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How much is too much cardio?

Cleatus

Growing Brother
Am I alright throwing 3 days of 45 min moderate intensity cardio (i.e. stationary bike) in per week if I am lifting the other 3 days?
 
I usually do 15 mins. after lifting a couple times per week, but wanted to up the cardio and lean out a bit.
 
depends on your goals

depends on your job

a lot of guys on here have blue collar jobs where they get in tons of cardio without even knowing it. if you are digging ditches all day or climbing poles then that's ample cardio. if you sit on your ass all day in a white collar job then you will probably need a lot of cardio to stay lean
 
depends on your goals

depends on your job

a lot of guys on here have blue collar jobs where they get in tons of cardio without even knowing it. if you are digging ditches all day or climbing poles then that's ample cardio. if you sit on your ass all day in a white collar job then you will probably need a lot of cardio to stay lean

I've got the sit on my ass all day job. I have run the ec stack with good results, but I am tired of sitting around feeling like crap after a few weeks on that stuff. I incorporate cardio on it, but I am done feeling like a dog's ass and want to only use cardio. I am trying to lean out (15% now) before I cycle again. I would like to spend a few months leaning out and do it the right way instead of starting a cycle with a little too much fat.
 
Thanks Steve. Think I'll give it a shot and see how it goes. I made the mistake of reading an article on Anabolicminds that said to only do hiit cardio after weights for 4-12 minutes. It said steady-state cardio is counterproductive and bad for your body in the long term. I don't buy that at all (unless you count running 10 miles a day), so I wanted to get some other opinions on it.
 
Thanks Steve. Think I'll give it a shot and see how it goes. I made the mistake of reading an article on Anabolicminds that said to only do hiit cardio after weights for 4-12 minutes. It said steady-state cardio is counterproductive and bad for your body in the long term. I don't buy that at all (unless you count running 10 miles a day), so I wanted to get some other opinions on it.

the dude who wrote that is probably some skinny dude who doesn't know how to lift or eat and weighs about 145 pounds

its ridiculous

cardio doesn't burn muscle.. it burns calories.. as long as you are eating to make up those calories you can do cardio without worry about losing muscle mass

if you go to a 5K race the faster dudes there have lean muscle mass. reason is they burn up so many calories during their training that its downright impossible to make up for that. I used to run 45 miles a week for example and I would eat pizza, pancakes, burgers and still was 6% body fat.

so lesson is some light cardio is not going to interfere with your muscle gains but if you go crazy with it then yeah it will. doesn't sound like from that article that its even close to excessive cardio
 
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the dude who wrote that is probably some skinny dude who doesn't know how to lift or eat and weighs about 145 pounds

its ridiculous

cardio doesn't burn muscle.. it burns calories.. as long as you are eating to make up those calories you can do cardio without worry about losing muscle mass

Appreciate it Steve. I'll up the cardio and make sure I hit my macros and see how it goes.
 
When i first started into bodybuilding i had a horrible time trying to put on size from eating low carb and doing cardio, i was lifting so hard that as soon as i limited the cardio and upped my carb intake i started to swell overnight so it definately depends on your goals.
 
When i first started into bodybuilding i had a horrible time trying to put on size from eating low carb and doing cardio, i was lifting so hard that as soon as i limited the cardio and upped my carb intake i started to swell overnight so it definately depends on your goals.

yes cause you weren't in a calorie surplus but also your workouts you weren't lifting to get big.. this is the obvious thing I see in the gym from younger skinny guys. they stand in front of the mirror doing 25lb dumbbell curls for 30 minutes then flirt with every other chick in the gym and expect to grow a big chest and back.

you gotta hit those compound lifts, that's where you grow muscle mass. squats, deads, bench, dips, pullups, cleans, rows
 
As long as your resting and eating enough you can do alot of cardio. I lift at 5am for an hour ,work 8 hours laying brick , then 5 days a week i do hour of either boxing or kickboxing in evening . I eat whatever the hell i want lol 4-5000 cals a day no problem. But you cant do that if your not resting enough or eating enough. Cardio can make building muscle hard if your not meeting your macro needs tho. Also intensity of cardio is important. The more intense it is the more cals burned
 
As long as your resting and eating enough you can do alot of cardio. I lift at 5am for an hour ,work 8 hours laying brick , then 5 days a week i do hour of either boxing or kickboxing in evening . I eat whatever the hell i want lol 4-5000 cals a day no problem. But you cant do that if your not resting enough or eating enough. Cardio can make building muscle hard if your not meeting your macro needs tho. Also intensity of cardio is important. The more intense it is the more cals burned

Thanks man. I won't complain about upping the cals :) I'll make sure I'm hitting my macros and adjust if needed.
 
Cardio is a waste of time and energy for the most part. You want to increase your heart rate, lift weights faster.
 
Oh my bad i read that wrong. I could see for bodybuilding. That makes since. Thought you meant overall. Lol i was like i dont agree with that
 
There is nothing wrong with what you are proposing to do. It's a similar strategy I used with success for years. Cardio will help ramp up your metabolic rate and turn you into a fat burning machine. It also increases hunger and may allow you to eat more to grow. I strongly believe in doing some form of cardio year round
 
im probably the biggest cardio advocate your going to find on the planet... I don't recommend it to the extent I do it at all but if you truly understand how to eat and accommodate, you can do far more cardio than you would expect while still being able to build lean muscle in the process... there doesn't have to be anything sacrificed whatsoever but you also need to understand it is not the easiest thing in the world to do but I GUARANTEE you that if you truly know your body and how to accommodate it can be of EXTREME success... Cardio is key to not only long health but for muscle tone and devlopment... Think about an elliptical for example... Think about all the movements, muscles used etc... Its a constant push pull in your upper body and big work on your legs, especially when adjusting tension, elevation, etc... this is just one small example... i assure you that you are fine implementing significant amounts of cardio... Its a key component to you overall health... I am also obsessed with the overall feeling of accomplishment after every cardio session and it only leaves me wanting more...
 
im probably the biggest cardio advocate your going to find on the planet... I don't recommend it to the extent I do it at all but if you truly understand how to eat and accommodate, you can do far more cardio than you would expect while still being able to build lean muscle in the process... there doesn't have to be anything sacrificed whatsoever but you also need to understand it is not the easiest thing in the world to do but I GUARANTEE you that if you truly know your body and how to accommodate it can be of EXTREME success... Cardio is key to not only long health but for muscle tone and devlopment... Think about an elliptical for example... Think about all the movements, muscles used etc... Its a constant push pull in your upper body and big work on your legs, especially when adjusting tension, elevation, etc... this is just one small example... i assure you that you are fine implementing significant amounts of cardio... Its a key component to you overall health... I am also obsessed with the overall feeling of accomplishment after every cardio session and it only leaves me wanting more...


This^^ couldnt have said it better.
 
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