off-season cardio for cardiovascular improvement

**ascendant** · 10-07-2006, 10:04 AM

i've never really done cardio while bulking because of my concerns for it making me burn too many calories and inhibiting my muscle growth. then again, i was never that vascular off season either, and would like to try and keep in better cardiovascular health year-round, especially considering i'm back on gear again which will be reducing my cardiovascular efficiency even more.

so, what i was thinking of doing is since i'm just looking for the cardiovascular effects of the cardio, i was thinking of just doing one or two sessions of really intense cardio a week, at about 80-85% of my max hr, for about 20mins or so. now, would one or two sessions like that a week be sufficient for cardiovascular improvement or would i need more? i really want to try and keep in good cardiovascular health, but not if it will be at the expense of maximum muscle growth. anyway, if anyone could give me some feedback on their thoughts on this or even better, studies which would indicate what would be ideal in this case, i'd really appreciate it.

oh, also, since i am back on gear again, would very intense cardio like that be a bad idea because of my higher blood volume now? not sure of what kind of stress that would put on the heart or if it would be good for it to get that kind of work? by the way, i am taking 1 asprin daily to thin the blood and would be doing so during the cardio work as well.

**helium3** · 10-07-2006, 11:17 AM

i think it sounds good,if your aiming to keep fit,you might also lose some fat along the way.2x would be fine 3x even better.

**audis4** · 10-07-2006, 11:48 AM

I don't see a reason to go 80-85% max....I would stick to 65% for 30 min. 2-3 times per week.

Speaking of cardio, I should probably start

**ascendant** · 10-08-2006, 10:48 AM

Originally Posted by audis4

I don't see a reason to go 80-85% max....I would stick to 65% for 30 min. 2-3 times per week.

Speaking of cardio, I should probably start

well, the lower cardio range would be primarily for fat loss. the higher range of the cardio is more effective for cardiovascular improvement.

anyway, i guess i'll try to add it in 2x/week maybe right after two weight training days and see how that works out. as far as 30 mins though, i think that's just too much for me considering my main goal right now is to bulk up. i'll probably just do 20mins each time.