# cardio without losing muscle



## owen (Feb 23, 2009)

im attempting to get a bit leaner for the summer. i was just wondering whats the best cardio to do for getting lean but the problem is that i want to but size on aswell and its hard for me to put weight on . I want to be leaner but bigger and not 100% sure whats the best cardio for this. I could do with advice on times of cardio am or after training aswell as how long? thanks

owen :thumb:


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## glanzav (Sep 11, 2008)

id do ur cardio for 40 mins just at a steady pace on the cross trainer

dont no wat ur bodyfat is like at the mo if its pretty low just do it after training

if its quiet high do 40mins in the morning on an empty stomoach then 40mins after training

anymore really and u start burning into muscle for fuel


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## bravo9 (Nov 5, 2008)

Dont do it on an empty stomach mate, have a whey protein shake before your cardio, after your weight training you could do 20mins steady cardio, diet is mainley the key mate


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## gerg (Aug 17, 2008)

metabolic conditioning (basically doing compound movements, at slightly higher rep ranges, and resting little as possible)


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## willsey4 (Apr 21, 2008)

Try 30 min light intensity cardio say 60% on the cross trainer or walking on an incline on the treadmill. I like to do mine first thing in the morning as that is what I feel is most effective for me.


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## Growing Lad (Feb 14, 2009)

i like the cross trainer, dont feel like im working just walking and running causes me to lose muscle so cross trainer is a happy medium.

as long as you keep pro high, keep lifting intensely and have a slight calorie defecit, just add 30-40min cardio on the days you dont do weights and increase when fatloss stalls.


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## willsey4 (Apr 21, 2008)

Growing Lad said:


> i like the cross trainer, dont feel like im working just walking and running causes me to lose muscle so cross trainer is a happy medium.
> 
> as long as you keep pro high, keep lifting intensely and have a slight calorie defecit, just add 30-40min cardio on the days you dont do weights and increase when fatloss stalls.


If you walk on a treadmill with an incline it has the same effect as doing a light jog


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## Growing Lad (Feb 14, 2009)

willsey4 said:


> If you walk on a treadmill with an incline it has the same effect as doing a light jog


i think its just in my head. cant bring myself to walk, incline or no incline :laugh:


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## Tinytom (Sep 16, 2005)

LOL at the losing muscle through cardio mindset

This will only happen if you are on a very restricted low calorie diet and your nutrition is crap.

People confuse losing muscle with losing the nice bulky look they get from being fat.

Believe me you will only go into muscle wastage when doing marathon type workouts.


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## Growing Lad (Feb 14, 2009)

agreed ^^

Tom do you do cardio off season aswell? i find it helps me with appetite, struggle to eat enough otherwise.

do u do mentoring?


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## Goose (Jan 29, 2009)

So I should cut out the 20mile run pre breakfast then?

:lol:

I normally do rowing for cardio but after everyone say you will lose muscle kind of scared me off!


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## SOUTHMAN (Sep 14, 2008)

dude watch that strong the movie and see the stuff they are doing, training loads with weights and high intensity GPP plus the football training they are doing and they aint wasting away.

If your diets right you wont loose muscle


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## Darylbethyname (Dec 2, 2008)

Tinytom said:


> LOL at the losing muscle through cardio mindset
> 
> This will only happen if you are on a very restricted low calorie diet and your nutrition is crap.
> 
> ...


amen. why do so many people have a phobia of cardio? i think its just laziness. there's times on this forum that i was told if i did any cardio on my rest day that it would burn my muscle. i think the general rule is to keep it under an hour yeah?


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## Tinytom (Sep 16, 2005)

Yes more than an hour and I really think you need to assess your diet a bit more.

I do cardio off season as well but its only about 20 minutes each morning before breakfast, If I dont then I find it hard to eat all my meals in the day.


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## Goose (Jan 29, 2009)

hmm I'm scoffing my 4,000 calories a day so maybe If I did cardio every morning I could up them for more growth as I seem to get stuck around the 105kg mark.


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## BoomTime (Feb 19, 2009)

as said you wont loose muscle without your heart rate going super high 180+ keep your heart rate between 130-160 and you will be burning fat steadily


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## Cymru (Apr 8, 2008)

What's more effective for fat burning: 20-30 mins on an exercise bike at a moderate pace? Or HIIT on an exercise bike for about 10 mins?


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## gerg (Aug 17, 2008)

Cymru said:


> What's more effective for fat burning: 20-30 mins on an exercise bike at a moderate pace? Or HIIT on an exercise bike for about 10 mins?


or lift some weights, add muscle mass, and increase your BMR

given those two choices I'd say HIIT might be slightly better, and at the very least would improve fitness. For just 10 minutes though it better be fkcing intense, your legs should be about to explode, and your lungs breathing fire.


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