Cardio...Burn Fat and Still Gain Lean Muscle?

[glenn58]

It seems to be a "Catch-22". I'm trying to put on some lean muscle and get the body fat down under 10%. Most seem to say Cardio has a negative impact on gaining muscle. I came across this article regarding "High Intensity Interval Training" and it discusses this very subject. It sounded interesting and I started doing HIIT cardio 2 days a week and LIIS one day. It's only been a week and I do like the concept. Time will tell.

I just figured I would share this info and see what others have to say about their experiences in this area.


Cardio Exercises - Good or Bad? How to H.I.I.T. to Burn Fat All Day

Is there "good cardio" and "bad cardio"? Are there any other different kinds of "cardio"? I'm sure you're either shocked or puzzled to hear why I'm even asking these questions.

"Cardio" and "aerobics" have been wrongly used interchangeably, as synonyms for "endurance." "Cardio" should be used for any type of exercise that makes the heart and lungs work harder. "Cardio" describes any exercises that use the following three energy systems: phos****en system, anaerobic glycolysis and aerobic metabolism. Your body uses a combination of these three energy systems in different ratios in different period of time depending on the type of activities involved.

Look around and ask around in your gym. You'll be surprised or you shouldn't be surprised to find out that some lean and muscular fitness buffs rarely do normal or "traditional cardio" workout. On the other hand, you know some people (perhaps yourself included) who are running on the treadmill one hour a day for six days a week, but cannot seem to lose enough weight to shape up or lose that perpetually stubborn 10 pounds.


The Long, Slow, Boring "Cardio"

In fact, when you're running the same routine day in and day out without changing up, you're prone to joint wear-and-tear and risk of overuse injury. You may actually start muscle wasting by subjecting your body to catabolic conditions. Not only that you don't burn fat efficiently as your body adapts to the same routine, but you may start to lose lean muscle mass. So you may actually get fat. This is absolutely not the ideal scenario for your weight loss effort.


Low Intensity Steady State (L.I.S.S.) Traditional Cardio

It's common for fitness and medical professionals to prescribe low to moderate intensity aerobic (cardio) training to overweight or deconditioned people in order to prevent heart disease or lose weight along the line of continous 30 to 60 minutes of steady pace cardio exercise 3 to 5 times a week maintaining heart rate at a certain level. This type of long and slow continuous training is a good starting point but not the end of it. It's easy to do but not the most effective cardio exercise to lose fat.

Yes, you do burn some calories during the period of time you're running on the treadmill in the L.I.S.S. type aerobic exercise. But as soon as you step off from the machine, your body stops burning calories after a few minutes. You'll need to run longer and longer in order to burn more calories because your body learns to get more efficient in burning calories using aerobic oxygen. Time is your most precious asset. In today's busy work-lifestyle, you'll be running out of time to run very soon!


Marathoners vs. Sprinters

Humans are probably the only creature in nature that attempt to do "endurance" type physical activities. Most competitive sports (except endurance running and cycling) are based on highly variable stop-and-go movements. Weight training naturally incorporates short bursts of exertion followed by recovery periods.

Look at the physiques of marathoners versus sprinters. Most sprinters (including football running backs and wide receivers) are lean, muscular and powerful whereas typical marathoners are thinner with less muscle. As a matter of fact, there are many fat marathoners crossing the finish line. But you rarely see fat sprinters, almost non-existent.


Gym Rat Cardio

Don't get me wrong. I like running as well, mostly outdoors. I'm not anti cardio but I want you to reconsider the so called traditional cardio for a moment. For "traditional" cardio I mean by performing aerobic activities such as running on a treadmill, riding a stationary bike or gliding on an elliptical machine in a low intensity steady state (L.I.S.S.) pace for longer than 30 to 60 minutes.

If you're one of the gym rats who do L.I.S.S. type "cardio" 5 times a week and you're proud to say that you've lost a lot of fat, are happy with your physique and have lean muscular body to show for, you can stop reading now.

What if you've spent so much time in the gym, worn out 5 pairs of running shoes a year, started having knee, shin and ankle aches, and still didn't see the results you've wanted to achieve, I have good news for you. Please read on.


High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T.) Turbulence Cardio

Want to burn fat and get in shape quick? High intensity interval training (H.I.I.T) is a better and more effective training method to lose fat and condition your heart muscles. The concept of H.I.I.T. cardio workout involves repeated bouts of harder work phase interpersed with periods of easier recovery phase.

If you've been cruising at L.I.S.S. on the treadlmill, stationary bike or elliptical machine while reading books, listening to your iPod workout music or watching sports on TV, challenge youself with the following H.I.I.T. treadmill routine.


H.I.I.T. Treadmill Running Routine by Pace

Warm up by fast walk or light jog for 5 minutes.

Run at 8 miles/hr pace for 2 minutes
Walk at 4 miles/hr pace for 3 minutes
Run at 10 miles/hr pace for 2 minutes
Walk at 4 miles/hr pace for 3 minutes

Repeat this cycle 2 to 3 times for a very intense H.I.I.T. "cardio" session followed by cool-down and stretching.

You got the idea? You can also change up the intensity or work-to-recovery ratio by modifying the pace and duration. If you increase the grade or incline level like running uphill, your cardio intensity increases as well.

Most people in the gym have no idea about their running pace. They probably don't care about their running pace in miles per hour or minutes per mile. Having a good sweat and calorie burn is their main cardio concern.


Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)

Another yardstick to measure the level of cardio intensity is the so called "talk test." It's based on "how you feel" about the level of intensity in a cardio exercise. A revised Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) on the scale of 1 to 10 is used to gauge the level of intensity. Scale "1" means at rest or no movement. Scale "3" is weak, easy and you can carry on a conversation and finish a sentence without problem. Scale "5" is moderate, strong and you're breathing a little harder and cannot complete a sentence without a break. Scale "7" is hard, very strong and you're breathing heavily and unable to speak in complete sentences. Scale "9" is very hard and extremely strong like you're sprinting 100 meters at full speed.

The RPE method takes out the guesswork of your running speed, grade or incline level and your actual physical condition. It can be used for people who are taking medications that are artificially altering their heart rates or blood pressures. It helps these people to "listen to their bodies."

Another advantage with RPE is that it can be applied to cardio programming on elliptical trainers and stationary bikes, both would otherwise have to use "stride per minute" and "resistance level" as the parameters. Here is an example of using RPE to prescribe an H.I.I.T. cardio routine.

H.I.I.T. Cardio Routine by RPE
Total Time by Minutes vs. RPE (scale 1-10)
0-5 at 1 up to 3 for warm-up (5 mins)
5-8 at 5 (3 mins)
8-10 at 7 (2 mins)
10-13 at 3 (3 mins)
13-15 at 7 (2 mins)
15-18 at 3 (3 mins)
18-20 at 7 (2 mins)
20-23 at 3 (3 mins)
23-25 at 7 (2 mins)
25-30 at 3 down to 1 for cool-down (5 mins)

This H.I.I.T. routine uses the RPE as the gauge for leve of intensity. It mainly alternates RPE intensity levels between 7 and 3 for a total of four intervals. The work to recovery ratio by time is 2:3; that is, 2 minutes of very strong intensity at scale 7 vs. 3 minutes of moderate intensity at scale 3.

Several training parameters can be varied to get different levels of H.I.I.T. cardio workout: the scale of intensity and duration in each work and recovey period (work-to-recovery ratio), the number of repeats (intervals) and interval programming/pattern.

There is a very distinct advantage of H.I.I.T. cardio over traditional L.I.S.S. aerobic exercise due to its anaerobic effect. You're burning calories during the H.I.I.T cardio exericse. Your body will be still in the calorie-burning mode for a few hours after you finish the H.I.I.T. Your metabolism is elevated to keep burning calories for a few more hours.

One thing to remember is that you should keep H.I.I.T. cardio exercise within 30 minutes. Keep it short but at very high level of intensity. Preferably you perform full H.I.I.T. cardio training sessions on non-strength training days. In this way, you can be more focused and devote your undivided energy to H.I.I.T. cardio.

By all means H.I.I.T cardio is very intense. It's a good training practice by limiting full H.I.I.T. cardio to not more than 3 sessions a week. This is a guideline, not a hard rule. You need good nutrients and rest to recover your body and mind from the high intensity strength and cardio training. Muscle growth and body transformation occur when you rest, repair and recover training stresses.


Maximize Your Strength Training with H.I.I.T. Cardio

One great way to fire up your fat-burning furnace and keep it burning is to do a brief 10- to 15- minute H.I.I.T. cardio at mostly RPE scale of 7 to 8 at the end of your strength training session.

It'll help you melt away unwanted body fat faster than ever. The excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) demand due to high intensity strength training and H.I.I.T. cardio will fire up your metabolism and keep your body in fat-burning mode for good 24 to 48 hours.

You'll save time for separate cardio training sessions by integrating a brief H.I.I.T cadio into your strength training sessions. Not only does it save you time, H.I.I.T. cardio also helps you reap more benefits from your strength training.

The only exception to not doing H.I.I.T. cardio right after strength training is the day you've done "heavy" leg training. Your legs are pretty much fatigued. In this case, you can do low intensity walking or jogging to keep blood pumping. Stretch your quadriceps, hamstrings, related muscle groups and any tight areas. This is the time you need to eat to replenish glycogen, refuel your body and repair muscle tissues.

[03SVTCobra]

I have found HIIT to be very effective. I have lost 8 lbs in 2 and a half weeks, while still seeing gains in muscle growth, mainly in the biceps and triceps.

I may try to do HIIT after my lifts now though reading this article...I had been doing them before my lifts, and then hitting the weights hard, heavy, and fast, keeping my heart rate up, and breathing intensified.

I do 30 minutes of HIIT on my rest days around the apartment complex with my dog in toe. You can really feel it after the first lap. My knee is kinda bummed right now and I just have to grit and get through it but it has definitely helped me drop the pounds.

My next lift (back/shoulders) is Friday. I may hold of on the HIIT until after the lift.

[glenn58]

I've been doing P90X for a while now and started doing HIIT after I do my upper body training (2 days) for 20-30 minutes. So far I'm happy with the results.

On my off day I run 3-5 miles (LISS) usually around 8-10 min miles. I'm planning on doing the Men's Health Urbanathlon this September which I'll increase my running (training) late summer. I figured one day is enough for now.

[Welee]

I have found HIIT to be very effective. I have lost 8 lbs in 2 and a half weeks, while still seeing gains in muscle growth, mainly in the biceps and triceps.

I may try to do HIIT after my lifts now though reading this article...I had been doing them before my lifts, and then hitting the weights hard, heavy, and fast, keeping my heart rate up, and breathing intensified.

I do 30 minutes of HIIT on my rest days around the apartment complex with my dog in toe. You can really feel it after the first lap. My knee is kinda bummed right now and I just have to grit and get through it but it has definitely helped me drop the pounds.

My next lift (back/shoulders) is Friday. I may hold of on the HIIT until after the lift.

Hey .. how much days a week u did hiit to loose 8 lbs in 2 and a half weeks.

thanks