CARDIO

I've been asked a lot recently about the cardio I do and about cardio as a whole, how much a person should be doing etc.

My honest answer to all this is, as little as possible.

A toned and lean physique can be achieved without cardio, in fact it's better achieved without. When you're looking to lean down, in my opinion (and everyone will have different opinions) the best way is to manipulate your intake, when you've already exhausted that to the extent your no longer burning fat (common during prep) then add cardio.

Don't get me wrong, for years and years I've taken part in HIIT, high intensity cardio and high intensity aerobic classes. But truth is, even though some of these workouts may be short and have a high calorie burn, they..like lifting weights are a stimulus. Which will your body adapt to? the cardio? or the weights? both oppose eachother, and for maximal results whilst lifting i'd say its best to cut out the high intensity stuff.



I've actually found a VERY interesting article on the interference of cardio on weight training that I'll link  below, but I'll try condense the stuff down a little here: 

So pretty much, when you do cardio/weights there are DIFFERENT changes that go on in the body. For instance.. protein kinase B activated by weight training decreases protein breakdown and increases muscle synthesis. AMP-activated protein kinase is activated by cardio, it increases endurance and cardiovascular fitness. The problem is though, that the pathways that these enzymes eventually lead to...they BLOCK each other. Therefore, it is very hard for your body to adapt to both.

This article also draws on that fact that women are actually far more adapted to moderate intensities over a longer period of time, Men seem to respond fat better to HIIT than women. Studies show that women don't recover to exercises such as sprints as well as men, post training it decreases our protein synthesis. Explosive movements just aren't as beneficial.

I see cardio as a tool for fat loss, nothing else. It helps towards a calorie deficit and may be used on a 'cut' you do not have to do it everyday, it won't benefit you unless that's genuinely what you want to do (increase your cardiovascular endurance) 

What's the solution? 

LISS or low intensity steady state cardio. Now, I'm not saying you should all quit your spin classes and go walk on a treadmill. Because, I know a lot of people really enjoy HIIT and keeping fit it great too. I am saying however, that if you want to preserve your muscle and burn a little fat then LISS is preferable. Simply because, it just doesn't put a lot of pressure on your body, studies have shown that incorporating LISS into your weightlifting routine shows little or no interference. As someone who is looking to preserve muscle and lose fat too, it's perfect. 

My cardio 

I perform 15 minutes of incline walking after every session. I'm not saying this will work for everyone, I'm just saying it's what I do. Cardio is all preference at the end of the day. Find something that fits in with your lifestyle and works for you, just bare in mind that cardio can interfere with muscle if you're not careful. I'd also like to mention that if you're going to do cardio, a good diet is essential in minimizing it's possible detrimental effects on your physique. So just be wise about it.


http://www.humanengine.com/index.php/articles/training/item/the-cardio-comedown