How much Cardio for Fat shred??

[Dizzydog]

Ok ive come to the conclusion im big enough. Im just carrying way too much fat! I definately do not want anymore muscle. Im totally good in that area.

I want to get shredded, ive got the diet but ive got a wicked problem with doing Cardio. I get so bored its just nuts.

Im currently doing 25 mins 2x a week, I know its not enough to get shredded.

Im using the Eliptical at the gym. I usually train to about 350 calories.

How much should I do and what else can I do? I dont have a bike, I hate walking, im a lazy fugger by nature. What else is at the gym that can help me get ripped?

Thanks in advance!

[87lifter]

Well to help you out SOME you can shorten your rest times while lifting by about 30sec from what you do now. That way you sorta get a cardio workout while lifting. But know this will only help you out slightly (and you'll have to take the weight down some).

The thing i'm just gonna have to tell you is deal w/ the boredom. I definetly know the feeling (I have taken up swimming cause i'm not a fan of the treadmill) but while you're on there just keep urself pumped. Just listen to your music and think of ur new body! (a video ipod can help loads too!)

[surfrider26]

I am in a cutting phase now as well. The music helps, but I agree it gets boring.

I do have a video Zune though. I use the treadmill and elyptical (alternating them) and I just turn on a movie or an episode of Family Guy, and before I know it its been 25-30 mins and Im sweating up a storm.

But keep it simple. I find being in a routine helps. Swimming is also a good option for more of a total body workout.

Hope this helps.

[Dizzydog]

30 mins max or what are you guys doing?

[ellboss]

i only do 15-20mins cardio each day. Running/rowing and using the cross trainer i find works an absolute treat. Try (HIIT), machines usually have interval or hill training on them. These are good programs to use. Raise the workout level high and really put in the work, you will find that you will be burning ALOT of calories, at a quick rate as well as getting a really good workout.

Ell

[Krieger119]

I, too, get really bored. HIIT works great and I love looking at my reflection/outline of my body on the blank TV screens at my gym LOL (don't mean to sound conceited but I practically transformed within the last year). I also go 10 minutes on the treadmill then jump straight into the elliptical for another 10 and then right into the bike for another 10.
- Music
- HIIT
- Alternating machines

[andrewmul]

Im cutting aswell, check out my progress pictures, shows i know what im doing

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=7132981

For my cardio i have been doing at least 30 mins on the running machine, keeping my heart rate between 130-145bpm which is averaging around 7.1km/h. Im doing cardio 6 times a week

[Dizzydog]

Can someone direct me to HIIT info or vids??

[Guajiro]

Man, cardio is great! Great for your cardio-vascular health. Great for off-setting your calories and creating a deficit. For fat loss it's not so great, even more if you're goal is to maintain as much lean mass as possible. Because we all know when you diet to lose fat you also lose some muscle and definition.

You're best bet is to cycle your carbs and do some intense compound lifting with minor isolation work.. 15-20 minutes of brisk walking after your long steady work out..

I just took a runner who is 6'0 at 180 around 15% to about 179 at 7% last he was tested.. All we did was cycle his carbs and incorporate more compound lifts around his usual isolation work and brisk walks.. He still does a 30 minute run in the early morning, but normally would do 90 minute runs then his work outs then another run home from the gym..

Just something to think about..

[Dizzydog]

Man, cardio is great! Great for your cardio-vascular health. Great for off-setting your calories and creating a deficit. For fat loss it's not so great, even more if you're goal is to maintain as much lean mass as possible. Because we all know when you diet to lose fat you also lose some muscle and definition.

You're best bet is to cycle your carbs and do some intense compound lifting with minor isolation work.. 15-20 minutes of brisk walking after your long steady work out..

I just took a runner who is 6'0 at 180 around 15% to about 179 at 7% last he was tested.. All we did was cycle his carbs and incorporate more compound lifts around his usual isolation work and brisk walks.. He still does a 30 minute run in the early morning, but normally would do 90 minute runs then his work outs then another run home from the gym..

Just something to think about..

What do you mean by "cycling the carbs"?

[selector]

Try 45 minutes 4 times a week. Cardio is boring. Period. It depends how desperate you are to get sliced my friend. Use intervals as well as LSD (long slow duration) to keep frying calories. Intervals are more interesting than conventional fat burning, so this might be the answer for you. Check out this article to get you going. The author is an excellent trainer. This article really opened my eyes:

http://www.alwyncosgrove.com/Energy-...-Training.html

sel

[EPMD]

If you are lazy by nature, don't enjoy cardio, and don't have a bike, then you really have to find a sport or athletic activity that you do enjoy and do it regularly instead. You can plan to do all kinds of cardio, but if you hate it, you'll probably drop that good habit pretty quickly.

[Guajiro]

What do you mean by "cycling the carbs"?

S/M/T/W/T/F/S

150/100/50/150/100/50/100 that's g's of carbs daily.

So you're forcing your body to deplete glycogen and at the end of your week your consuming much lower carbs all around while not feeling the drag.

You could use any variation really, right now I'm doing 300/150/100/50. On my 300 day's I do circuit training, on my 150 morning I do a 20min sprint.. Then it's back to my usual lifts..

[Kane Fan]

well, being 322 lbs I'm not sure what to tell you cus I was under 300 (but not by all that much I guess) when I started running
but the good news is initially weightloss can come with relativly breif cardio workouts that you don't really have time to get bored doing
bad news is as your body shrinks it takes more and more time to get the fat off but hey it goes pretty quick at the 280lb range so it should go quick for you for about 50 or 60 lbs, good news right?
do you have a track you can run at or any flat ground where you know the distance, or don't know the distance as long as you can make sure you know when you have improved distance wise
and are you willing to buy some good running shoes
(100 dollar shoes are one of the reasons I run fairly regularly)

[AirforceBody]

Ok so basically to answer your question Cardio is determined by two aspects you want to go at about 75% of your MHR (Maximum heart rate) and just to make things more annoying in my opinion you want to go for about 45 mins. Your body takes time to burn through whatever carbs are in your stomach and body first and then it starts shreading fat so generally your body takes 20 mins just to burn down the carbs before you start touching fat, wether you have eatten recently or not your body stores it so it must burn it to make progress. Hope this helps! Good luck!

Oh and one more thing...try a stair stepper...burns more calories per hour than any other machine and its softer on your joints and ligaments as well as not being near as boring as a treadmill

[JaCulop]

Here are some articles on HIIT that I have read through.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbinfo.php?page=HIIT

Ever since I started HIIT I feel like I don't huff and puff as much and my heart rate as gotten alot better as well. I don't have the best cardio system so I am starting off with...

10 minutes total.
1 minute of regular jogging, 30 seconds of all out sprint.
Repeat until 10 minutes is up, and then have a cool down. Each week I try to add on more time.

[Dizzydog]

Thanks guys. I actually bought a heart rate monitor today and plan to kick into high gear starting tomorrow actually.

Im going to try the HIIT on the bike at the gym for awhile and see how it goes. Im also planning to keep my sets in the 15-20 rep range and rest between sets to 30 seconds.

Will see how it goes. Thanks again

[nsavarirayan]

I also agree that cardio is boring when done on a machine in a gym. I can barely get past 15 minutes in a gym - and its not from getting too tired. But know my salvation has come by going outside and running instead. Time flys when I run outside - I can go for 40 minutes easy. So my suggestion is to try and get out of the gym for your cardio - it makes it much easier to do. Plus there are always hot girls on the walking paths around my house!

[Dizzydog]

Started HIIT today. Sprinting on the eliptical, then going normal, then sprinting etc..

keeping my HR around 162-165 on the sprints and 150 when down.

HOw do I know if thats high enough? Im doign 40 mins, i go from eliptical to bike. It was actually pretty cool now that ive got a HR monitor and an iPod

[windsorjon]

i definetly agree with the carb cycling i used 200g a day for 4 days then 2 days of 100 repeat and got peeled in 10 wks without cardio, i repeat no cardio just a 3 day split of legs push pull focusing on compound lifts. alos try olympic lifts if you wanna keep your size strength and burn fat at the same time


good luck

[Dizzydog]

Id rather just workout and do more cardio than do the carb cycling. Seems like alot of meticulous measuring. I just eat alot of protein and a couple handfuls of veggies a day and a ****load of vitamins and minerals. I feel good.

[JaCulop]

40 minutes of hiit? Most people dont go over 20 mins max of hiit. How hard are you sprinting? This should be a full out sprint. You should be just waiting for that next regular speed interval. What kind of intervals are you using? How long sprint, how long of regular speed?

[Dizzydog]

40 minutes of hiit? Most people dont go over 20 mins max of hiit. How hard are you sprinting? This should be a full out sprint. You should be just waiting for that next regular speed interval. What kind of intervals are you using? How long sprint, how long of regular speed?

Yea I could be doing it wrong, im doing 15-20 second sprints and about 60 seconds of regular.

Like I said though, it was ass kicking. My max HR today my monotor says was 171. My at rest rate is 92 right now. So im feeling pretty good about it all.

I set my max HR at 180 and stayed at the 85% mark most of the time I was working out.

[rishi275]

U should perform HIIT 2 times a week and LIIT for rest of the days
LIIT is more effective because it burns more fat but on the other hand when u do HIIT you r loosing fat but also the muscle mass


Soooo its up too u

[SuffolkPunch]

Thread is 5 years old.

OP is over 300lbs so I guess it didn't work.