Cardio

SpAcEd OuT

Quick question on cardio, personally I don't do it because I dont want to burn off potential muscle mass, but my mate says doing cardio makes you a lot more toned and is trying to persaude me to do it, How much potential muscle will cardio burn off?

LundiMardi

it shouldn't burn any once you keep your heart rate within the required range.

amazingemmet

You won't burn muscle if your diet is correct.

SpAcEd OuT

as in eat lots of protein or what?

I've only recently started lifting big so I dont want to compromise anything, care to elaborate?

g'em

check your diet against this, this, this and this to see what we mean

amazingemmet

<snipped>

Always one step ahead g'em

g'em

amazingemmet wrote:

Always one step ahead g'em

that's why ye call me cap'n

amazingemmet

No we call you captain as you wouldn't play otherwise, if you look at the times though i reckon you just type faster then me.

g'em

amazingemmet wrote:

No we call you captain as you wouldn't play otherwise, if you look at the times though i reckon you just type faster then me.

still bitter just coz I beat you at arm-wrestling?!??!

OP- cardio is a really important part of any training schedule, it keeps your heart (one of the most powerful muscles your body has) healthy. Its the intensity that matters. The higher the intensity, the more calories are drawn from muscle. Heavy lifters would tend to do lower intensity cardio.

babypink

definitely do cardio.....its a really important part of your overall workout. g'em and amazingemmet are right on the money....

try and incorporate it into your daily routine if you can.....get off the bus a couple of stops early, walk somewhere instead of cycling of otherwise. If you can manage it go for a ramble during lunch or for a bit in the evenings. It doesn't take long and makes a big difference

Dragan

SpAcEd OuT wrote:

because I dont want to burn off potential muscle mass

You need to be doing a significant ammount of cardio on a weekly basis in order to truly compromise any potential muscle growth. The best thing to do is do your cardio on a non lifting day to avoid the effects of the test and GH drop that cardio can bring about.
Remember as well, that if you have just started weights your muscles should grow very well once you eat riht and work them well.

Imagine your body is like a high performance car. Would the Jordan team send out a slick looking F1 car to the race with no engine? I don't think so.

Smellyirishman

Hum, as an aside to this then...

I am trying to bulk a bit and am happy with my diet (although I do need to start stuffing in some more scoff!), however, I am contemplating cycling to college each morning (that's 4 days/week and an hour each way, or lets say at least twice a week). I was hoping that adding some extra carbs would allow me to maintain weight gain and hopefully the cycling would help build some muscle.

I play GAA, so cycling seemed like natural progression for endurance (plus it's faster than the bus). I would train for GAA once a week with a match Sunday, weight training is Wed, Fri and another day I can get during the week (Saturday or Sunday usually, depending on match).

I realise I will probably plateau earlier because of the cycling, but can you gurus offer any advice as to how I can maintain gains while cycling? (My Dad mentioned something about pasta packing, just crammin' in pasta to use for cycling but said it may not be a good idea)

t-ha

Smellyirishman wrote:

Hum, as an aside to this then...

I am trying to bulk a bit and am happy with my diet (although I do need to start stuffing in some more scoff!), however, I am contemplating cycling to college each morning (that's 4 days/week and an hour each way, or lets say at least twice a week). I was hoping that adding some extra carbs would allow me to maintain weight gain and hopefully the cycling would help build some muscle.

I play GAA, so cycling seemed like natural progression for endurance (plus it's faster than the bus). I would train for GAA once a week with a match Sunday, weight training is Wed, Fri and another day I can get during the week (Saturday or Sunday usually, depending on match).

I realise I will probably plateau earlier because of the cycling, but can you gurus offer any advice as to how I can maintain gains while cycling? (My Dad mentioned something about pasta packing, just crammin' in pasta to use for cycling but said it may not be a good idea)

No your dad is right on the money. There's no big problem doing cardio when bulking, as long as you eat more to make up for the calories you use, and packing in the pasta is as good a way to do it as any (or jaffa cakes, mmmmmm.... & easier to eat more of if you're having trouble getting the calories in). The human body is remarkably adaptable to high levels of training stress/volume as long as you keep it fed. If you find yourself getting overtrained, you could cut back a bit on the cycling or cycle slowly for a while.

Edit: Don't expect any huge leg gains from cycling - unless your doing sprints up a steep hill it's not really the kind of exercise that does that. It will build your CV system though, heart n' lungs n' all that.

Smellyirishman

Sounds good thanks, yeah I was not expecting it to build too much muscle, but build them a bit (at least in a different way than weights will).