cardio after weight training?

[jb562]

i recently started adding around 25 minutes of intense cardio after my weight lifting sessions to save time from my busy schedule. i was wondering how or if this cardio could affect my muscle growth or if i might even loose muscle mass because of it. i dont want to give up either of them but would still like keep adding mass while cutting up to! if i could get a few opnions or feedback on this it would be appriciated!

[Rosie Chee]

i recently started adding around 25 minutes of intense cardio after my weight lifting sessions to save time from my busy schedule. i was wondering how or if this cardio could affect my muscle growth or if i might even loose muscle mass because of it. i dont want to give up either of them but would still like keep adding mass while cutting up to! if i could get a few opnions or feedback on this it would be appriciated!

If you're trying to lose weight then chances are you are NOT going to be getting any muscle growth anyways, since most people generally diet to do this and such diets are NOT conducive to muscle accretion (i.e. if you are cutting then you are not going to get muscle growth!) If you are doing cardio post-weights, then you are most probably going to become quite catabolic and most likely to lose muscle mass (as well as fat). The only way that I would see you be able to achieve both fat loss and muscle growth is if you were recomping and your diet was manipulated towards this goal.

~Rosie
Team APPNUT

[alwaysgaining]

word bro cut the cardio if u wwana get big, manipulate yer dite to get yer six pack and deffinition

[rubberring]

word bro cut the cardio if u wwana get big, manipulate yer dite to get yer six pack and deffinition

Wait... was that English? Christ man, slow down.



OP, I don't think there's any harm in doing 25 minutes of cardio after weight training. It's never affected my gains. However, I wouldn't recommend it being intense cardio. Just enough to get your heart rate up to around 120 bpm. If your primary goal is to add mass, make sure your diet is tailored to that, as Guejsn suggested.

Unless you have a ridiculously fast metabolism, and it sounds like you don't, then there's no way you're going to attain a high degree of definition without aerobic activity. Anaerobic fitness is just one facet of a healthy body.

[IRONPOPE]

i think aerobics are a over rated for fat loss. the bottom line fat loss = calories burned > Calories consumed.. i see alot of fat joggers than can run miles.

diet + supplements + heavy iron training one good way to getting cut....cardio can speed it up at the risk of muscles loss....cardio also can cover for the big mac and fries u have to eat every day for lunch.

i still say cardio is over-rated...diet is paramount

[jb562]

thanks for the input! I think ill take the intensity down a little and only on off days. give it a try at least.

[bezoe]

thanks for the input! I think ill take the intensity down a little and only on off days. give it a try at least.

It's ok to do slow sustained cardio after weight training. I use this method to manage fat gain when bulking. 20-30 minutes, slow sustained cardio at a moderate heart rate (like rubbering said 120 is good but it depends on your weight and metabolism). You'll most likely deplete all of your glycogen stores during weights if you train intensly enough, therefore the cardio session afterwards would be utilizing fat stores for energy. It's harder to "burn muscle" than you think, as long as your cals are up. Calories in < calories out will result in total weight loss.

[TheDarkHalf]

Do whatever your body feels like doing. Try doing cardio in the AM and PWO and see which one you like better. I'm usually so drained after I lift that I don't need to do any cardio. I usually hit 30-60 min in the AM fasted depending on how I feel.

[darkvard]

I would separate sessions

although i do walk 15 mins on my way back home and it does not seem to hurt much.

[ccapone1153]

i still say cardio is over-rated...diet is paramount

i agree i wouldnt add any cardio in until all weight loss from restricted cals had stopped.. then maybe add in a lil cardio. i wouldnt start cardio training from the get go because then u have less future options of things to change when fat loss has stopped. lose fat thru diet first, than cardio as a second option when u are leaner.

[jb562]

yeah, I "think" my diet cant get much better. Just started my PH cycle and going to lay off the cardio for a while. I dont eat any junk food and protein intake is around 300 grams/ day, my carbs are usually all very high in fiber and whole grains and all is low in the G.I., I like to time carb intake high in the am and taper off in the pm and my last meal or 2 does'nt have any carbs at all. No sugar or fats, just EFA's. My b.f.% is 12.4 and My bmi is 27.2, so I'll keep my eye on both! I just have little fat packs under the pecs. and my lower abdominals and it's f*cking pissing me off, just want it gone, been working on it for a while now and not gonna stop till I win!!!

[bbbeast]

Aerobics stops and slows down muscle gains. If you wanna get big you must stop wasting your calories. If you wanna get lean burn your calories and eat less calories. If you wanna gain lean mass,(low muscle gains-low fat burn) combine those...

[Rodja]

Why do people still say that cardio is over-rated? It's the most important form of exercise for the body.

[jim623]

Why do people still say that cardio is over-rated? It's the most important form of exercise for the body.

I agree, I stopped running for a while and started getting winded during weight training. Recently picked up the running again and I'm getting my endurance back during lifting sessions.

[ccapone1153]

Why do people still say that cardio is over-rated? It's the most important form of exercise for the body.

well i for one was speaking from a strictly muscle gain point of view. not the cardiovascular benifits point of view.

[Rodja]

well i for one was speaking from a strictly muscle gain point of view. not the cardiovascular benifits point of view.

The CV benefits are infinitely more important.

[ccapone1153]

no1 is saying that its not important.

[lorbaby69]

The best cardio for weight loss is High intensity interval training. that's where you sprint for a given time with recovery at a slower pace. I find that 45 second sprint intervals with a 45 second-1 min walk/jog in between works best (for 20 minutes). Usually I weight train then do cardio (after having a protein shake and chilling for a bit) By doing this, your body is already in fat burning mode because your glycogen stores are depleted. The protein shake aids in maintaining muscle, so your body will be more likely to use fat for energy. Don't eat any carbs until after your cardio though, because you don't want your body to use the carbs for energy. just protein. hope that helps...

[Carcaya]

From my own experimentation, cardio does not kill my actual my muscle mass gains. In the past 3 and a half weeks I have been recomping at 218 down to 213, but I am pretty sure that I am up in lean mass. I do 4 moderate cardio sessions weekly post workout with my heart rate goal at 143 sustained. I eat 2800 calories 45% carbs, 35% protein, and 20% fats and train with a 5 day split.

My point is . . I don't think cardio tells your body to stop building muscle. In fact, after legs day I think it helps eliminate blood pooling and postively impacts nutrient delivery.

[jb562]

The best cardio for weight loss is High intensity interval training. that's where you sprint for a given time with recovery at a slower pace. I find that 45 second sprint intervals with a 45 second-1 min walk/jog in between works best (for 20 minutes). Usually I weight train then do cardio (after having a protein shake and chilling for a bit) By doing this, your body is already in fat burning mode because your glycogen stores are depleted. The protein shake aids in maintaining muscle, so your body will be more likely to use fat for energy. Don't eat any carbs until after your cardio though, because you don't want your body to use the carbs for energy. just protein. hope that helps...

Ya know, it kind of makes sense! almost like treating cardio like a weight lifting session. Huge bursts of energy and rest periods as if your doing bench presses or deads or something. max out in sprints and rest and repeat, OK, I'll give it a try. I've heard of HIIT but it just kind of made more sense to me just now! Thanks bro, good lookin out! I'll try it out after my cycle.