thanks Nat,
doh, I didnt even think to post it in the nut/supplement section!

I also have a question about cardio... I am training for a 1/2 marathon and will be using the cardio days for my runs, do you think it will affect the weight training if I am getting more cardio than 20 min? I would think that it may mean that I dont get as toned from the weights.....

cheerio,
d

D, I split this off of the glutamine and thread and moved it to the BFL forum

I suspect that training for a marthon is more than enough cardio for you. I would not recommend adding in the 20 MAS on top of that, just in case you were wondering about that aspect.

Too much cardio can lead to wasting of muscle if you do not consume adequate protein - particularly if the cardio is of the high intensity interval type (hence, no added 20 MAS). I would suggest ensuring you get a minimum 1g of protein per lb of body weight to keep this from happening.

Cheers,
Nat

Holly Mosses~! For the 1st time in my life I’m being told that more cardio is not better!

YAY!

But hang on. I’m not doing BFL I’m simply doing Atkins with cardio 2-3 times a week and weights 3 times a week
(Cardio 2-3 x 20 runs) and (weights 3 x 1 hour full body work outs)

Recently I was thinking of increasing my cardio to everyday. What do you think about this?

Should I be doing NO cardio? One a week? or 2-3?

I like doing cardio though, I feel great afterwards, and every time I go for a run I can run further and faster and longer! Surly this cant be doing me any harm?

Loosing weight and gaining muscle are however my top 2 priorities above that of being a marathon runner.

Any thoughts?

Confused. - jake

Jake, hi there and sorry for the confusion

When I referred to more cardio being 'too much' I was referring specifically to the BFL 20 Minute Aerobic Solution (20 MAS). This has to do with the type of cardio it entails. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) can be muscle wasting if you do too much while not eating adequate protein (approx 1g per lb of body weight). Doing moderate intensity cardio does not pose the same problem. HIIT is anaerobic while moderate intensity cardio is not.

Cardio every day - so long as it's not of the HIIT type shouldn't be a problem. If you do notice that you start to feel tired or sluggish I would look to your food and ensure you are getting enough protein.

HTH
Nat

Nat-

Prior to the past couple of weeks I have maintained at least 1g protein per pound of body weight. I'm doing BFL and TKD and the CKD calculator does around .9g per body weight. Do you think I need that last .1g? Should I up the protein? For me it's a difference of 10-15g. If so, then I assume I subtract some fat to get the calories to come out right? What do ya think?

Thanks,

Sabrina

Sabrina, if you can make the CKD and BFL work together then I sure hope you're keeping a detailed gym log! Many have tried and given up, I'd be very interested in seeing how you get it to work.

Does the .1g matter? It depends - are you feeling good? Are you losing fat and maintaining your muscle? If it's working, why try and fix it? Are you doing the cardio a la CKD or a la BLF? If you're doing the moderate intensity cardio as Lyle recommends then you're probably more than fine as you are.

HTH
Nat

What is the optimum amount/type of cardio to reduce body fat??

I am currently strength-training 3x per week, getting geared up to do BFL (i.e., currently I am alternating UB and LB workouts, 2 exercises for each major muscle group, 15x12x12x10 reps each, same weight on each rep., no "high-point" thing as of yet). I've always been into cardio, 6 to 7 days a week prior to lifting weights, and have now cut back some and am working on the 20 MAS, which means A LOT less cardio than I was used to doing. It doesn't seem right to me to limit cardio to 3 days a week for fat loss. I feel like I should be doing some cardio on weight days as well, and more than 20 mins. on my cardio days.

While I definitely want to build muscle, I have quite a bit of body fat to lose. Is this the optimum amount of cardio for fat loss?

Phop, there is no definitive answer to that. You reduce body fat by creating a caloric deficit, however you go about that (be it exercise or diet induced, or both).

I'm sure You've heard the Moderate Cardio Burns More Fat Myth. If not here it is in a nutshell: Low or moderate intesity exercise burns approximately 50% of its calories from Fat. High intensity cardio burns about 40% of its calories from Fat. It would appear that you'd burn more calories from low / moderate cardio. However, you burn more total calories doing high intensity cardio.

For example, if you burn 100 calories in 20 minutes of low / moderate cardio compared to 160 calories in 10 minutes of high intensity cardio, you've still burned more total fat doing high intensity cardio.

High intensity training has another added bonus. It raises your metabolism long after you've finished working out. Low / moderate intensity training does not do this.

The general recommendation for fat loss is to workout three to five times per week at 20 to 40 minutes per session. Start conservatively if you are just starting training, e.g. three times per week, 20 minutes per session.

Like you, I was very, very hesitant to give up my cardio for the BFL 20 MAS three times a week. But I did - and it worked. I think part of why it worked so well was that it was such a big change. Our bodies respond to change - I'd been doing moderate intensity cardio for years. This was very different and it worked very well.

If you decide to do more you should read the sticky at the top of this forum 'BFL w/ LC: Tips and Hints" - especially the section on doing extra cardio. You run the risk of jeopardizing muscle growth if you increase cardio and do not also increase protein and if you short-change yourself on your sleep.

HTH
Nat

Nat-

I'm not doing CKD with BFL I'm doing TKD (basically SKD + some sweet tarts prior to weight training). I just used the CKD calculator for a guideline.

I've only been doing this a week, so it's tough to say for sure whether I need that .1g protein. Some days I am just dragging around and I can barely make it to class. Other days I've got energy to spare. My weight is going down-- down about 2.5lbs since last Wed, and during that time I have sort of switched things around several times so now I'm just working on how many sweet tarts is enough. (This morning it was too many-- I've been hungry since after breakfast and I can tell I'm not in ketosis).

But you're right-- CKD doesn't work with BFL. I tried a CKD once about a year ago but I've had problems with carb addiction and binge eating all my life and it just seemed to play into those problems, so I'm trying the TKD for now.

Nat,

When i do my cardio i normally run for about 20 mintues, find im not tired enough, so i sprint for 20 seconds then run for about 1 mintue, then sprint again etc etc i do this for about the last 5 minutes of my cardio.

I should stop this? and continue to run normally, but mabey for longer?

Ever eat pounds and pounds of those on a carb up? OUCH. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought candy eating could hurt. C-a-n-k-e-r sore.

TKD makes more sense, less inner mouth pain too Sorry 'bout the mix up - for some reason I see "CKD" (this isn't the first time that's happened).

Nat

5 minutes of HIIT isn't going to be the end of your muscle building, Jake I would suggest throwing that in somewhere in the middle of your run, instead of at the end, though. Make it part of your run every couple of days and work it in, then you can still enjoy a cool down.

Change is good. Some moderate cardio a little longer one day, a short HIIT session on a different day - keeps the body from getting complacent.

Nat

I shudder at the thought of an entire carb up of sweet tarts! I was going to switch to smarties but then I found this huge bag of "fun sized" sweet tarts on sale (halloween leftovers). Still, eating them at 5:30 in the morning is not really my idea of a yummy breakfast (which is the point-- if ate something that was a yummy carb like a bagel I would want to eat more bagels later. I can walk past the sweet tarts all day long and not wish I was eating them!) Thanks for your reply!

Sabrina! I was getting groceries tonight and I walked by the discounted Halloween stuff - they had 1.75 Kg (approx 4 lb) bags of rockets (smarties to you) for $1.99. I now have Rockets for the next year. Boy the lady at the checkout looked at me funny

Nat

Hoorah! Now we can have sore teeth together...