Double Cardio??

[ghaladen]

Something I've noticed in the past 6 weeks. My nutrition has been good (cept a few slips here and there...and an obvious Quizno's nightmare if you read my thread), and my weight training is coming along very nicely. I'm starting to see some nice muscle definition in my arms, shoulders, chest, and legs. However, I haven't lost much fat, I'm still stuck around the 18% to 20% body fat percentage range. Nor has my weight gone down any (still around 228 first thing in the morning, and up to 233 later in the day).

My schedule is usually as such: 5 days a week (Monday-Friday, 2 cardio days, 2 upper body workouts, and 1 lower body workout).

I want to see more body fat come off, the last thing I want to look like is a pregnant bodybuilder (nothing personal, ladies. Being pregnant is an absolutely beautiful thing, just not on dudes, especially built ones).

I read somewhere that sometimes athletes double up on cardio (twice a day) for a few weeks before competition to seriously shrink their fat down in a shorter time. I'm thinking that may work for the last 6 weeks of my program. But at the same time, I don't want to slow, stop or reverse the muscle growth I've received so far.

I did mention I'm having trouble with cardio in another thread, I should be more specific and say I'm having trouble with HIIT, more than 2-3 sessions a week are painful. Steady state is a different story, I can do that for forever.

So what I'm thinking is 10 cardio sessions a week (unless I have something to do that day during lunchtime(company meeting lunch, run an errand, etc)

And basically have a schedule like this

Monday Morning: 20 min cardio (SS) / 45 min Upper Body
Monday Afternoon: 30 min cardio (SS)

Tues Morn: 45 min (HIIT/SS mix)
Tue Afternoon: 30 min (SS)

Wednesday morning: 20 min cardio (SS) / 45 min Lower Body
Wednesday afternoon: 30 min cardio (SS)

Thursday morning: 45 min (HIIT/SS mix)
Thursday afternoon: 30 min cardio (SS)

Friday morning: 20 min cardio (SS) / 45 min Upper Body
Friday afternoon: 30 min cardio(SS)

Saturday / Sunday: Rest (this is mandatory due to outside obligations, otherwise I'd do the 6 day BFL thing)

I tried this today (45 min HIIT/SS in the morn, 30 min SS at lunch), and also have become intimate with the stationary bike(since running for more than two days hurts my legs). Might try the elliptical next.

But does anyone see an issue with this. I know I won't be able to bulk as much if I focus hardcore on fat loss(since losing fat, and gaining massive muscle are nearly impossible to do at the same time), but I don't want to lose what I've earned so far. Does anyone see long term issues with this? Anyone done anything like this?

[blondebunny]

Personally i would just do one cardio session a day. I do about 40 mins daily and am finding it works well. With you being male you will burn it faster than I would so I think one session a day would help.
My cardio is moderate intensity and my heart rate is usually at the high end of where it should be during exercise for about 15 mins of it.

[gnash]

Hey gh...

That is probably the "wildest" w/o training strategy that I have ever seen..

Try that for 6 weeks,keep some training records on it, and let us know how it works out...

gnash

[WannaBsexy]

Dang dude! Like to see how it works out for ya!

[Maljonic]

I don't see any problems with it at all, it's all exercise one way or another. I extended my pre weights cardio yesterday and it was great, I was going to start a thread about it till I saw this one. It's amazing how accustomed you body becomes, like I normally do 20 minutes on the bike but yesterday I did 30 minutes instead and I actually started to sweat more just a couple of minutes past my regular time. I think your body gets so used to what you do and, in my case, has the energy reserves to do the 20 minute exercise with ease... but as soon as you start doing stuff it hasn't adapted to it has to work a lot harder.

Anyway, so I think it's good to do the extra cardio if it's getting too easy, and you can really up the energy burn by throwing in a random exercise now and again that you wouldn't normally do, like trying one of the machines you never tried before, or hardly ever use. You work up a sweat real quickly when you switch stuff around from time to time.

[gnash]

That proposed volume is 435 minutes per week...the current standard for sustainable volume is max 300 minutes. (45% over is big load)

Fitness athletes have to manage intensity and volume to prevent burnout and/or injury..too much time at the gym is as bad as too little..

55-60 minutes,plus shower time is a healthy routine..

That is not to say that I haven't overdone the volume and intensity myself..We all have to experiment..

[Chris]

Keep in mind that fat burns from the inside out. You are building your 6 pack now and as soon as the belly slims you'll see the results. Just keep at or close to the recommended activity level. Your results will really start increasing during the last 4 weeks.
If you train too hard you'll likely get an injury, a huge setback, and possibly quit working out all together. Increasing time and/or intensity is fine. Just don't "kill" yourself in the process. You'll be fine.

Keep up the great work!

[Maljonic]

I was thinking about this today and realized there may be a problem with it after all that you may not have considered. Ignoring the possibility of overworking your muscles, there is a chance that you'll just get tired of going to the gym and pack it in all together - especially if it becomes a chore and you're not really enjoying it.

If you take the phrase "Body For Life" literally, can you really see yourself going to the gym twice a day like that for the rest of your life? I think one of the things about the BFL program is that it's designed to be sustainable, to work around your normal life, but I think it might become tedious at best, unless you work at a gym, to keep going there as often as you are now. You have to take that into consideration, will doing twice as much cardio make you sick of it in the long run and stop you doing it all together?

[lillyo]

Yes, overtraining is a concern as far as burning out.

Chris: GREAT point on abs that won't show right away!

[jonredbird]

Re: overtraining--

If you are worried about not getting enough cardio, how about supplementing "normal life" stuff rather than exercise??

For instance, I read the other day that the average Amish man walk between 15K-18K steps a day! That is around eight miles of WALKING--not even counting the labor being done. Buddy of mine just got back from Italy---said he couldn't believe how fit everyone was, not like "weightlifter" fit, but just toned and natural looking. He said the big difference is that they walk EVERYWHERE.

So maybe add some normal things to your day like walking, walking dog, playing out in the yard with dog, etc. Not really organized exercise, but before you know it, you're burning another 250cals. I am not speaking from experience, but from ambition. My thing is playing with my dogs---I have two boxers with loads of energy and I'm trying to do FUN stuff with them, that is good for me and makes them happy.

[blondebunny]

Those are great ideas Jon. I know i park farther from the grocery stores now, take steps instead of elevators. Walking is so good for you and in todays society its almost forgotten. Its great you have the dogs to walk with. They are cute by the way. I like that pic.