how much cardio is necessary??

cmom · 08-09-2006, 03:26 PM

ok im 5 ft about 104 pounds...ive just learned from the last 5 months that all this freakin cardio burns muscle, so for the last 7 weeks, ive been focusing on building muscle...im on a 4 day split..and ive been doing cardio for 2 days a week 40 min-that included warm up and cool down...should i even be doing this??im eating close to 1900 cals-all clean ive been doing very well on 40/30/30. -so would that be enough cals?i would totally cut cardio out, but heart problems run really bad in my family...so i need something...i also use heavy weights, superset most of them..using progressive resistance...thanks!!

michelle

Motivatedmom · 08-09-2006, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmom

ok im 5 ft about 104 pounds...ive just learned from the last 5 months that all this freakin cardio burns muscle, so for the last 7 weeks, ive been focusing on building muscle...im on a 4 day split..and ive been doing cardio for 2 days a week 40 min-that included warm up and cool down...should i even be doing this??im eating close to 1900 cals-all clean ive been doing very well on 40/30/30. -so would that be enough cals?i would totally cut cardio out, but heart problems run really bad in my family...so i need something...i also use heavy weights, superset most of them..using progressive resistance...thanks!!

michelle

I was overdoing cardio too... I cut back to 20 min of HIIT cardio per day and I'm continuing to lose fat and I'm gaining a lot more muscle... I do it after weights and then I stretch...

Ninja J · 08-09-2006, 09:56 PM

Read my signature line.

I do no .. "cardio." I lift weights, still lose bf% and don't lose any of my precious muscle.

*supermomma* · 08-09-2006, 09:58 PM

I do maybe one cardio session a week, and then only bc I only lift 3x a week and I like to go to the gym, so I need a reason other than the sauna lol.

Cardio is overrated.

Ninja J · 08-09-2006, 10:06 PM

Oh, yeah.. and I only lift 3 days a week. No more, no less. Never in there more than hour. A lot of days less than that. *shrug* works for me.

Lucky K · 08-10-2006, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ninja J

Oh, yeah.. and I only lift 3 days a week. No more, no less. Never in there more than hour. A lot of days less than that. *shrug* works for me.

Oh Ninja, If only I still had the metabolism of a 24 yr old......LOL

cmom, If you've been doing this for 7 weeks then how is YOUR body responding? Don't sell yourself short, when I superset I count it as cardio!

Miranda · 08-11-2006, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucky K

If only I still had the metabolism of a 24 yr old.....

metabolism does slow down about 2-4% in a decade. it's not that much.

and while i'm at it

. . .

my brother is six years older than me (37).
every time i see him - once a year - he's like: 'ooh, you have a fine figure' and then: 'but it'll disappear, just wait till you get older'

my brother is an endurance buff. he runs about 50 km a week, swims and participates in city marathons twice year.
yet he has a big belly. according to him, it's age. nothing he can do about it. it just appeared out of the blue.

living with him for five days revealed his diet consists of beer, candy, hamburgers, french fries, sausage and pizza.

metabolism my ass.

cmom · 08-11-2006, 05:46 AM

lucky k,
im very happy with the results doing supersets!! i actually feel like im getting somewhere-i know it just takes time...but i was worried that the cardio was killing my results.....

michelle

Amris · 08-11-2006, 05:50 AM

3 times per week, 30 minutes per session is totally sufficient to maintain heart health.

ChocoChick · 08-11-2006, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miranda

metabolism does slow down about 2-4% in a decade. it's not that much.

And the main reason metabolism slows down is due to the loss of muscle mass that occurs as we age. If a person does nothing but maintain her eating habits, she will experience body recomposition such that she loses muscle and gains fat. That's a natural part of the aging process (due to hormonal changes, etc., etc.). It is this recomposition that accounts for the loss in metabolism. So if you lift weight and keep your muscle mass up, then the slowdown in metabolism does not occur.

I am almost twice as old as Ninja (

) and I also do no cardio. My bodyfat is at about 15%.

Edited to clarify: I do go walking at night with my husband and biking with my kids, but I don't go to the gym to do "formal" cardio.

Lucky K · 08-11-2006, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbflgirl

And the main reason metabolism slows down is due to the loss of muscle mass that occurs as we age. If a person does nothing but maintain her eating habits, she will experience body recomposition such that she loses muscle and gains fat. That's a natural part of the aging process (due to hormonal changes, etc., etc.). It is this recomposition that accounts for the loss in metabolism. So if you lift weight and keep your muscle mass up, then the slowdown in metabolism does not occur.

I am almost twice as old as Ninja (

) and I also do no cardio. My bodyfat is at about 15%.

Edited to clarify: I do go walking at night with my husband and biking with my kids, but I don't go to the gym to do "formal" cardio.

Let me re-phrase: I wish it was still as easy as when I was 24 to keep my fat low. I am in no way compaining about my body- I am in the best shape of my life, with less than 14%bf! After thinking about it, the word metabolism IS often used as an excuse. But the environmental (I'm not talking about the landscape) factors that change in many peoples lives over a period of "a decade" do attribute to fat gain. For instance, when I was 20, I did not have money to waste on junk food or beer and had the time to cook. I also rode my bicycle for short trips to save the gas to get to the college in the next town. Now that I am married, own a house, and a business it's easier to make the excuse to just order a pizza for dinner. Not to mention riding my motorcycle is way more fun than a bicycle, yet less exercise. What used to not be an issue is now something I have to schedule into my day.

I myself do less than an hour a week of "formal" cardio and hugely agree that weight training by itself is a better tool to fat loss than cardio by itself. I apologize(something my husband says I don't do often enough;>) for the misuse of the word metabolism, I did not mean to offend!

Paichka · 08-11-2006, 01:20 PM

I guess the answer to the question "how much cardio is necessary" is "necessary for what?". Necessary to lost fat? (anywhere from 20-45 minutes per day, 3 times per week, depending on intensity) Necessary to improve cardio health? (30 minutes three times per week, according to cardiologists)

For me? I do cardio because I like it, not because I want to improve my body. I lift weights to improve my body, I run to improve my mind. It's my time to think, to listen to music, to work up a nice sweat and feel like there are wings attached to my ankles.

Running isn't going to give me a six-pack though.

cmom · 08-11-2006, 03:04 PM

i was talking about heart health....i ve already tried to lose fat..and of course lost muscle and became skinny fat....now im trying to recouperate from it.....its amazing how easy it is to burn muscle...but how hard it is to gain it back.......

thanks!!
michelle

Ninja J · 08-12-2006, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucky K

Oh Ninja, If only I still had the metabolism of a 24 yr old......LOL

cmom, If you've been doing this for 7 weeks then how is YOUR body responding? Don't sell yourself short, when I superset I count it as cardio!

lol I missed this. I don't have a fast metabolism. It's just what I eat. I started out with a slow, now I'd say it's about "normal." I have one child. I was chubby as a kid, and when I was teenager I was inbetween, and (even though I'm not that old) early 20s I was skinny fat, until I got pregnant, and then I became a 5 foot 1.5 inch whale.

My diet and my weights. And a small part genetics. I don't think any of it has to do with my age. Every time I lift I count it as cardio.