Whether you're a cardio bunny or tend to live in fear of it, here are some tips to maximise your cardio routine. I think almost everyone has a love/ hate relationship with cardio, sometimes it can be a chore..other times it's your best friend. Either way, it can be a good addition to your routines if you do it right.
1) HIIT
Okay, so we've all heard about the supposed benefits of HIIT. But lets make them a little clearer. HIIT is high intensity interval training. There are so many ways of performing HIIT, e.g - sprints on the treadmill, spin, a circuit. Which makes HIIT versatile and a lot more appealing to many. The idea is you get your heart rate up, utilising your anaerobic pathway and burn some serious stored energy. You take a little break, say..30s and tap into your aerobic pathway and burn some fat. So HIIT is an excellent way to deplete energy stores, burn fat and still make it home in time to resume normal daily activity such as watching Youtube and night bowls (normal right?)
Here is an example of a common HIIT workout I do, usually performed AFTER weight training (I'll explain why below)
1 min warm up (walk)
14 minutes of sprints
30s on, 30s off
80% max
Circuit (with weights when you can) 4X
10 lateral raise into burpee
10 box jumps
10 alternating arm medicine ball press ups
20 mountain climbers
2) Steady state cardio
Steady state cardio was said to be the height of fat burning at one point, claiming that it directly tapes into your aerobic pathway and utilises fat stores. But in all honesty, yes..steady state cardio burns fat..but overall you won't be burning as many calories as something that really gets your heart pumping such as like HIIT.
It's important to understand that like HIIT, steady state cardio takes many forms..it can be a jog, a walk or even steady state on a bike. Each of these activities have different lengths and intensities. A run for 40 minutes of course will burn more calories, but in terms of bodybuilding is not ideal. If you're looking to reserve muscle mass then you want to be saving your time and energy primarily on weights and using cardio simply as an extra tool to burn fat. However, a low/medium intensity walk for 40 minutes will allow your body to reserve your hard earned muscle and tap into those fat stores all at the same time (win win)
So, theres definitely a place for steady state in the world of bodybuilding. Hence why you almost always see that big guy at the gym on a crazy incline holding onto the machine for dear life. My advice would be to add a little incline walking post workout and see how it effects your progress! for me it instantly sped up fat loss and did not effect strength and muscle gains.
3) When's the best time?
This is all subject to when you can of course, some time of the day is better than none. However, it all depends on your goals..if you're training for a race and you're looking to build up your cardiovascular endurance go ahead and prioritise that; get up early, go for a run. But, if you want that 'lean and sculpted' look that is best achieved with weights get your weights in first. Weight lifting not only burns calories, builds muscle and makes you look like a lean machine, but after your workout, your metabolic rate is also raised (as your body tries to rebuild itself) so that's a calorie burning elevation for at least 8 hours. Combined with the fact that a body with more muscle mass burns more calories..well..just living. If I do cardio, it will (unless the workout is solely cardio on the odd occasion) be a short time after weight training. This way, your glycogen stores are already depleted and your body is then forced to rely on its fat stores. Even a 15 minute walk after your weights can make a huge difference.
4) MUST I do cardio?
The short answer..no. If you don't like cardio, then don't do it. The idea behind cardio in the purpose of bodybuilding i.e - getting that lean bod' is to create a larger calorie deficit when you're looking to lose fat so that the process is sped up. However, cardio is not needed in that you can create a larger deficit by just eating less or just eating the same and cutting slowly in order to reserve muscle mass. Too much cardio will effect muscle growth, depending of course on your body type and who you are. So, many keep cardio minimal even during a cut and only add it in as a last resort. Which is fine, but it's important to understand that not everyone works in the same way and perhaps your body responds well to cardio ..or god forbid..you enjoy it. I do cardio, because I enjoy it, and I love feeling fit and healthy. Cardio is not just for fat loss, it for heart health and pumping the blood to your muscles can even induce muscle repair (in the right volumes) So nope, not necessary, but oh so necessary if you enjoy it and it compliments your training program.
5) Don't let it be a chore
Find alternative ways to do cardio if running on the treadmill is not for you. Go outdoors, walk your dog, do a fitness class. If you want something to be a part of your lifestyle it has to be something that you enjoy and that is sustainable. Long periods of cardio on the treadmill are boring for many, so they achieve the same calorie burn (or more) in a short HIIT session or they have way more fun at a fitness class with friends. Mindset is everything, let cardio be a positive addition to your routine, find a way to make it work for you.
6) Add weights
Wanna really feel the burn? GO ADD WEIGHTS. Mix up your session, perhaps do your normal weight session but add in a few cardio moves between such as press ups/ dips/ jump squats. TRX is an excellent way of incorporating strength and getting your heart rate up. Combining these two elements not only gives your a great calorie burn but its an excellent way to improve your body's functionality and fitness. Remember, your body adapts to the stimulus you provide it, if you're keeping the workout high energy, using weights but also combining this with a good diet and plenty of rest your body will (with consistency) turn into a lean mean super-fit machine. What is important to remember here though, is that if you're trying to build mass primarily and burn fat secondly, focus on your heavy lifts over your cardio, don't let cardio effect your strength.
7) How many days a week?
This of course all depends on your goals and where you are currently. If you've started off with a lot of fat to lose, then there's no harm in doing cardio for a short period everyday. If however, you don't have much fat to lose you should focus on maintaining muscle mass too and perhaps rely more on a calorie deficit than too much cardio to lose the fat. This is also subject to your body type and how your body responds to cardio, some find it difficult to gain muscle and size and so should keep cardio to a minimum. Others retain muscle and sometimes fat easily and can afford to add more cardio into their routines. The only way to really find out which is you, is to see how your body responds when you put all of this into action. But you'll find that those who tend to gain weight more easily, those who are carb sensitive or claim to just look at a donut and gain 10lbs should do more cardio in order to achieve steady fat loss.
8) Fasted cardio
Fasted cardio can be an useful tool in burning fat. But is not necessary if you don't enjoy it. Of course, training on a fasted stomach will cause your body to burn more fat as you'll not have a ready supply of glycogen to fuel your workout, forcing you to rely on your fat stores. In turn, making your body adapt to rely on fat and improving its fat mobilisation efficiency. However, if the quality of your workout is affected by this its probably safer to avoid fasted cardio. In some individuals it may induce muscle loss and leave them feeling overly drained too quickly. If you are just starting to add cardio to your weight training routine to lose fat, you don't need to do too much too soon. As soon as you add that extra cardio, you'll create a calorie deficit and you'll begin to lose weight (provided your diet is on point of course) So, fasted cardio isn't needed. I'd say however, that if it works well for you and its easier for you to get up early and do cardio then go for it. It's also useful when all other means are exhausted, for instance..during the final weeks of prep for a bikini competition you may need to push out all the stops in order to carry on losing those final lbs of fat. So fasted cardio, effective in that it uses fat stores, potentially harmful to muscle progression if you have that sort of body type and in my opinion should be built up to towards the end of a cut. Don't exhaust all your tools at once.
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