Pros cardio

[poiuyt]

If you are watching videos of some of the pros getting ready for asc lately, you would probably have noticed that their cardio sessions are low even very low intensity. Nothing to do with hiit for example.

Is there a reason for this?
Is it due to their body weight preventing them from running for example? Is it due to low carbs and all their energy is focused through weight lift?

 

[PiC]

i think the reason for the low intensity cardio is the heart. cuz the heart`s beating rate can not sustain the muscle mass and if its to intense it could result in a heart attack.thats my theory. cuz if u look at an gymnast or an 50 metre runner his body can sustain a very high heart rate. very good heart conditioning... anyone it might be totally bullshit, but thats my theory

 

[mvsf1]

Good question... looking forward to a good answer

 

[JMS350Z]

Lower intensity for a longer time is better for burning fat and sparing muscle.

 

[Cork]

Lower intensity for a longer time is better for burning fat and sparing muscle.

I was under the impression that a lot of Pros avoid HIIT due to muscle loss. I don't know how solid that belief is though...

 

[fitmod066]

i would say when your 5 ft. 7 in. and weigh 260 your joints can't take running or high intensity cardio. Plus steriods help peel the weight off. We must remember these guys aren't your average 190 pound amateur bodybuilder!!

 

[Ironslave]

If you are watching videos of some of the pros getting ready for asc lately, you would probably have noticed that their cardio sessions are low even very low intensity. Nothing to do with hiit for example.

Is there a reason for this?
Is it due to their body weight preventing them from running for example? Is it due to low carbs and all their energy is focused through weight lift?

Yes, there are many reasons:

1) Pros are on such a boatload of fat burners (thyroid hormones, stimulants) that many of them can get ripped as it is without cardio.

2) Pro bodybuilders have all day to workout, usually... if your average person has 3 hours a day to do low intensity cardio, be my guest. But for the most part, a mix of high and low intensity cardio is best for the amateur (look at our member Turkish1530, he's doing 30 mins of HIIT cardio still, and his progress speaks for itself, and he's natural).

3) Pro bodybuilders aren't the sharpest crayons in the shed, usually.

High intensity cardio is great for the heart, which is why i recommend it all the time. (The steroids which enlarge the heart are the major reason why bodybuilders have heart problems).

Don't look to the pros for advice, they are genetic mutants combined with chemcials. You'll get much better advice from the average genetic natural bodybuilder who has to scratch and claw for every pound of muscle gain, and fat loss.

 

[The Creator]

1) Pros are on such a boatload of fat burners (thyroid hormones, stimulants) that many of them can get ripped as it is without cardio.

Exactly

 

[ruel]

nice one ironslave! agree!

 

[Natzo]

Yes, there are many reasons:

1) Pros are on such a boatload of fat burners (thyroid hormones, stimulants) that many of them can get ripped as it is without cardio.

2) Pro bodybuilders have all day to workout, usually... if your average person has 3 hours a day to do low intensity cardio, be my guest. But for the most part, a mix of high and low intensity cardio is best for the amateur (look at our member Turkish1530, he's doing 30 mins of HIIT cardio still, and his progress speaks for itself, and he's natural).

3) Pro bodybuilders aren't the sharpest crayons in the shed, usually.

High intensity cardio is great for the heart, which is why i recommend it all the time. (The steroids which enlarge the heart are the major reason why bodybuilders have heart problems).

Don't look to the pros for advice, they are genetic mutants combined with chemcials. You'll get much better advice from the average genetic natural bodybuilder who has to scratch and claw for every pound of muscle gain, and fat loss.

What a great post!!


ps: someone has some link or other topic where HIIT was explain and discussed,cause I can only find one HIIt vs Regular cardio,and that doesn't explain what hiit is and how to do it.

 

[Natzo]

^^^^


Well I found it .

What time intervals do think works best 1min on - 1 off ?

 

[big barry]

Running/ jogging is out iof the question. im 260lbs, and i jog alittle on a tred mill. Trying to do either on tarmac, will kill the knee's as i believe it is twice your bodyweight that goes through the knee as you run/ jog.

It will eat away to much muscle and will over work some muscle groups. Plus it is more benefical to do lower intense cardio for a longer period of time, rather than a 20 minute jog.

They/ we are training for a specific sport and i think some people forget this, i have people say to me, i bet you cant run very fast??, well of course not. But i bet you can't win a bodybuilding contest?, or squat 180kg?

 

[MrChewiebitums]

Running/ jogging is out iof the question. im 260lbs, and i jog alittle on a tred mill. Trying to do either on tarmac, will kill the knee's as i believe it is twice your bodyweight that goes through the knee as you run/ jog.

you squat more than that, so whats the problem?

 

[thicknasty]

Dave Polumbo's beliefe on cardio:

Low intensity cardio keeps the heart rate and perfect range for burning fat. Anywhere between 120 and 125 bpm (beats per minute) is when the bodies primary fuel source is stored fat. Any higher than that and the bodies primary fuel source is glucos (carbohydrates) and because the carbs are so low preparing for a show there is not a sufficiant amount left fuel the body when the heart rate gets over 125 bpm. If the heart gets above 125 pbm and there is no glucos to burn, then the body starts buring muscle, which you DON"T want. It's not that bodybuilders are incapable or too lazy to do high intensity cardio, it's that high intensity cardio is just not effecient nor practical for contest prep.

 

[Ironslave]

Dave Polumbo's beliefe on cardio:

Low intensity cardio keeps the heart rate and perfect range for burning fat. Anywhere between 120 and 125 bpm (beats per minute) is when the bodies primary fuel source is stored fat. Any higher than that and the bodies primary fuel source is glucos (carbohydrates) and because the carbs are so low preparing for a show there is not a sufficiant amount left fuel the body when the heart rate gets over 125 bpm. If the heart gets above 125 pbm and there is no glucos to burn, then the body starts buring muscle, which you DON"T want. It's not that bodybuilders are incapable or too lazy to do high intensity cardio, it's that high intensity cardio is just not effecient nor practical for contest prep.

Which, for the most part, is a complete butchering of the most basic bioenergetics.

Again, if a bodybuilder is very lean already, and they have plenty of weeks left to diet, and plenty of time during the day (Palumbo basically has his clients doing aqua aerobics for 2-3 hours a day), sure, low intensity cardio will burn basically mostly fats, but in practicality, there is much more to consider.

1) Low intensity cardio burns a higher percentage of fats as a substrate for fuel as opposed to high intensity cardio... but so what? Out of any possible activity, the one that burns the absolute highest percent of energy from fats is...... sleeping. The percentage isn't that important, the total amount is more important, which high intensity cardio is infinite times better.

2) The average person isn't on the amount of chemicals as pro bodybuilders are, thus, it's difficult for them to get lean. High intensity cardio is again the way to go, especially for someone who is a bit behind on their diet, or wants to come in super lean.

3) Dave makes it entirely too simplistic when it comes to the whole "burning muscle" aspect. Which provided someone is still lifting weights, and isn't in complete starvation, isn't an easy thing to do. The whole "very low carbs" is another story for another day, but it's clear he's relying on basic physiology 101 (ie, eat carbs, release insulin, get fat), which again, is way too simplistic. It's tough to overeat on chicken breasts, but it's also tough to overeat on yams and oatmeal. The problem with "carbs" is it can often mean things like pizza, or pasta with lots of sauce, or whatever.


4) There are a magnitude of adaptations to high intensity exercise which make the body so much more efficient at preferably using fats as the source of fuel, and also having a glycogen sparing effect.

I'm not sure why he's saying that there could be no glucose left to burn, but that's wrong. If you blood glucose levels drop 10%, you're in big big trouble. Furthermore, muscle glycogen is the muscle's substrate for energy during exercise, not blood glucose. Think about marathon runners who had been running for like 5 hours in the sweltering heat, and they get so disoriented towards the end that they can't even stand.... that is an example of lowering blood glucose.

I can't run/jog very well either since I have very flat feet, and a couple lingering sport injuries, but there are other ways to do high intensity cardio. Stairmaster, burpees, elliptical, anything.

 

[Lionheart]

From my understanting when you do a cardio session at the same pace the whole time, your body goes into steady state. This means that your body has adjusted itself to the speed you are going and tries hard to conserve energy.Do high intensity interval cardio for better results.

 

[poiuyt]

http://musclemedia.com/training/hiit_table.asp

HIIT works much better for me.
I have done fast walking on incline treadmill (7km/h) for 25 min: moderate fat loss.
I am currently on 25min HIIT (30s run at 16km/h - 30s walk at 5.5km/h): good fat loss.

 

[The Creator]

IS makes some great points. Sitting here at my computer right now I am using almost 100% energy from fat. Does this mean that when I diet, I should do nothing because that burns the most fat from a percentage standpoint? No. The whole goal of fat loss is to burn more calories than you take in. I dont care how you wanna cut it, that is the bottom line. The goal of cardiovascular exercise, from a fat loss standpoint, should be to use the glucose you have available so that you dont store it and so you can burn fat the rest of the day. If you are able to reach a thousand calorie a day deficit by only incorporating low intensity cardio, then more power to you (from a fat loss standpoint). Truth is (and again this has nothing to do with cardiovascular benefits of cardiovascular training) there is no secret to cardio and which type to do. Eat less, exercise more, and you will lose body fat. No secret type of cardio will melt away body fat only and no demon type of cardio is going to just fry away muscle. Find your 500-1000 calorie deficit, meet your protein requirements, fill in other macronutrients with carbohydrates and fat and tada, you have fat loss. Now that being said, obviously bodybuilders shouldnt be running marathons to burn body fat stores. The diet should do the majority of the work and let the cardiovascular pick up the slack however you so choose.

 

[The Creator]

From my understanting when you do a cardio session at the same pace the whole time, your body goes into steady state. This means that your body has adjusted itself to the speed you are going and tries hard to conserve energy.Do high intensity interval cardio for better results.

True. According to the GAS (general adaptation syndrome) when the body experiences stress, it will react to the stress and eventually adapt to it. If you always do the same type of cardiovascular exercise, your body will become very adapt to that. Now you will still burn calories doing the exercise but you become very efficient at it. The muscles become well trained for that movement and become very efficient which CAN lead to diminishing returns. For this very reason you must always be applying progression and overload to cardio as well. Also changing the mode of exercise can be a very good choice.