.

[QUOTE=Omnipharious;802803421]I've just returned to BodyBuilding.com after being through some tough times. For the past 7 months I've gained 20lbs of bad weight. Now I'm back with a vengeance and I'm hitting the gym hard!!! I've been working out for 2 weeks now and I've already lost 8lbs. However, I did this by doing cardio twice. Before and After my weight training. I use a basic 5 day workout week which is as follows:

*Note* All Cardio is done on a Precor Elliptical machine@ levels 8-10 on the interval setting.

Day 1: Cardio 20min, Chest, Triceps, Abs, Cardio 20 min
Day 2: Cardio 20 min, Back, Biceps, Calves, Cardio 20 min
Day 3: Cardio 20 min, Hamstrings, Quads, Abs, Cardio 20 min
Day 4: Cardio 20 min, Shoulders, Traps, Abs, Cardio 20 min
Day 5: Full Body Powerlifting 1 set/ 3 rep max (No Cardio)

My friends are worried that I'm doing too much. They're betting that it will cause my body to burn muscle as well as fat. I disagree Because I consume a protein shake while training. After the workout, I cook a lean piece of 4 ounce steak with wheat rice and a spinach salad. I drink 64 ounces of water daily. I get plenty of sleep. Also, the preworkout cardio is only temporary until so that I can lose my beerbelly and start to strengthen my core, which is my abs! I would appreciate your thoughts on this. Both Positive and Negative comments are welcome. Thanks...[/QUOTE]

The short answer is NO unless you are a "hardgainer" with the metabolism of a 20 year old at 37. You are doing 40 min of cardio on a machine that i use often, and you still have 20 pounds to go. I often do 1.5 hrs of cardio(not daily) in addition to lifting and have yet to shrink into a thin ectomorph yet, so it really depends on your genetic make up. Keep up the good work, and "observe" what your body is doing daily/weekly and adjust as needed. Good luck!

yeah depends on if you care more about being ripped fast or keeping your gains and getting ripped a bit later in time

For me personally, I've noticed that about 30min. three times a week is plenty, and more than that would hurt my lifting program i.e wouldn't get the most benefit.

cardio gets pretty typical responses on here , do very little , and if everyone wanted to maximize muscle size with no interest in anything else I would agree , so it depends on your goals.

To be a well rounded athlete and person for that matter, cardio in many varieties is a great tool to shape your body and improve your overall health.

In my opinion 90% do too little cardio, and if you're over 20% fat like many, there is very little chance you'll burn any amount of muscle, since there is plenty of fat available for use.

Any small amount lost will be easily regained , and if protein is kept high basically all will be maintained.

Im pretty sure you're losses will slow anyway, the first couple of weeks are the easiest , you'll do well to lose 2 lbs a week with the same program going forward, which I would suggest is almost perfect.

For me personally, I have to do some form of cardio to keep the ticker happy. I tend to warm up with a 5-10 min bike/treadmill, but my main focus is lifting first cardio after. But you have to pick and choose your own battles.

my favorite line ever...

"cardio? Is that Spanish?"

One more thing , the amount of work at the gym you have listed would not equal anything near a 4lb weight loss , 1 to 1.5 at best , so it is more likely most is caused by a combination of eating at a large deficit and/or lots of exercise outside of the gym.
By no means is your listed routine overly taxing cardio wise.

[QUOTE=wesleytimmons41;1355882061]One more thing , the amount of work at the gym you have listed would not equal anything near a 4lb weight loss , 1 to 1.5 at best , so it is more likely most is caused by a combination of eating at a large deficit and/or lots of exercise outside of the gym.
By no means is your listed routine overly taxing cardio wise.[/QUOTE]

OP.....4 years later ..... finally have this info....yessss

lol , too funny , guess should pay more attention to dates , wouldn't have expected a 4 yr old question on the first page,
guessing athreadmail had some interest in it I suppose.

I dont think thats too much at all. I do 15 minutes pre weights on the elliptical for a warm up and then I do 10 minutes up steep incline treadmill followed by either 10 or 20 minutes of HIIT doing sprints. I find that the older I get the less I care about overall "mass" or size. I feel better at 13% BF than 20+ and "big". Theres nothing like WANTING to take your shirt off in the summer, instead of the "oh ****, I have to take my shirt off?".