cardio while gaining muscle size?

[flyskygirl]

Hi girls

I have a question about cardio..for those of you that are mainly going for pure size not so much strength or fatloss do you do any forms of cardio? and if you do what type and for how long....20 minutes, 30 minutes...etc.and how many times a week? and do you do them on your non weight training days or after your weights?

I hear that doing too much cardio will deminish your muscle gains. I started a new workout program where I am doing 3 total body workouts a week. Can I still do cardio lets say 2 days a week or do you think that will hurt my gains? I

Im currently 135lbs at 5'9 and trying to add mass....

Thanks, Tish

[SuziCue]

This was actually explained to me tonight at the gym. The body builder said there are two types of cardio: fat burning and cardiovascular. He told me that I am going way to fast on the elliptical and for too long. I have been totally cut down to two days a week of cardio, walking on the treadmill at 3.4 as the FASTEST I can go. (To be honest, this is nearly impossible for b/c I love cardio). He said I will never gain mass if I have a high intensity cardio b/c I am "fat burning" and using the wrong twitch muscles.

I'll be honest, I have no idea the accuracy of this but thought I would post what I was told tonight. Good luck--you look AWESOME btw!

[flyskygirl]

Originally Posted by SuziCue

This was actually explained to me tonight at the gym. The body builder said there are two types of cardio: fat burning and cardiovascular. He told me that I am going way to fast on the elliptical and for too long. I have been totally cut down to two days a week of cardio, walking on the treadmill at 3.4 as the FASTEST I can go. (To be honest, this is nearly impossible for b/c I love cardio). He said I will never gain mass if I have a high intensity cardio b/c I am "fat burning" and using the wrong twitch muscles.

I'll be honest, I have no idea the accuracy of this but thought I would post what I was told tonight. Good luck--you look AWESOME btw!

Thanks Suzie!
That makes sence to me. I was thinking about maybe just adding in a day a week of maybe 20-30 minutes of elliptical or tread and see how that does. If Im making gains still I may up it. I too enjoy the cardio part. I know alot of men really stear away from the cardio but I think us women hold more bodyfat and the extra cardio helps that? I dont have alot of "extra" but there is still some around in the "typical woman areas"...upper back thigh and lower ab...especailly after 2 kids .
Thanks for your reply !

[user438954890590]

you just have to do it within your target heart rate - if you go over your target hr, you can start to use up energy from your muscles instead of from your fat.
when im bulking i only do cardio like 2-3 times a week and more like 3-4 times a week when im not

[BuffedWildCat]

Originally Posted by SuziCue

This was actually explained to me tonight at the gym. The body builder said there are two types of cardio: fat burning and cardiovascular. He told me that I am going way to fast on the elliptical and for too long. I have been totally cut down to two days a week of cardio, walking on the treadmill at 3.4 as the FASTEST I can go. (To be honest, this is nearly impossible for b/c I love cardio). He said I will never gain mass if I have a high intensity cardio b/c I am "fat burning" and using the wrong twitch muscles.

I'll be honest, I have no idea the accuracy of this but thought I would post what I was told tonight. Good luck--you look AWESOME btw!

Um... either you misunderstood him or he is confused. What you want to avoid is long bouts of low intensity cardio. It sends the wrong signals to the brain via hormones and other chemicals. It basically tells the body to burn off muscle and hold onto fat. Think running marathons and marathon runners' physiques.

What you WANT to do is shorter bouts of higher intensity cardio. Think sprinting and sprinter physiques. Short bouts of high intensity interval training is very anabolic, meaning muscle building. That type of cardio sends the opposite signal to the brain, build muscle, burn fat. In other words, ANAEROBIC activity is the BOMB as far as muscle building and fat burning goes.

Also, as far as muscle fibers go, endurance type cardio utilizes more of the slow twitch muscle fibers, pretty much completely leaving out the bigger fast twitch fibers which are only activated at higher intensities. The slow twitch fibers also happen to be the very small muscle fibers that don't experience much change in their size even when trained. Anaerobic type training, i.e. sprinting, on the other hand, trains the fast twitch muscle fibers, these fibers are naturally much bigger than the slow twitch fibers and also have a better potential to grow bigger when trained. These are the fibers that give athletes and bodybuilders their muscle size, in other words people who seem to build muscle easier or are naturally more muscular are people who have a higher percentage of FAST twitch muscle fibers cause they are the bigger fibers. So if you want to stimulate them to grow, it's high intensity all the way, and short because these type of fibers fatigue quickly, they have a very limited aerobic capacity. If you don't want muscle size and want to keep training your endurance muscles and don't care if you attain the "skinny fat" look, then by all means keep doing long bouts of low - mod intensity cardio. All depends on what you want. But I think most of us are here cause we want the sprinter physique.

[BuffedWildCat]

Originally Posted by calsade

you just have to do it within your target heart rate - if you go over your target hr, you can start to use up energy from your muscles instead of from your fat.
when im bulking i only do cardio like 2-3 times a week and more like 3-4 times a week when im not

Please read my previous post.

[SuziCue]

BWC, good post and good info. I would LOVE to show this to the body builder/trainer at work. Can you suggest somewhere that I could look? I looked in my trainer books but really cardio and bulking isn't discussed (more weight loss crap). I tried a google and didn't get anything.

[BuffedWildCat]

Originally Posted by SuziCue

BWC, good post and good info. I would LOVE to show this to the body builder/trainer at work. Can you suggest somewhere that I could look? I looked in my trainer books but really cardio and bulking isn't discussed (more weight loss crap). I tried a google and didn't get anything.

Not really, I just learned it over the years from BB forums and other successful bodybuilders as well as just having a strong desire to learn more and doing my own research. I also get info from the courses I take to get enough CEC's to keep my ACE personal trainer certification current.

You are welcome to copy my post and just tell him it's info from an experienced ACE certified personal trainer and bodybuilder. Then it's just up to him whether or not he chooses to believe it. If I had an exact source I'd definitely pass it along but that post just came from my head from what I've learned thus far.

[litlfalafelgirl]

I have a question about the high vs. low intensity.

i know everyone's got their own level of high and low intensity. When I run, high for me is usually 5mph on the treadmill. That is about as fast as I can go before I start coughing and lungs burning. However, that is small potatoes in terms of sprinting/HIIT.

I know this sounds dumb, but is that too low intensity? I just don't have great breathing technique and I get winded quickly.

Would it help burn fat more efficiently to use the elliptical since i can raise my speed much easier? I know running is an all-over whole body better exercise.

Also, since I ask so many basic questions, can anyone recommend a good basic exercise physiology book? There is an intro to nutrition text book somewhere in the house i'm going to start reading (after the new Harry Potter, of course ). As always, much appreciated.

[BicepGurl]

Originally Posted by SuziCue

This was actually explained to me tonight at the gym. The body builder said there are two types of cardio: fat burning and cardiovascular. He told me that I am going way to fast on the elliptical and for too long. I have been totally cut down to two days a week of cardio, walking on the treadmill at 3.4 as the FASTEST I can go. (To be honest, this is nearly impossible for b/c I love cardio). He said I will never gain mass if I have a high intensity cardio b/c I am "fat burning" and using the wrong twitch muscles.

I'll be honest, I have no idea the accuracy of this but thought I would post what I was told tonight. Good luck--you look AWESOME btw!

This trainer is a freakin idiot. Is he even certified?

[greengiant1974]

So exactly what do you do for the HIT on the treadmill/elliptical? Is it the 30 sec of hard sprinting followed by a minute of regular running alternating between the two? Also, how long should one be on the treadmill when doing HIT?

[flyskygirl]

Originally Posted by BuffedWildCat

Um... either you misunderstood him or he is confused. What you want to avoid is long bouts of low intensity cardio. It sends the wrong signals to the brain via hormones and other chemicals. It basically tells the body to burn off muscle and hold onto fat. Think running marathons and marathon runners' physiques.

What you WANT to do is shorter bouts of higher intensity cardio. Think sprinting and sprinter physiques. Short bouts of high intensity interval training is very anabolic, meaning muscle building. That type of cardio sends the opposite signal to the brain, build muscle, burn fat. In other words, ANAEROBIC activity is the BOMB as far as muscle building and fat burning goes.

Also, as far as muscle fibers go, endurance type cardio utilizes more of the slow twitch muscle fibers, pretty much completely leaving out the bigger fast twitch fibers which are only activated at higher intensities. The slow twitch fibers also happen to be the very small muscle fibers that don't experience much change in their size even when trained. Anaerobic type training, i.e. sprinting, on the other hand, trains the fast twitch muscle fibers, these fibers are naturally much bigger than the slow twitch fibers and also have a better potential to grow bigger when trained. These are the fibers that give athletes and bodybuilders their muscle size, in other words people who seem to build muscle easier or are naturally more muscular are people who have a higher percentage of FAST twitch muscle fibers cause they are the bigger fibers. So if you want to stimulate them to grow, it's high intensity all the way, and short because these type of fibers fatigue quickly, they have a very limited aerobic capacity. If you don't want muscle size and want to keep training your endurance muscles and don't care if you attain the "skinny fat" look, then by all means keep doing long bouts of low - mod intensity cardio. All depends on what you want. But I think most of us are here cause we want the sprinter physique.

Thanks Buffedwildcat for the correction I wanted to ask also if I was to do say 20 minutes of high intensity...should I use resistance with it also? Like say on the elliptical...Can I do the interval training program on level 7? or go at a lower resitance say 2 but at faster pace for 20 minutes? ..

I also see alot of people flyin like a bat out of H on them and I dont know if thats all that nessicarry?!like level 1 and looking like they are in spinning class ! :O

[sportyhp]

i do two sessions of HIIT every week, with a warm-up and cool-down

[BuffedWildCat]

Originally Posted by litlfalafelgirl

I have a question about the high vs. low intensity.

i know everyone's got their own level of high and low intensity. When I run, high for me is usually 5mph on the treadmill. That is about as fast as I can go before I start coughing and lungs burning. However, that is small potatoes in terms of sprinting/HIIT.

I know this sounds dumb, but is that too low intensity? I just don't have great breathing technique and I get winded quickly.

Good question. For you, no. High intensity is relative to the individual and his/her fitness level. In other words, if YOU are working at 95-100% of your VO2 max, then you are accomplishing what you need to do. 95-100% of your VO2 max is going to be different than someone else's.

VO2 Max: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/vo2max.htm

Would it help burn fat more efficiently to use the elliptical since i can raise my speed much easier? I know running is an all-over whole body better exercise.

Variety is the key. Mix up your cardio. If you're not training for a specific sport and you're just wanting to get the muscle building/fat loss effects, then either is okay and mixing it up, i.e. varying your cardio is best.

[BuffedWildCat]

Originally Posted by greengiant1974

So exactly what do you do for the HIT on the treadmill/elliptical? Is it the 30 sec of hard sprinting followed by a minute of regular running alternating between the two? Also, how long should one be on the treadmill when doing HIT?

Originally Posted by flyskygirl

Thanks Buffedwildcat for the correction I wanted to ask also if I was to do say 20 minutes of high intensity...should I use resistance with it also? Like say on the elliptical...Can I do the interval training program on level 7? or go at a lower resitance say 2 but at faster pace for 20 minutes? ..

I also see alot of people flyin like a bat out of H on them and I dont know if thats all that nessicarry?!like level 1 and looking like they are in spinning class ! :O

Running short on time, check out these links to help you:

http://sparkpeople.com/resource/fitn...les.asp?id=621

http://www.buildingbodies.ca/Cardio/...Training.shtml

[plaskowski2002]

Originally Posted by flyskygirl

Hi girls

I have a question about cardio..for those of you that are mainly going for pure size not so much strength or fatloss do you do any forms of cardio? and if you do what type and for how long....20 minutes, 30 minutes...etc.and how many times a week? and do you do them on your non weight training days or after your weights?

I hear that doing too much cardio will deminish your muscle gains. I started a new workout program where I am doing 3 total body workouts a week. Can I still do cardio lets say 2 days a week or do you think that will hurt my gains? I

Im currently 135lbs at 5'9 and trying to add mass....

Thanks, Tish

keep your protien intake as high as you can. this will help you hang on to as much muscle as you can. cardio 2 days a week should be no problem. the key to this is protien. hope this helps