I think Im right here, but high intensity cardio (sprinting, high-rep power cleans, etc) is going to pull from glycogen initially, as its more of an anerobic activity.
People seem to have great results from HIIT training though in regards to fatloss...perhaps the short sprints eat up glycogen reserves and when you shift back to moderate intensity there's more fat to burn. I believe the concept is that even though you burn more calories from fat at a moderate intensity (65% Max HR), you burn more total calories at a higher intensity so, if you're diet is locked down it will result in a larger net caloric defecit resulting in more fat lost. Like Viper mentioned, you probably wouldnt want to do HIIT cardio after working out because your glycogen levels are already depleted.
There's so many people with so much conflicting information that its definitely overwhelming when you're trying to plot out the bast fat loss plan for yourself. Some people say no cardio, other people say cardio's fine...personally I think people are over-complicating the issue to the extreme.
Eating a clean diet with proper macronutrient ratios (40/40/20 works best for me) is the first part.
Dividing your diet up into 6 evenly spaced meals throughout the day keeps the metabolism churning all day long.
Intense weight training helps you keep muscle mass while further elevating the metabolism, and your cardio adds to the caloric defecit that will equate to fat loss if all of the above is in order.
Most people (myself included!) often fail to focus on the basics and instead obcess over the minor details. Eat right, eat clean, eat often, train hard, and run your ass off...Im finding out that's basically it in a nutshell. Everything else...time of day, type of cardio, supplements, etc, are just tweaks, icing on the fatloss cake. Important, definitely, but the core of it is much simpler than people make it out to be.
As for as the intensity argument I am an intensity person. Look at a sprinter and look at a marathoner and tell me.
That's true, but a marathoner does cardio in the extreme, and has very little muscle mass. A sprinter has to have a decent musculature to develop the type of power necessary for the sport, and that in itself will equate to a leaner body. Cardio to a bodybuilder is not catabolic. TOO MUCH cardio is definitely catabolic. Ive read that over 60 minutes of moderate intensity is too much, and personally I dont go over 45.
For mesos and endos muscle catabolism is overblown IMO, however not everyone has the same body. Losing any mass is hell for me...fat or muscle.
If you're an extreme ecto then yeah, maybe the same amount of cardio that would get a meso-type ripped would result in you being emaciated. I'd still bet this could be prevented with proper dietary measures though, More frequent refeeds, higher carbs in your nutrient ratios, etc. Before you blame the cardio for your muscle loss take a look at the other parts of the equation. Is your diet the best fat-loss plan for your bodytype? Are you training properly? Getting enough rest?
So say you workout for 1.5 to 2 hours more like 1.5 but just in case. How far along into the workout should you drink some protein? The most I ever really do PWO cardio is 35 to 40 minutes anyway at low to mid intensity.
Personally, I wouldnt spend more than 1.5 hours in the gym. 60 minutes on the weights and 30 minutes of cardio. My preworkout meal is usually 45-60 minutes before training and Ill start sipping on the protien shake during my 1st or second exercise. Leaving the protien until afterward and drinking a BCAA mix might help as well.
In short, the whole cardio is catabolic myth is just that - a myth. When your dieting to lose fat and preserve muscle, a proper diet and well-timed refeeds are going to keep your LBM, while cardio is essential for creating the caloric deficit that will result in the loss of fat. Assuming you're training naturally, fat loss (while preseving LBM) takes a
long time. For instance - if your a nice and bulked out 17% bodyfat and want to get down to 7 or 8%, expect to eat strict, train hard, and run your ass off for at least 16-20 weeks. Dietary tweaks like carbohydrate cycling, caloric tapering, doing your cardio first thing in the AM, etc will shave some time off but fat loss is still a very long, slow, and painful process
That's what Im learning anyway..For the life of me I couldn't break the 11-12% plateau I had been stuck at for months. Then I started doing a boatload of cardio, training harder, eating more strict, and finally Im starting to see the fat come off. And Im getting a little stronger every week.
Oh well, just my $.02
BV