Understanding how cardio works?

hey,
i understand that cardio is good for the heart and for burning fat obviously. I just dont understand how it works though... for example, lets say you do a light run for 20 mins and burn 300 calories, now if you eat 5000 calories a day wouldnt that just subtract from the calories you ate that day meaning you dont really lose any fat? therefore you just lose gaining size that night cause you've lost the extra calories?

I know there must be a explenation for this as i said i dont understand how it works. Im just curious cause im bulking at the moment and i dont want to lose anything from keeping me growing at max, although id like to shed some fat too. In which case should i do cardio although im bulking?

Im talking about all this whilst on cycle, not natural.

-thanx :)

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Originally Posted by BigAJ

hey,
i understand that cardio is good for the heart and for burning fat obviously. I just dont understand how it works though... for example, lets say you do a light run for 20 mins and burn 300 calories, now if you eat 5000 calories a day wouldnt that just subtract from the calories you ate that day meaning you dont really lose any fat? therefore you just lose gaining size that night cause you've lost the extra calories?

I know there must be a explenation for this as i said i dont understand how it works. Im just curious cause im bulking at the moment and i dont want to lose anything from keeping me growing at max, although id like to shed some fat too. In which case should i do cardio although im bulking?

Im talking about all this whilst on cycle, not natural.

-thanx :)

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this why you keep your target HR at 65-75% so you do not burn muscle.. I dont know the full explanation but it may be better asked in the workout forum where swolecat will probably answer you.

im talking about whilst on cycle, i thought on cycle it was hard to burn muscle doing cardio. I no its not impossible but not easy either.

yeh i realised this is prolly the wrong section for this thing :P.. ill move it.

very easily to burn muscle while on cycle...once your body enters a catabolic state it will not grow and intense cardio will cause you to burn muscle. I know i have been there myself and done it before i became more knowledgeable. I used to do 1hr cardio (1000cal) after weights and i wasnt gaining muscle but losing a lot of weight which was also my goal at the time.

Yor Basal metabolic rate still burns up 70% of your energy at rest, doing nothing laying still, simply making a note of how many calories you have burned on a treadmill is not an accurate way of assessing calories burnt

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Originally Posted by Bigun

Yor Basal metabolic rate still burns up 70% of your energy at rest, doing nothing laying still, simply making a note of how many calories you have burned on a treadmill is not an accurate way of assessing calories burnt

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By doing that cardio exercise, you will be increasing your bmr for the rest of the day as well. That's why it's always a good idea to workout on cheat days in your diet, which a lot of guys tend not to do. This will help to burn off all those additional calories and limit fat accumulation.
You should always do cardio when bulking to keep your cardiovascular system in good health, especially when taking gear since it has a negative impact on cardiovascular health. Doing 20min 3 times a week is good while bulking.

If your goal is to burn fat with cardio - you probably want to go for 35 - 40 min at 65 - 70% max HR. Your body doesnt really start mobilizing fat stores for energy until about 20 min into the exercise. You will boost your bmr doing cardio - thats why a lot of people suggest doing it in the morning. For bulking tho - cut back some like Ejuicer said.

I've had success burning fat at 60-65% HR for 45-60 minutes.