Cardio question....

[Lizzee]

I was curious what everyone's thoughts were on cardio.
Is doing cardio 6x a week counterproductive????
If so, what would be a decent amount? (I'm starting HIIT for 30 minutes 5x a week).

Thank you!

[MsFit]

Depends on your goals.

If for fat loss, what are your stats and caloric intake?

[Lizzee]

My goals are to continue shedding fat, continue putting on more muscle (I've actually started lifting heavier because I've been slacking)

My caloric intake is about 1535 cals per day (give or take)

5'4
Approx 127lbs
Approx 23% bf (I say approx because I don't trust myself to get an accurate reading with those calipers at home), the guy at the gym keeps missing our dates to measure me.

Is that enough info?

Thank you

[kbfunTH]

1250 - 1500 calories per day. Around 25% of that from carbs.
Props for lifting heavy. 5x5, 4x6 or something similar is a good place to be.
Cardio a few times a week.

[Lizzee]

Thank you, thank you!

I actually went to the gym today and they assessed my body fat at 27% (I kind of liked the body fat % that I thought I had before though, heehee!) and said I was doing way too much cardio. They told me to drop it to 3x a week and make sure the cardio that I did do was at a heart rate of 156 bpm for optimal results.
And also to continue lifting the way I was, so we'll see where I'm at in a couple of weeks.

You just get so used to doing things over and over again, I lift then go straight to the cardio machines, it's hard to break that habit. It actually works out nicely though, I've got more times on my hands!!!

[TrishB]

Lizzee...it is always good to change around the routine to get things rolling again.
Let us know how you do after a few weeks of cutting back on the cardio. Remember to keep the diet clean and you should see the BF% starting to drop.

[Lizzee]

I'll definitely post my progress again, I'm kind of curious to see what kind of results I get after dropping some cardio.

I have an appointment with them again in two weeks to see how I'm doing.

The only thing I feel bad about is that I know they're trying to sell sessions, but at $50 per session it's out of the question for me. I pay $1500 per class at school (taking 3 classes a semester)....I'd basically have to give up eating on my salary! Too bad it's so expensive becuase I'd love to, but I've been doing well on my own.

Thanks for for being so proactive with me. It's kind of cool to know someone is listening! Hopefully one of these days I'll take a picture and develop the film right away (usually it sits in a drawer forever 'till I remember to develop it) and post it so you guys can see the "before-the-cheese pictures" and "after-the-cheese pictures"

)