how long should i do cardio?

[mrdelvecio]

im gonna start doing more cardio after i throw around the weights for about an hr and a half. how long should i do cardio after lifting to burn fat.

[LengthyLifter]

im gonna start doing more cardio after i throw around the weights for about an hr and a half. how long should i do cardio after lifting to burn fat.

My approach would be however much you require to hit your daily calorie target. There's no hard and fast rule for cardio. Do whatever you're comfortable with. Or eat fewer calories.

[mrdelvecio]

My approach would be however much you require to hit your daily calorie target. There's no hard and fast rule for cardio. Do whatever you're comfortable with. Or eat fewer calories.

i dont count my calories exactly but i get a pretty good idea of how much i take in. ive heard a lot of people say that you wanna do cardio for atleast 30 min for it to do a lot for you, but i was thinking of doing about 20min since ill have already been liftiing before that. do you think thats a good way to go?

[youjustmight]

yeah bro 20min is perfect. exactly what i do. i alternate with some days 20min stationary cycling and 20min HIIT intervals on the treadmill (1min sprint/2min walk/1min sprint....) on a little incline. its done wonders for me. cardio is always a good idea no matter if your on a cut or bulk, as long as nutrition is in check. the simple "150 calories burned = eating 150 less calories" is incorrect. imo. deffinately aids with fat loss no doubt about it.

[mrdelvecio]

yeah bro 20min is perfect. exactly what i do. i alternate with some days 20min stationary cycling and 20min HIIT intervals on the treadmill (1min sprint/2min walk/1min sprint....) on a little incline. its done wonders for me. cardio is always a good idea no matter if your on a cut or bulk, as long as nutrition is in check. the simple "150 calories burned = eating 150 less calories" is incorrect. imo. deffinately aids with fat loss no doubt about it.

yeah im with you, i dont buy the calorie stuff either. i cant run right now because my foots messed up but i was thinking about doing the bike and eliptical or something. maybe 10 min of each one a day or 20min of a different one every day i havnt decided which way im gonna go yet.

[Avesta777]

im gonna start doing more cardio after i throw around the weights for about an hr and a half. how long should i do cardio after lifting to burn fat.

I've recently started a cardio programme over the past few weeks. Each week I increase the time I allow for it by 5 minutes. So, starting at 20 min, I'm increasing this by 5 minutes every week. This I do 3 times per week (at the moment). In intend to escalate this to maybe 45 minutes and reassess my goals at that point.

Doing cardio this way allows my body to feel that extra stress each week, stimulating fat loss. It's worked great so far.

What I've yet find out more about is the effect of cardio after lifting weights. I intend to do this at some point in the near future (I do my cardio on the days I don't lift, at the moment).

I tend to limit my lifting to 1 hour sessions. Everybody is different I suppose, but with me, I've found that I just don't grow if I smash the weights beyond the 1 hour mark.

[youjustmight]

yeah i might start what this guy above is doing. still got to lose a bit. HIIT could be done on the eliptical too, just start off slow and build up. no rush. even if its 15min, cause the eliptical is quite alot harder i find.

[mrdelvecio]

i actually like the machines because i can keep an eye on my heart beat i try to stay around 150-160 i noticed thats when im pushing hard. i hate running on a treadmill though. i was thinking of stepping up the time i run i just dont wanna do cardio for too long and lose muscle.

[Avesta777]

i actually like the machines because i can keep an eye on my heart beat i try to stay around 150-160 i noticed thats when im pushing hard. i hate running on a treadmill though. i was thinking of stepping up the time i run i just dont wanna do cardio for too long and lose muscle.

True, monitoring heart rate is pretty important. I take the view that the longer your cardio sessions are, the lower your heart rate must be at in order to preserve lean muscle. My own estimates over the next 2-3 weeks for my cardio routine will have me at 45 minutes , with my heart rate in the 130's.

I believe you can have long cardio sessions (for example, 1 hour) and not burn muscle. The key is in how intense these sessions are.

[youjustmight]

this ^

[vabyss]

An hour and a half is a long lifting session. If you are wanting your muscles to grow, you will want to get a post-workout meal in between that and the cardio.

If your goal is simply to cut, run as long as you like.

[illiniStrive]

An hour and a half is a long lifting session. If you are wanting your muscles to grow, you will want to get a post-workout meal in between that and the cardio.

If your goal is simply to cut, run as long as you like.

This makes no sense.

[braggable]

An hour and a half is a long lifting session. If you are wanting your muscles to grow, you will want to get a post-workout meal in between that and the cardio.

If your goal is simply to cut, run as long as you like.

I see. So people who do Intermittent Fasting and train never "grow any muscle"?

Please go with your limited knowledge.

[mrdelvecio]

An hour and a half is a long lifting session. If you are wanting your muscles to grow, you will want to get a post-workout meal in between that and the cardio.

If your goal is simply to cut, run as long as you like.

what hahaha i thought you dont want to eat for atleast an hr and a half before you run

[Electricheadd]

im gonna start doing more cardio after i throw around the weights for about an hr and a half. how long should i do cardio after lifting to burn fat.

What are you doing that takes an hour and half?

[KarmicEffects]

If you are doing it after lift sessions, I'd say 20 minutes tops and stick with a brisk walk/light jog because 1:30 is a long lift session, TOO MUCH in my opinion unless you are doing full body...If you are on an off-day, 45-1 hour is usually a good time to keep your body away from cata~ Personally I prefer mixing HIIT/straight runs but it depends on what you are going for, strength/max calorie burn? (HIIT) or endurance/slightly less calorie burn? (Steady pace) I would do both just to keep your body guessing.

[Electricheadd]

im gonna start doing more cardio after i throw around the weights for about an hr and a half. how long should i do cardio after lifting to burn fat.

Till your wife finishes body jam...... that is the correct answer don't let these guys tell you any different.

[mrdelvecio]

What are you doing that takes an hour and half?

5 min warmup run

2 body parts 3 exercises for each

3 sets of abs

[mrdelvecio]

If you are doing it after lift sessions, I'd say 20 minutes tops and stick with a brisk walk/light jog because 1:30 is a long lift session, TOO MUCH in my opinion unless you are doing full body...If you are on an off-day, 45-1 hour is usually a good time to keep your body away from cata~ Personally I prefer mixing HIIT/straight runs but it depends on what you are going for, strength/max calorie burn? (HIIT) or endurance/slightly less calorie burn? (Steady pace) I would do both just to keep your body guessing.

i dont care about strength, i just want to pack on muscle and trim up. my goal is to drop about 30lbs of fat along the way

[Electricheadd]

5 min warmup run

2 body parts 3 exercises for each

3 sets of abs

That sounds like a very long work out, how many working sets are doing doing per exercise?

[mrdelvecio]

That sounds like a very long work out, how many working sets are doing doing per exercise?

i think its pretty standard its only 6 exercises plus a little abs.

i do 3 sets for each exercise

[Electricheadd]

i think its pretty standard its only 6 exercises plus a little abs.

i do 3 sets for each exercise

Perhaps you should consider increasing your intensity a bit.

21 sets X 2 min of rest = 42 minutes If you are taking an hour and 45 minutes I would suggest your taking too long between sets.

That said, 20-30 minutes of cardio is a good place to start but you should be able to complete the entire workout in 60-75 minutes with cardio. I would not suggest 2.5 hour workouts, that is a recipe for long term failure.

[mrdelvecio]

I can usually knock it out in about 2hrs. there's a lot of action at my gym so sometimes it's hard to get to the weights. doesn't help that those bastards never put them back either hahaha

[nlite2000]

20 minutes of moderate intensity cardio provides a really nice "runner's high."

[Trini_Boi]

My approach would be however much you require to hit your daily calorie target. There's no hard and fast rule for cardio. Do whatever you're comfortable with. Or eat fewer calories.

I agree. I do 45 minutes personally but my calorie deficit is almost -2000 below my maintenance right now so that may be a bit too little for most but my body responds well to it. I would recommend doing cardio at least 5 days a week for at least 30 min if your weight loss goal is urgent.

[MAGnitude]

I agree. I do 45 minutes personally but my calorie deficit is almost -2000 below my maintenance right now so that may be a bit too little for most but my body responds well to it. I would recommend doing cardio at least 5 days a week for at least 30 min if your weight loss goal is urgent.

geez, are u eating lettuce and the odd piece of diced ham for your day. up ur cals man

[jonsina]

My approach would be however much you require to hit your daily calorie target. There's no hard and fast rule for cardio. Do whatever you're comfortable with. Or eat fewer calories.

[Ikmal91]

Guys....don't cardio after vigorous lifting like....eats up your muscles instead? I think I read this somewhere. Things like....valuable calories for your muscles that you burn for cardio or something. Or is that bulking?

[miknau1]

5 min warmup run

2 body parts 3 exercises for each

3 sets of abs

Are you taking a lot of rest in between your sets?

I do 6 sets of abs, 2 body parts with 5 exercises each and that's around an 1 hour, maybe 1 hr 15min.

A better way to increase the fat burn would be to keep your heart rate up during your lifting sessions as well. Then your cardio would further supplement that.

I'll end by saying this: everyone is different but this works for me. I've been doing it for 2 weeks now and I like the results.