Whats the deal with cardio?

[Rookie1974]

Ok so I get that its great for the pipes but it would seem to me that you would just have to over-eat it to build muscle???

Building muscle takes adequate caloric intake and cardio burns calories. If you do tha math it seems that whatever you burn in cardio your going to just have to eat more to compensate for, if your main objective is to build muscle.

So why do the pros all do so much cardio? even when they are not prepping for a contest?

[abbot138]

Ok so I get that its great for the pipes but it would seem to me that you would just have to over-eat it to build muscle???

Building muscle takes adequate caloric intake and cardio burns calories. If you do tha math it seems that whatever you burn in cardio your going to just have to eat more to compensate for, if your main objective is to build muscle.

So why do the pros all do so much cardio? even when they are not prepping for a contest?

Im not sure that pros DO in fact do ANY cardio in the off-season???? I would venture to guess that they do little to no cardio when growing. If they do, my guess is it would be extremely low intensity and only a couple of times a week......Where are you getting this info from, just curious.

[MuscleScience]

There is a huge misunderstanding that doing cardio eats or burns muscle. You can do cardio and still maintain or build muscle. Now if your a marathon runner then more than likely your going to use some protein from your muscles as a fuel source. But by in large if your not doing excessive amounts of cardio your not going to burn muscle up.

[Rookie1974]

There is a huge misunderstanding that doing cardio eats or burns muscle. You can do cardio and still maintain or build muscle. Now if your a marathon runner then more than likely your going to use some protein from your muscles as a fuel source. But by in large if your not doing excessive amounts of cardio your not going to burn muscle up.

Thanks for the reply
I didnt mean to say it - in and of it self - would burn muscle. But is there any theory that it will help during a build phase? It seems to me that if you do cardio that youll just have to eat that many more carbs per day to get to baseline???

[Rookie1974]

Im not sure that pros DO in fact do ANY cardio in the off-season???? I would venture to guess that they do little to no cardio when growing. If they do, my guess is it would be extremely low intensity and only a couple of times a week......Where are you getting this info from, just curious.

Phil Heath told me does 1.5 hours a day??

[MuscleScience]

you only assimilate 20-25% of everything you eat as new mass anyway. So a few hundred calories worth of cardio isnt going to drastically kill your muscle gains.

[sweeney todd]

Im not sure that pros DO in fact do ANY cardio in the off-season???? I would venture to guess that they do little to no cardio when growing. If they do, my guess is it would be extremely low intensity and only a couple of times a week......Where are you getting this info from, just curious.

i see king kamali 2 or 3 times a week. he always does 30 to 45 minutes of cardio after every workout. all the time. hes humungous. absolutely monstorous.

[Rookie1974]

i see king kamali 2 or 3 times a week. he always does 30 to 45 minutes of cardio after every workout. all the time. hes humungous. absolutely monstorous.

ask his big ass WTF hes doin??? LOL

[abbot138]

Phil Heath told me does 1.5 hours a day??

Interesting. I guess if your calories are extremely high it couldnt hurt, but i dont see how it would actually aid in building muscle. Would def burn some fat....Find out what intensity he does it at. Its always interesting to see what the pros are doing.

[bmit]

I like doing some cardio even when bulking. Keeps body fat and water weight down. Also enables me to eat more calories during the day.

[pump.joe]

Wouldn't keeping your heart strong help out with your workouts? Back when I avoided cardio, I would sometimes get light-headed after doing heavy squats. It is not so much a problem anymore (though I probably don't run as much as I should).

[jonny101]

They do cardio to help lower there body fat(thats what iv always been told) to look leaner and tighter for shows.
If you do cardio it will burn the fat 1st as long as you dont go for to long

[Ronnie Rowland]

Im not sure that pros DO in fact do ANY cardio in the off-season???? I would venture to guess that they do little to no cardio when growing. If they do, my guess is it would be extremely low intensity and only a couple of times a week......Where are you getting this info from, just curious.

Well put abbot. Most pros rely on Growth Hormone for bodyfat control along with carb control for the most part.

A couple of days of cardio each week can make some people hungrier-hence allowing them to put on more muscle size. A lot of cardio causes over-training for off-season bodybuilders.

[abbot138]

Well put abbot. Most pros rely on Growth Hormone for bodyfat control along with carb control for the most part.

A couple of days of cardio each week can make some people hungrier-hence allowing them to put on more muscle size. A lot of cardio causes over-training for off-season bodybuilders.

Yeah, thats what I was thinking. You've got to rest the CNS and adding excessive amounts of cardio to an already strenuous lifting program during a growth cycle sounds counter-productive to me.

[FireGuy]

Yeah, thats what I was thinking. You've got to rest the CNS and adding excessive amounts of cardio to an already strenuous lifting program during a growth cycle sounds counter-productive to me.

This is why I am still an advocate of LOW intensity cardio (120 BPM) as opposed to the HIIT method which many people have turned to. I think 30 minutes a day of low intensity cardio works great for keeping the bodyfat off without taxing your body's ability to recover.

[abbot138]

This is why I am still an advocate of LOW intensity cardio (120 BPM) as opposed to the HIIT method which many people have turned to. I think 30 minutes a day of low intensity cardio works great for keeping the bodyfat off without taxing your body's ability to recover.

Yeah, that sounds more like what I would expect from pro's as well. When bulking I'll stay right around 125bpm PWO, twice a week at most.

[AdamGH]

I only do HIIT 2-3 times a week at most. I do low intensity most of the week.

[abbot138]

The great cardio debate rages on This is one that will definately never ever ever be settled, lol. I know guys who do a lot and look ripped but too skinny. I know guys that do alot when prepping for a contest and look amazing. I know guys that dont do ANY precontest and look great. I know guys that dont do any and look like they dont do any, lol.....HIIT, steady state fasted, and on and on and on....Just gotta experiment....HIIT freaks me out a little too bc I know that I have a super fast metabolism and have always been thinner naturally. So, ecto, endo, m e s o morph body type prob comes into play as well....How many calories you take in a day, what your job is like, and on and on and on.....IMO, it needs to be done when cutting, period, how you choose to do it or what works for you is another story.

[MuscleScience]

The great cardio debate rages on This is one that will definately never ever ever be settled, lol. I know guys who do a lot and look ripped but too skinny. I know guys that do alot when prepping for a contest and look amazing. I know guys that dont do ANY precontest and look great. I know guys that dont do any and look like they dont do any, lol.....HIIT, steady state fasted, and on and on and on....Just gotta experiment....HIIT freaks me out a little too bc I know that I have a super fast metabolism and have always been thinner naturally. So, ecto, endo, m e s o morph body type prob comes into play as well....How many calories you take in a day, what your job is like, and on and on and on.....IMO, it needs to be done when cutting, period, how you choose to do it or what works for you is another story.

Thats pretty much the best thing I have heard on this issue.

[abbot138]

Thats pretty much the best thing I have heard on this issue.

Well thank ya sir! Thats like praise from Caeser, coming from you, lol.

[stpete]

I know i'm out of the loop as far as following the pros workouts and eating habits, as i quit reading those mags a long time ago. But come to think of it, they always posted their workouts and diets with pics, but i've never seen any pics of them doing any cardio. I see them on other sites working out, but never running, walking, biking or anything. I'm sure it's out there somewhere. I'd be interested in seeing it. Anyone got anything? I hope i didn't hijack. I feel this is somewhat relevant to the original question.

[abbot138]

I know i'm out of the loop as far as following the pros workouts and eating habits, as i quit reading those mags a long time ago. But come to think of it, they always posted their workouts and diets with pics, but i've never seen any pics of them doing any cardio. I see them on other sites working out, but never running, walking, biking or anything. I'm sure it's out there somewhere. I'd be interested in seeing it. Anyone got anything? I hope i didn't hijack. I feel this is somewhat relevant to the original question.

Yeah, no prob, it goes back to what my response was earlier that any interview I see with pros and most of the pros on this site and other sites that i talk to rarely do cardio at all and DEFINATLEY dont do it in the off-season...but again who knows, whatever works for ya.

[stpete]

Yeah, no prob, it goes back to what my response was earlier that any interview I see with pros and most of the pros on this site and other sites that i talk to rarely do cardio at all and DEFINATLEY dont do it in the off-season...but again who knows, whatever works for ya.

Yea, i saw your response yesterday. Little story here: I went home a few years ago to visit(columbus,ohio), and happened to be at the airport when some of the guys that was going to compete in the Arnold Classic landed as well. Let me tell you this is no freakin lie. Some of those guys had to stop halfway through the tarmac to rest, and was sweating like they just ran 15 miles. Huge? Yes. Cardiovascularly fit? Hell no.

[abbot138]

Yea, i saw your response yesterday. Little story here: I went home a few years ago to visit(columbus,ohio), and happened to be at the airport when some of the guys that was going to compete in the Arnold Classic landed as well. Let me tell you this is no freakin lie. Some of those guys had to stop halfway through the tarmac to rest, and was sweating like they just ran 15 miles. Huge? Yes. Cardiovascularly fit? Hell no.

LMAO!! Thats funny....Cool man, Im from Canton, OH-IO beotch!!!

[ComeFlyWithMe]

Maybe I am a little odd, but I find that when my cardio is on the up and up, my weight workouts go better. For me, it seems to add alot to my endurance in the weight room (and in the sack )

[abbot138]

Maybe I am a little odd, but I find that when my cardio is on the up and up, my weight workouts go better. For me, it seems to add alot to my endurance in the weight room (and in the sack )

Yeah it definately helps with muscle endurance (and sex endurance, lol).

[stpete]

I agree. I like to do cardio mostly cause it just makes me feel better. But i don't go crazy with it or anything.
To hell with you guys. Just kiddin. I'm only getting it like once every 4-6 weeks when my Chicago connection comes down.
Abbott- Are you a buckeye fan? I'm guessing yes with the O-H-I-O outburst.

[abbot138]

I agree. I like to do cardio mostly cause it just makes me feel better. But i don't go crazy with it or anything.
To hell with you guys. Just kiddin. I'm only getting it like once every 4-6 weeks when my Chicago connection comes down.
Abbott- Are you a buckeye fan? I'm guessing yes with the O-H-I-O outburst.

Yessir! See if we can actually win the BCS title game this year, or at least not get killed, lol..........OSU thread highjack, well worth it.