Chris Aceto's Critique on Cardio

[ChrisAceto]

A lot's changed in the last 15 years or so in terms of pre contest prep for bodybuilding shows. One of the new mainstays is cardio. The mantra is; cardio burns fat so it should rip you up. But does it? My experience is that there is a happy medium to be followed and it's truly a fine line. Don't do enough and you wont be in shape (possibly...there's always the right diet which can get you there with almost no cardio) Do too much and your muscles lose that "hard" look and lack the "pop" and eye catching roundness.

I recently worked with Troy Alves who won the Europa pro show and he did far less cardio then earlier in the year where he was 11th in the Ironman. How did he do it? He did cardio on the right days, at the right intensity and allowed a better diet to strip away the body fat. The end result; his muscles had that "pop" that gave him an edge over the competition.

Though cardio is certainly a must, equally important is knowing when to say "enough" so that you can benefit, lose fat, without sacrificing the rugged look to your hard earned muscle.

[Joe Go]

Hey Chris, nice to see you on board. I've heard your name a lot over the years. Thanks for joining us.

[MattyH7688]

Wow, welcome to the boards for sure!

My friend and I were just talking tonight if we had to any top trainer, it would be you.

[K-Dawg_05]

can you share some of the things that Troy did? like cardio, days, routine, and diet? thanks

[FredP]

can you share some of the things that Troy did? like cardio, days, routine, and diet? thanks

Yea if you don't mind i'd like to know a few details as well

[TigerStealth]

awesome to have you here Chris, looking forward to more of your posts

[ChrisAceto]

can you share some of the things that Troy did? like cardio, days, routine, and diet? thanks

His diet was about 160-190 carbs a day very low fat 240-300 grams of protein over 6 meals. He did cardio 4-5 times a week after training and a lower intensity. Its hard to put down in a couple paragraphs the scheme becasue it was changing week to week.

[FATHER FLEX]

Agree. Do as little cardio as you need to.

[patfactorx]

Agree. Do as little cardio as you need to.

Chris look at my body and tell me how much I should be doing! Also should I go hard and intense or slow and long duration? I'm about 4 months out.

THanks man!

I'm bout 4% lower BF than my most recent pics.

[ChrisAceto]

Chris look at my body and tell me how much I should be doing! Also should I go hard and intense or slow and long duration? I'm about 4 months out.

THanks man!

I'm bout 4% lower BF than my most recent pics.

which pic is recent?

[teuszmire]

Hey Chris. Is that really you I'm a great fan bought 2 of your books which made my life much easier , for now I'm preparing for my first show in August this year. Cardio-wise "right days and intensity" more specifically would be? Would you recommend increasing cardio closer to the show to ignite fatloss even more? Thank you in advance.

[ChrisAceto]

Hey Chris. Is that really you I'm a great fan bought 2 of your books which made my life much easier , for now I'm preparing for my first show in August this year. Cardio-wise "right days and intensity" more specifically would be? Would you recommend increasing cardio closer to the show to ignite fatloss even more? Thank you in advance.

Yes, Its me

I do not like, for the most part, that you do extra cardio too close to the show. It usually makes your muscles look a little too flat. i would rather see a competitor get the fat off well before the final 2-3 weeks which means doing more cardio weeks 11 thru weeks 4 (out from the show). Of course, in the real world, a lot of bodybuilders will get behind and play catch up the final few weeks and have to do a lot of cardio...but the ideal way is how I just explained it
Intensity wise; I like intervals up to 40 min 4-5 times a week

[labradarep]

Welcome Chris.

I am a big fan. Have followed you for a long time. Nice to have you on the forum.

Your experience , knowledge & reputation will hopefully help counter act a lot of the dis-information out there.

[weightroomguy]

His diet was about 160-190 carbs a day very low fat 240-300 grams of protein over 6 meals. He did cardio 4-5 times a week after training and a lower intensity. Its hard to put down in a couple paragraphs the scheme becasue it was changing week to week.

Was there any kind of carb cycling involved in his diet at all? Because 160 gms of carbs, 300 gms protein and little fat means he's eating around 2000 calories which would be pretty low for a big guy. Isnt it?

[ChrisAceto]

Was there any kind of carb cycling involved in his diet at all? Because 160 gms of carbs, 300 gms protein and little fat means he's eating around 2000 calories which would be pretty low for a big guy. Isnt it?

Yes thats about all he ate. I am a believer in less food and less cardio. Its sort of the opposite of convetional thinking; more cardio and more food. So to answer your question, he was eating about 2000 calories a day.

[imccarthy]

Yes thats about all he ate. I am a believer in less food and less cardio. Its sort of the opposite of convetional thinking; more cardio and more food. So to answer your question, he was eating about 2000 calories a day.

Wow! At his size that is like no food...

[itsgroll]

Yes thats about all he ate. I am a believer in less food and less cardio. Its sort of the opposite of convetional thinking; more cardio and more food. So to answer your question, he was eating about 2000 calories a day.

i hate to say this but i have never herd of your name until today. im going to google search you haha

i would like to say one thing though...everything you have said in this thread i feel is dang close to what ive been doing! it makes me feel happy, because i was so stressed out because my first show is May 2 (7 days away) and i didnt know what i should do in terms of cardio and intensity. But just off of how ive been feeling and eatting is how ive been judging my workouts. As of 2 weeks ago i cut back on HIIT to 3x week, and LISS to 4x week. As oppose to when i was 4-8weeks out i was doing HIIT 4xweek and LISS 5-6x week. Now ithat im entering my peak weel im doing HIIT 2x and LISS 3x. Thats it. The rest is timing my meals perfectly and resting up for saturday!

I believe layne norton cleared it up pretty well when he said "80% of fat loss should come from diet, the last 20% is from your cardio" meaning if you want to loose 1.5 lbs a week, that means you should loose 1.2lbs from diet (calorie restriction) and .3lbs from cardio.

Im going insearch now for your books and READ while i rest up for saturday!

[itsgroll]

crap i just did a quick search and found a ton of books on amazon.com

which do you recommend i pick up first?

[weightroomguy]

Wow! At his size that is like no food...

Exactly, at his size, 2000 calories is less than 10 calories per lb of bodyweight! Whats the rationale behind that Chris? Is it the anabolics involved which lets him starve himself like that without losing muscle?

[ChrisAceto]

crap i just did a quick search and found a ton of books on amazon.com

which do you recommend i pick up first?

Championship Bodybuilding. You dont need another book on BB after that. Also check my site www.procardnutrition.com

[ChrisAceto]

Exactly, at his size, 2000 calories is less than 10 calories per lb of bodyweight! Whats the rationale behind that Chris? Is it the anabolics involved which lets him starve himself like that without losing muscle?

Well dieting is not an exercise in math. Meaning: we all know people who can eat jumk and still stay lean. It doesn't add up right? You'd expect them to gain a lot of fat but they dont because of a faster metabolism. Well, I try to match the diet to where I think the metabolism is at. Troy is able to hold mass and get lean on those numbers; 160 to 190 carbs and 300 gr protein. Someone pointed out its only 2000 calories. It worked for him...

[itsgroll]

Championship Bodybuilding. You dont need another book on BB after that. Also check my site www.procardnutrition.com

im going to go pick it up this weekend
thanks

[weightroomguy]

Well dieting is not an exercise in math. Meaning: we all know people who can eat jumk and still stay lean. It doesn't add up right? You'd expect them to gain a lot of fat but they dont because of a faster metabolism. Well, I try to match the diet to where I think the metabolism is at. Troy is able to hold mass and get lean on those numbers; 160 to 190 carbs and 300 gr protein. Someone pointed out its only 2000 calories. It worked for him...

I agree, I've read some of your books and highly respect your work, but it was intruiging for me that someone so big can get away with those kind of numbers.
Would you please post what he would eat on a normal day? Curious to know what kind of foods he'd be eating.

[njmuscle66]

Was there any kind of carb cycling involved in his diet at all? Because 160 gms of carbs, 300 gms protein and little fat means he's eating around 2000 calories which would be pretty low for a big guy. Isnt it?

Yes thats about all he ate. I am a believer in less food and less cardio. Its sort of the opposite of convetional thinking; more cardio and more food. So to answer your question, he was eating about 2000 calories a day.

Wow! At his size that is like no food...

Though I am certainly not Chris..I have always contended that most people consume far too many calories. Scott Connelley was also a big believer in being able to add mass on maintenance or even sub maintenance caloric intake.

Off season or precontest I have never gone over 2K where I see posts of people here and elsewhere consuming 4-5K per day

[itsgroll]

Though I am certainly not Chris..I have always contended that most people consume far too many calories. Scott Connelley was also a big believer in being able to add mass on maintenance or even sub maintenance caloric intake.

Off season or precontest I have never gone over 2K where I see posts of people here and elsewhere consuming 4-5K per day

i agree as well as disagree. some people have a much more active lifestyle and higher metabolism than others. i personally consume 2500 min. on a reg basis to maintain in the off season/post contest. pre contest is a totally different story.

i must consume at least 3000 cals daily (off-season) to put on weight slowly, week after week. sometimes even more than that. And no i am not exagerating, i am adiment on tracking and weighing out everything, on season and off.

[ChrisAceto]

I agree, I've read some of your books and highly respect your work, but it was intruiging for me that someone so big can get away with those kind of numbers.
Would you please post what he would eat on a normal day? Curious to know what kind of foods he'd be eating.

Meal 1
10 egg whites
40 grams carbs from grits

Meal 2
shake with 50 gr protein
40 grams carbs from oats or grits


Meal 3
50 grams protein powder
60 or 90 gr carbs from I think its called Bodygro...Its a carb drink he uses from Nutrex, his sponsor...The protein powder is also a Nutrex product


Meal 4
2 pieces fish
salad

Meal 5
2 pieces fish, sometimes 3
spinach

Meal 6
shake..usually 40 grams protein or 12 egg whites and sometimes some veggies with it

[itsgroll]

Meal 1
10 egg whites
40 grams carbs from grits

Meal 2
shake with 50 gr protein
40 grams carbs from oats or grits


Meal 3
50 grams protein powder
60 or 90 gr carbs from I think its called Bodygro...Its a carb drink he uses from Nutrex, his sponsor...The protein powder is also a Nutrex product


Meal 4
2 pieces fish
salad

Meal 5
2 pieces fish, sometimes 3
spinach

Meal 6
shake..usually 40 grams protein or 12 egg whites and sometimes some veggies with it

im assuming he is taking that carb shake pre w/o? what about post w/o? a salad and fish doesnt seem like enough...

[devo09]

So Chris, why was he STILL soft in the glutes/hamstrings? Perhaps he should have done more cardio...

[njmuscle66]

So Chris, why was he STILL soft in the glutes/hamstrings? Perhaps he should have done more cardio...

must not have been too soft since he ended up winning the show

Shredded glutes are not the ONLY criteria for judging conditioning and I will say that I am one person that is always soft in the glute area no matter how lean I get

[ChrisAceto]

So Chris, why was he STILL soft in the glutes/hamstrings? Perhaps he should have done more cardio...

Well, I think the pizza I had him eat, 1 week and 3 weeks out from the show may have interfered with the cuts in the glutes and hams? Who knows. On the other hand, his glutes and hams were sufficient to get all first place votes.