Cardio

[clhp20]

CARDIO
Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but the leanest physique possible, while still carrying the optimal amount of muscle mass is not possible without cardio. I remember a top American Amateur a few years back who was pretty full of himself because of a lot of magazine exposure he was getting. He came to the North American Championships one year and let everyone know he
couldn't decide between doing cardio or just increasing the amount of G.H. he took. He was proud to let everyone know he chose the latter. As soon as I heard that I was brimming with confidence.

Those who buy into the "body by pharmacy idea", especially at the expense of a proper work ethic, as in this case, will usually show the result of such faulty logic. This guy didn't even place and ended up screaming at windmill's while my client, who toiled at cardio for 16 weeks, won the class victory and the overall title. I love when hard work pays off, especially when it is smart, hard work. And that is the key with cardio. Cardio is used only to jump start the oxidative energy pathway of fat burning and increasing overall BMR throughout the day. No more than two cardio sessions per day should be performed and for no more than 35 minutes. Remember cardio represents the aerobic exercise continuum and weight training represents the anaerobic
continuum.

If we take examples of athletes at both extremes we see the difference each exercise pathway has on a physique. High intensity short duration athletes like sprinters have very muscular and tight lean bodies. Long distance, marathon runners on the other hand have very scrawny, almost atrophied looking physiques. Therein lie the difference and the danger. You see, in
the aerobic energy pathway there is a danger of losing muscle.

When doing cardio for a prolonged period or when calories are in short supply, as when a body is already lean, energy is released from the muscles. This energy is released from the Branch chain amino acids and delivered to the liver where it is re-converted into sugar to fuel the activity. This is called gluconeogenesis, and it is a way to lose muscle in the name of trying to get lean.

Yes, the best time to do cardio is early upon arising or in an unfed state. This way the body is more prone to contributing free fatty acids to the activity. It is important also to keep the pace high but the tension low to medium so that glycogen is not wasted.If cardio is being done in conjunction with weight training then always do cardio after weight training.
This way most glycogen has already been used during the high intensity weight training, and therefore more fat will contribute to the cardio session. Hormonal manipulation also plays a role here. Insulin levels should be low.

Recently I was in a gym where I noticed a competitor eating a meal, consisting of protein and starch carbs WHILE riding the bike. I tried to explain to him why this was a mistake but he was of the opinion he knew what he was doing. (Actually I felt bad for him because he will be going against one of my clients, who will certainly destroy him, so I thought I would at least give him a tip to help him out). Anyway, people who have read my pre-contest dieting article know that eating while training, including carb drinks or whatever is a bad idea and even worse for cardio.

You see the intake of food and especially carbs causes the release of insulin not to mention sending excessive blood to the gut to help digest food so there is less going to working muscles.
Anyway, the problem with the insulin release is the feedback effect of hormones. The release of insulin causes the blocking of the hormone glucagon, which is responsible for the breakdown of fatty acids and glycogen to deliver energy to working muscles. Therefore the result is a shunted energy supply, the likely storing of the food being eaten, and less fat burning than would have otherwise been possible. Cardio for immediate fat burning and increasing the BMR throughout the day is a good way to insure holding on to lean body mass, because an athlete can eat more to fuel his muscles while not worrying about storing the kcals as fat. The trick is to do it without losing muscle, and by creating the most optimal situation for fat burning as outlined above…




Taken from Scott Abel

[lucabratzi]

good thread, fvckin hard to read though

[clhp20]

I fixed it. i think.....

[clhp20]

yup.

[Crazylegs]

Yup good read

[jixxxer]

Great read, I agree.