How much cardio without burning muscle?

**Luke** · 06-21-2002, 01:25 AM

OK, I'm entering my 4 weeks of a short cutting cycle. I'm going to Europe, so 4 weeks is all I have. Here's what I'm doing:

1) Clen and 50-75mcg T3 (proper dosage and tapering off)
2) Cut calories to below BMR
3) I'll still be on 250 Test Cyp/week and 50mg Winnie eod
4) Still regular workouts, but shorter rests, more reps, less sets, but more exercises.
5) Finally, how much cardio can one do without starting to burn muscle and yet dropping a few bf% over the 4 weeks?

THX and cheers.

**Adonis** · 06-21-2002, 06:02 AM

I would say after 30 minutes your body starts to become catabolic, so 45 min in one sitting would be the max for cardio.

It all depends on the individual though, I can do 60 minutes just fine, more than that and it takes longer for me to put more pounds on the bar.

When I want to loose weight and save muscle, I do 45min in the AM and 30 in the PM, whatch your calories and the fat will melt away.

**Buddha_Red** · 06-21-2002, 06:06 AM

if you do two cardios a day can you expect a larger fat loss than 3'ish pounds a week?

thats about what i have been seeing but im also hitting the weights three times a week AND eating clean

**PURE ADRENALINE** · 06-21-2002, 06:58 AM

I would say it mostly depends on what you eat and body type.
I am not aware of any special formula that can apply towards everybody as we all have different metabolisms and our bodies will all react differently to various cardio levels.

As a general rule of thumb IMO I would say 3 times a week at 30-45 mins would be safe normally but with your current cycle and goals I would say you can cardio ED or EOD.Really hard to say as I know guys that cardio everyday for hours playing sports and are jacked from hell. So you honestly need to try slowly increasing it and feeling out your bodies own reaction.

Again just IMO from past experience...

**primodonna** · 06-21-2002, 09:53 AM

Originally posted by Buddha_Red
if you do two cardios a day can you expect a larger fat loss than 3'ish pounds a week?

If you have a LOT of fat to lose, that is possible...but if you are relatively lean and you are losing 3+ pounds/week, it's probably not all fat you are losing...which is not what you want

**datboychris** · 06-21-2002, 11:26 AM

Im 6'2 and when I started dieting and working out seriously I was a 206lb sloppy jiggly fatty mess this was about 6 months ago. My ultimate goal is get rid of my damn spare tire. So far I've lost about 20lbs so im 186 as of yesterday which may sound skinny for 6'2 and indeed my friends and family tell me I look much better but the love handles, lower ab fat deposits and lowers back jiggle are still present. Iv'e went through many different stages in my diet when I started way before I ever stumbled accrossed this great board I was practicly starving my self using ripped fuel and I was losing weight and gaining it back the next week if I ate normal so then I started my research and thought of using AS to help me out and found that wouldn't help but I found allot of help with dieting and other stuff here and thanks. This is what I finnally realized has worked best for me.

5-6 small meals a day every 3 hours
This has really jump started my metabolism.

e.g.

4 eggs 2 yolk and a protien shake for breakfast
-
protien bar
-
pre-workout
shake
-
post workout
shake
-
dinner
usally two half chicken breast with baked pot. and veggie
sometimes steak
all cooked on my friend george forman
-
1 hour before bed
shake

my workout consists of weight training 3-4 times/wk
cardio postwork out for 30minutes

Sorry for the book but I think if I i'm striding towards my goals with my sorry excuse for willpower then anyone can do it.

Any advice on gettin rid of the pesky spare tire is appreciated. BTW I stopped using ripped fuel for awile cause my body got used to it now i just started with xen. and will prolly hit up the clen before this project is over.

And to get back on topic I find that 30minutes is best before I become catabolic...and another thing that has worked for me is cutting carbs after dinner.

peace
-chris

**BIG_GUNS_21** · 06-21-2002, 11:49 AM

No more then 1 hours of cardio for fat loss and muscle spareing. But thats 1 hour at a time. IMO if you do a 45 mon cardio workout, then go eat a few meals and do another 45 min workout you will not be eatting into muscle b/c you have fueled the muscle between workouts. BUT a program like that can burn you out pretty fast mentally.

**Buddha_Red** · 06-21-2002, 01:02 PM

I am still on the fat side but i am seeing some gains so i know most likely i am not dumping anything but fat.

Hell i cannot believe it, i am seeing the signs of upper abs!! i thought i was born without them j/k lol

The last time i was at 245 i did not look like this, its amazing how weights and cardio can make me look completely different

i dont usually do over 35 mins cardio, but i also do it 5 times a week.