Cardio

[shmeegs]

I love lifting. I lift three times a week. But with me trying to get bigger and eating more, I have a belly bulge. This means it's time for me to get into doing cardio again. Problem is, I HATE CARDIO!!! I played hockey, baseball, I wrestled, and after all that running and skating, I stopped doing cardio all together. I won't run so that's out and other than riding a stationary bike, I am not even remotely interested in doing any sort of cardio. I even changed the way I lifted to be more cardio like.

Was doing:
Split workouts (Upper one day, lower the next, rest one day, repeat)
3 sets x 6-8 reps (rest for 3 minutes in between)
12-14 exercises

Now doing:
Full body work outs
2 sets x 10 (20 secs of rest in between)
negative forced reps (4 seconds down, 2 up)
12 exercises

Even with doing all of that, I still feel I need some cardio. I was used to doing sprints instead of long timed cardio. So what is the usual length of a cardio session?

 

[The Nid Hog]

Try Crossfit or perhaps Crossfit Endurance. Minimal distance running, lots of effective and varied cardio.

 

[Argonaut]

Russian kettle bell workout, do or do not, there is no try.

 

[OldSchoolYoungin]

Mate, the one thing you haven't mentioned and the most important, by far, is your diet. What does your diet look like? What's your basal metabolic rate? What sort of caloric deficit are you in?

In my years as a trainer, the number one thing that people neglect is their nutritional regimen. More often than not, people undershoot their calories when they're dieting and overshoot it when they're trying to gain weight. In other words: They think they're consuming enough calories to lose when in fact they're not and they're consuming too few calories to gain it.

Cardio is a means to an end as far as fat loss is concerned. It should be used as a tool to lose fat; not the main contributor to the goal. Don't get me wrong, it's important, yes, but what you're eating every day is far more important.

Now, you mention that you don't like low-intensity cardio. That's understandable: It's boring; physically draining and, let's face it, you could be lot more productive things in that time period. However, I've found that in myself and other people I've trained, low-intensity cardio is the way to go if you're looking to lose as little muscle as possible.

I know, I know, there are all sorts of people that can cite studies that show this and that (high intensity cardio) is actually better for fat loss as opposed to low-intensity. But, I'm here to tell you now, and you certainly don't have to take my word for it, but higher-intensity cardio (HIIT, etc) is far more catabolic than lower intensity for both myself and people that I've trained.

Different strokes for different folks, but, all things considered, I think that low-intensity is the way to go. If that's the case, I'd start with 20-30 minutes a day three days per week. If that's not doing the trick, increase it to four or five. Preferably, this is done at an incline on the treadmill or stairmaster. Over the course of several weeks, increase the time by 5-10 minutes every week or so and increase the days as necessary.

***Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and take no responsibility for your own misdoings and/or ignorance in these instances. Listen to your body and find out what's best for you.***

If you plan on doing high-intensity, aka HIIT, please be careful with your general health because it can be taxing. However, if you're dead-set on doing it, I'd recommend a 15/45 interval (15 seconds sprint/ 45 seconds moderate) to start with as your body adjusts to it. For starters, I'd recommend 4-6 minutes of this two to four times a week. Over time, increase to 30/30 intervals and, eventually, 45/15.

Again, individual physiology plays a huge part into this and these recommendations can be adjusted as needed. Please be careful with any of this, and, if necessary, consult your physician before doing these things.

 

[pb300]

Cycling. Low impact and you can make it any intensity you want. It also helps strengthen and stretch your lower back, and gets you outside for some sun.

If you can't ride though, I would keep up with the circuit training you've started on and swim if your gym has a pool. Also take a look into the p90x and insanity workout videos as some of them are very high on the cardio scale.

 

[Obsessed]

Russian kettle bell workout, do or do not, there is no try.

Yes, according to Pavel, it allow you to lose fat without the "dishonor of aerobics"!

 

[thebikingengineer]

If you want to lose weight then you have to eat less. If you want to add a cardio element to your workouts either do some kettlebells or work a few circuit traning days in to your week. Really though, diet is by far the biggest contributor to weight. Also, you might try shifting your weight up and reps down to stress your muscles more. Get down to a weight at 5-7 reps to failure and you'll see more muscle development. This will need more like a 45-60 second rest between sets.

If you do want to do some running or cycling or something like that, try interval training. It mixes things up and gets you a more effective workout. When I was bicycle racing I liked the 30-30 intervals (30 seconds full blast, 30 seconds rest, repeat until you start to white out), those'll get you in shape really fast (as long as you eat enough and sleep a lot).

 

[TimmyBoston]

Get a bike. It's the most fun cardio workout I've found.

 

[SalvadorMontenegro]

I'm the opposite, I love to run and don't much care for lifting weights.

If you eat healthy, running for 25-45 minutes (depending upon your intensity), three or four times a week should be good. I'm not sure about biking, as I've never done it.

I run for about an hour at a pace of about 7.5 miles per hour, three or four times a week. I used to run as much as possible, but I'm getting lazy with age.

I think running outside helps.

 

[Stubblefield]

I love lifting. I lift three times a week. But with me trying to get bigger and eating more, I have a belly bulge. This means it's time for me to get into doing cardio again. Problem is, I HATE CARDIO!!!

I hear you. And if you were in a bulking phase, it is expected that you would now have a little fat around the midsection. It is very common; expected, really.

Assuming your caloric intake has been re-aligned toward dropping weight, cutting processed carbs, alcohol, etc., my suggestion would be to walk and hike. An hour hike, 3 days per week. I would not necessarily suggest circuit training etc, as I assume you are still lifting. I would also not suggest a ton of high intensity cardio as the increase in overall stress is counter-productive to weight loss. I'll dig up more info to prove my point. Also, make sure you are getting at lest 8 hours of good sleep.

 

[Pioneer]

HIIT (high intensity interval training). Google it - it works.

 

[Go West Young Man]

You need to break out of the "it's good for me so I have to suffer through it mentality" and find some activity that gives you the cardio work you need in a format you'll enjoy coming back to regularly.

Join a rec hockey team. Ride your bike. Hike a mountain. Stuff like that.

 

[Pescara]

HIIT (high intensity interval training). Google it - it works.

For the ultimate variation on HIIT, google "Tabata training" & "burpees"

 

[ofelas]

For the ultimate variation on HIIT, google "Tabata training" & "burpees"

+1 for Tabata; I do it three times a week immediately followed by hillsprints/stairs & bagwork/speedball.

 

[SRock]

Crossfit or P90X?

Get a bike. It's the most fun cardio workout I've found.

+1 Biking is def more fun.

I hate running with a passion but nothing I do works as well as running. Once you get things headed in the direction you want you could certainly back off and cross train. Run 1x per week, cycle 2x per week, swim 2x per week and stick to your work out. You'd be surprised what that'll do for you.

 

[kyo_clone]

i would say hiit to becuase its done in prolly half the time of normal jogging!