Being lean at 35, 40, 45... More aerobics?

[Grunt76]

Hey you guys...

I remember before I turned 33 or so, I could be lean by just watching the diet and doing my weights, no need for aerobics (aka "low-intensity cardio").

As age went on, the need for cardio seemed to increase to the point now that it is absolutely necessary to even retain leanness unless actually dieting when lean.

Do you guys feel that way too? I feel it is due to falling GH levels, so please take into account your GH supplementation in your replies.

I got some guy telling me that I should not do aerobics to cut and I'm like :wtf:

Yeah aerobics can be catabolic but just weights and diet? How many of you get lean without aerobics or GH?

Thanks!

 

[DreamWeaver]

I have always been challenged to stay lean, age really doesn't have too much of an impact. The leanest I was ever was just before I turned 44. I would guess that increased actibity would be key to staying leaner as you get older. Stricter with the diet as well. All I can say is I have to use both.

My partner never has to use any cardio and he gets down to around 4% at contest time and he's 53. Body type plays a bigger role than age I think.

 

[Ripped1]

Grunt I have always been able to stay lean. I have been off everything for over a year now and it is even easier for me now. I think it is because I was always into cardio and while on gear I never really did much for cardio. How ever now I am a lean mean fighting machine lol

 

[CHAPS]

I do cardio year round now no matter what, what changes is the duration of the cardio, my diet and the type of cardio. I do interval cardio year round with slower stuff as well jut the durations go up and my carbs and calories are modified when i'm trying to get lean, like right now

 

[Grunt76]

I do cardio year round now no matter what, what changes is the duration of the cardio, my diet and the type of cardio. I do interval cardio year round with slower stuff as well jut the durations go up and my carbs and calories are modified when i'm trying to get lean, like right now

What, they let 21-year-olds in here? :welcome:

 

[Ribo68]

Yes it is much harder for me to lose the fat now than say 8-10 years ago. Now cardio is a must. If I'm on a treadmill it's because I've become thoroughly disgusted w/ myself. And what does a 21 yr. old know about middle age?

 

[T-Bone]

I seem to have the same problem. I didn't have a problem staying lean only 2-3 years ago. Also since my time in the hospital with cholostasis everything seems to be more difficult.

 

[CHAPS]

Yes it is much harder for me to lose the fat now than say 8-10 years ago. Now cardio is a must. If I'm on a treadmill it's because I've become thoroughly disgusted w/ myself. And what does a 21 yr. old know about middle age?

Bite me, i was talkin about staying lean in general, i've never had a fast metabolism, mine is just about as sluggish as it gets.

 

[Ribo68]

Bite me, i was talkin about staying lean in general, i've never had a fast metabolism, mine is just about as sluggish as it gets.

Lighten up Francis! Just bustin' your chops a lil'. However, the question was if there was a "change" in what it takes to get or stay lean at 35-45 compared to what it took 10-15 years ago. And that answer is...yes! Looks like you and the treadmill are gonna be the best of friends.

 

[DreamWeaver]

I stated before and will again, I think that in a lot of cases this phenonmenon is exagerated somewhat. Seems to be the case for most endos anyway. Maybe we just don't notice it much, or at all.

 

[BigVrunga]

Im 32 now, and I totally agree that cardio is a definite necessity. I always do 10-15 minutes preworkout, and another 20 afterward IF i have time (which usually is never lol)

Ive also found that some of the 'GH boosting' supps are more effective now that Im gettin' on in years...when I ran Somnidren for a month I leaned up a bit, without any changes to diet or training.

Im trying to workout some kind of supplement regimen that can keep hormone levels optimal without breaking the bank...cycling natural test/GH boosting products every few months seems to be effective.

BV

 

[RoadBlocK]

Cardio is an absolute, unless your a natural ecto.

Im a lifelong endo, and Im about in the middle of your age scale, and Ive been slacking on the cardio for a while and I absolutely notice a Decrease in vascularity and definition. And recently due to various reasons and someone passing, Ive been totally missing training altogether, and Im gaining weight like a pregnant woman.

So to summarize, I say cardio is a must for 35-45 to be what most of us would consider lean.

 

[Vegking]

Go read Scott Abel's blog on the Arobic Myth. After reading that, I doubt you will want to use steady state cardio as a weapon against fat loss ever again.

 

[bioman]

As an ecto at age 35, I don't have too many problems staying lean other than the usual dietary discipline. During those periods that I do a lot of cardio, I lean out well but lose size.

My biggest problem is that recovery time is getting longer and longer. I can stay very sore for 7 days pw.

 

[Hank Vangut]

yeah, i agree with most here that cardio is a must if you want to get really lean.

more recently i've found that i get better results if i switch up my cardio program every week or two. - much like i do w/my wieght program.

before this i would only go for moderate paced jogs ever week.
but now i do all sorts of stuff and at different paces. now i spend less time doing cardio with better results.

 

[Grunt76]

Go read Scott Abel's blog on the Arobic Myth. After reading that, I doubt you will want to use steady state cardio as a weapon against fat loss ever again.

Lemme guess, he's an extreme ecto... :whiner:

 

[DreamWeaver]

Lemme guess, he's an extreme ecto... :whiner:

Exactly, endo's need cardio a lot of ecto's don't or very little. I find if I throw in some interval training in place of some of my regular cardio, it helps.

 

[bioman]

yep, interval training is the bomb...mainly because it's not as boring. lol

 

[Grunt76]

yep, interval training is the bomb...mainly because it's not as boring. lol

But weights basically ARE HIIT...

 

[Vegking]

Lemme guess, he's an extreme ecto... :whiner:

Nope, why don't you just read the blog.

 

[bioman]

But weights basically ARE HIIT...

True to some extent but it's a little harder to modulate the baseline part of the cardio..ie between heavy sets and I think this does make a difference in overall fitness.

I just like to get out and "stretch my legs" so to speak as it ties in better to the hiking I do. I've done periods with lifting only and no cardio and periods with lifting and HIIT and the latter definitely has a positive impact on both my lifting endurance as well as overall cardio endurance. Plus, I'm not trying to be a pro-sized bber so the loss in size is not troubling to me anymore.

Bobo/Jerry has pointed out that the pros only tend to do very low level cardio, ie slow fasted walking for 45-60 minutes each morning for cutting purposes.

 

[DreamWeaver]

This article does not say don't do cardio. It says you should not rely on steady rate cardio for fat loss. Well go figure, this is not news. Some steady rate cardio is still benefiicial on non weight training days, when you can't lift. Throw in some interval training, keep your workouts crisp and employ some supersets and combination sets and voila.

 

[Vegking]

This article does not say don't do cardio. It says you should not rely on steady rate cardio for fat loss. Well go figure, this is not news. Some steady rate cardio is still benefiicial on non weight training days, when you can't lift. Throw in some interval training, keep your workouts crisp and employ some supersets and combination sets and voila.

I should have clarified from the begining, he was talking about steady state cardio. So yeah I agree with you.

 

[DreamWeaver]

I should have clarified from the begining, he was talking about steady state cardio. So yeah I agree with you.

No I reread your post and you did say steady state cardio, my bad actually. lol

 

[DreamWeaver]

By the way, I have experimented successfully with various weight training methods designed to burn fat but they are killer routines and you just can't maintain the pace. So you have to cylcle off those types of routines. Mine were inspired by Poloquin though and I find I end up overtraining when I take his methods to heart.

 

[eros62d]

I'm 46 and have a slow metabolism. I rarely do cardio. Carb cycling is the only thing that works for me.

 

[DreamWeaver]

I've done that as well, with cardio as well.

 

[MacTech]

Early morning, fasted, inclined treadmill for 30 minutes and/or fast-paced circuit training 3 times a week, works best for me.

Too much cardio may bring about increased cortisol which will eat away at your hard earned muscle. I also use Hot-Rox Extreme and Xtend in the mornings beforehand.

Of course all of the above will fail without a good diet and eating every 3-4 hours. One cheat meal a week of increased carbs.

 

[DreamWeaver]

That's how I work it. Some of my fasted sessions are a little longer due to the fact that I am a classic endo-meso but the idea is the same. I work 2 45's and a thirty of fasted cardio with 3 higher intensity iterval sessions of 3 minutes.

My weight training sessions are always very crisp, which also helps. There are some types of routines that require longer rest periods however.

 

[luggnut]

i find it harder to stay lean at 40 or get even get lean... but i think it is mostly due to activity level. i always played sports 3 or so times a week when i was younger so with a little dieting and weights i got lean fairly easily. but now due to joint pain and such i can't play full court ball 3 times a week. so a cycle of getting older and getting heavier leads to less tolerance for sports. so now i must increase cardio to get lean and not get to much joint pain and such.

 

[FrankJ]

For me, diet is more important than cardio. Not only what I am eating but when plays a big role.

Also, preworkout fatburners really help if you can stand the sides. I like Amp2.

Excessive cardio flattens me out, I stick to 2-3x weekly for 30-40 minutes, usually 2 days medium intensity, 1 day intervals.