What cardio to sustain muscle?

[Mysticobra]

Ok, I believe I'm correct when I've heard ppl on here say to keep the cardio at a low or moderate level.  So, I've been doing some jogging and cycling on machines and keeping my hr under 150.  I was thinking about it and the only reason I have any question about this way of cutting up while maintaining the most muscle is when I look at short distance track athletes.  These guys don't do cardio at a low or moderate level, they do quick bursts at a high level and they are super cut up and still maintain a lot more muscle mass than long distance runners.  Can anyone shed some light on this for me?  Thanks.

[Mysticobra]

NM. I re-read the cardio dis. and it sounds like ppl are agreeing with me that short high intensity cardio is better for sustaining muscle mass. 

[Quickerblade]

step machine is great for that also

[pumpster]

Instead of trying to justify either lengthy cardio at low to medium intenisty, or HIIT training for 15-20 minutes, I'd just say to do whichever appeals, the idea being that any theories out there as to which is better are hypothetical.

As far as the sprinter analogy, it's interesting but i don't think HIIT and sprinting are that similar. The more standard analogy would be HIT weight training to sprinting.

Yates is one who believes in longer, lower intensity work but in the absence of conclusive proof for so many of these things i think it's just personal preference. Not to say that they're exactly the same, but i think they're close enough that personal preference is more important.

I think Yates also said that he believed in lower-intensity bike or treadmill, as opposed to something more rigorous like stairmachines. Again i have to wonder about this, thinking it's just another theory because something more rigorous could in fact be better.

[Hedgehog]

As far as sprinters, they do low intensity cardio, real low intensity cardio, such as walking, mainly to aid recovery. It's great for recovery.

Sprinters generally try to avoid HIIT.

Now, this may be confusing, but the thing is, that HIIT training will stimulate the wrong kind of muscle fibers, slow twitch.

Sprinters, when training, generally runs and have fairly long rests between the short runs.

These bursts will help to get their metabolism running, the rest is basically done through a sound diet.

Being in good cardiovascular condition will get your fat levels down as well.

-Hedge

[Petrucci]

As far as sprinters, they do low intensity cardio, real low intensity cardio, such as walking, mainly to aid recovery. It's great for recovery.

Sprinters generally try to avoid HIIT.

Now, this may be confusing, but the thing is, that HIIT training will stimulate the wrong kind of muscle fibers, slow twitch.

Sprinters, when training, generally runs and have fairly long rests between the short runs.

These bursts will help to get their metabolism running, the rest is basically done through a sound diet.

Being in good cardiovascular condition will get your fat levels down as well.

-Hedge

Hedge, what do you (and the other guys also) think about Max-OT Cardio??? 16 minutes, of hard, intense trainning normally with some resistance (bike, eliptical)

[Hedgehog]

Hedge, what do you (and the other guys also) think about Max-OT Cardio??? 16 minutes, of hard, intense trainning normally with some resistance (bike, eliptical)

In general, very good.

My favorite is the Tabata protocol, which has work of 20 secs with 10 sec rest, also 8 intervals.

Ie, you're done inside of 4 minutes.

It makes the workout extremely intense.


You could try different "in-betweens" as well, such as 40 secs of work, 20 sec resting, or 30-15.

For awhile, I started off a cardio workout 3 one minute intervals, Max-OT style, and after the 3rd minute resting, I finished off with the Tabata protocol, but only 5 or 6 intervals.

The message is to play around some, I did it mainly because I feel Max-OT can be pretty boring, and lacks some intensity.

You work for one whole minute after all.

So check the Tabata Protocol, but if you enjoy the Max-OT, it's great.

Try the Tabata on a stationary or a recumbent though. You'll love it.

Another thing: I use low resistance and high cadence, to target the cardiovascular training and avoid training legs.

-Hedge

[Saskbb]

I have been working out using a program developed by scott able.  My weight has dropped from 222 in 8 weeks to 200.  I'm cutting for the 2007 season.  Check out his program at www.scottabel.com.  I'm not a client of Scott but think his workout will help you hold muscle and do little to no cardio but still loss fat.

Will

[chainsaw]

Ok, I believe I'm correct when I've heard ppl on here say to keep the cardio at a low or moderate level.  So, I've been doing some jogging and cycling on machines and keeping my hr under 150.  I was thinking about it and the only reason I have any question about this way of cutting up while maintaining the most muscle is when I look at short distance track athletes.  These guys don't do cardio at a low or moderate level, they do quick bursts at a high level and they are super cut up and still maintain a lot more muscle mass than long distance runners.  Can anyone shed some light on this for me?  Thanks.

Big bursts of speed in intensity demand more gh and test.  long prolonged medium incorporates cortisal, breaks down joints muscles.  sprint a minute, walk a minute for 20 minutes.  3 day's a week.  Try it. its not the only way, but it makes sense.

[Petrucci]

In general, very good.

My favorite is the Tabata protocol, which has work of 20 secs with 10 sec rest, also 8 intervals.

Ie, you're done inside of 4 minutes.

It makes the workout extremely intense.


You could try different "in-betweens" as well, such as 40 secs of work, 20 sec resting, or 30-15.

For awhile, I started off a cardio workout 3 one minute intervals, Max-OT style, and after the 3rd minute resting, I finished off with the Tabata protocol, but only 5 or 6 intervals.

The message is to play around some, I did it mainly because I feel Max-OT can be pretty boring, and lacks some intensity.

You work for one whole minute after all.

So check the Tabata Protocol, but if you enjoy the Max-OT, it's great.

Try the Tabata on a stationary or a recumbent though. You'll love it.

Another thing: I use low resistance and high cadence, to target the cardiovascular training and avoid training legs.

-Hedge

thanks for the tips! i will certanly try it

[pumpster]

Big bursts of speed in intensity demand more gh and test.  long prolonged medium incorporates cortisal, breaks down joints muscles.  sprint a minute, walk a minute for 20 minutes.  3 day's a week.  Try it. its not the only way, but it makes sense.

Makes sense, on the other hand HIIT can be exhausting & harder on the central nervous system, so it's hard to say. Personal preference is still more important IMO, even with the evidence. Try each, stick with what works, or rotate them in and out over time for variety, if there's no preference.

[Cold]

I've been reading and experimenting with different cardio methods for many years, both for fun and for contests. To be honest with you, I'm still clueless as to which one works best. I think just go with whatever feels comfortable to you and suits ur schedule better. I personally prefer 30 minutes of very slow walking 4, 5 times a week when I cut. Despite the HUGE amount of studied evidence that HIIT helps hold on to muscles, in reality I lose a ton of muscles when I do HIIT. And plus HIIT affects my weight training intensity. Try both and see which one you prefer, but always keep in mind weight training comes first.

[natural al]

In general, very good.

My favorite is the Tabata protocol, which has work of 20 secs with 10 sec rest, also 8 intervals.

Ie, you're done inside of 4 minutes.

It makes the workout extremely intense.



-Hedge

I've been fooling around with this since reading about it here, I like it.  It's pretty brutal if you go all out and a little easier on the legs than max-ot.  I just did a 2 week max-ot cardio cycle which was intense as hell, I'm gonna do 2 weeks of tabata and go from there.