Hot Damn and Question for Those who do a fair amount of cardio

Joined
Jan 24, 2023
Messages
232
Reaction score
171
Points
43
I don't know how many are here that incorporate a large portion of cardio in their workouts or most of their workouts are cardio. @TiredandHot perhaps and I seem to remember a few others.

My question is, have you ever done a stretch of training where half of your training schedule was weights and the other half was cardio? If so, can you give a brief description on how you split up your time and what worked best for you?

I'm still lifting more than I am doing cardio but I have been amping up my cardio over the last month and a half. I'm up to at least 2 hours a week and shooting for 3 to to 4 hours and week and then I will reassess after that.

Today for first time in as long as I can remember I did cardio only for a bit over an hour nonstop and all within optimal heart rate for fat burning. I have actually been feeling pretty damn good.

Thanks for any help or advice.
 

TomJ

"Elite" 😏
Joined
Sep 3, 2021
Messages
4,290
Reaction score
11,110
Points
288
I did for basically all of prep.

50 minutes fasted stairs
40-50minutes post workout stairs or treadmill all at 140-160hr (clock didn't start until I got at least 130hr)

Even though I'm full blown off-season now and we are intentionally cutting back on cardio so I don't have to shovel so much damn good, I'd still be doing the fasted cardio if I had the time because I did feel pretty great from it
 

Gadawg

The Tick
Joined
Jun 10, 2018
Messages
4,532
Reaction score
4,894
Points
193
I do 20-30 minutes after lifting four days a week. The other three I do 1.5-2 hours a day. And my main hobby is climbing mountains/hunting so a lot of days might have 8-10 hrs a day.
 
Joined
Jan 24, 2023
Messages
232
Reaction score
171
Points
43
I do 20-30 minutes after lifting four days a week. The other three I do 1.5-2 hours a day. And my main hobby is climbing mountains/hunting so a lot of days might have 8-10 hrs a day.
So 4 hours of cardio a week? Do you lift heavy or switch it up?
 

Send0

Taskmaster (Moderator)
Joined
Oct 28, 2020
Messages
11,896
Reaction score
20,663
Points
383
Currently I do roughly 90 minutes a day; with my heart rate around 130bpm (I use a heart strap monitor). Sometimes if I'm bored, I'll go 100% all out for 15-20 minutes instead. I do this 6 days a week.

I lift 5 days a week, for between 60-75 minutes each training session.

My cardio and lifting sessions are usually 4-6 hours apart from one another.

I'm about to go into maintenance for the next 8 weeks, but I plan on continuing to do at least 60 minutes EOD. I just feel better/healthier when doing some amount of cardio, so I plan to keep it in.
 
Joined
Jan 24, 2023
Messages
232
Reaction score
171
Points
43
Currently I do roughly 90 minutes a day; with my heart rate around 130bpm (I use a heart strap monitor). Sometimes if I'm bored, I'll go 100% all out for 15-20 minutes instead. I do this 6 days a week.

I lift 5 days a week, for between 60-75 minutes each training session.

My cardio and lifting sessions are usually 4-6 hours apart from one another.

I'm about to go into maintenance for the next 8 weeks, but I plan on continuing to do at least 60 minutes EOD. I just feel better/healthier when doing some amount of cardio, so I plan to keep it in.
That's a lot of cardio. My fat burning HR isn't too far off of yours. It was suggested I don't go over 138 which seems way too easy.

Before my cardio was much shorter and I would call it short bursts as far as intensity and heart rate. I would get over 160 HR easy but I normally wouldn't go more than 20 min a session.

I had it explained to me that after the fat burning heart rate range, there is a cardio range where you still burn fat but not as efficiently and that range is more beneficial for cardiovascular health.

The thing for me is finding the time to do it. I just have to make it work. Ive been ramping it up consistently now and still keeping up with my lifting for the most part. The longer sessions with lower heart rate seem to be working quite well for me. The only thing that might get in my way is making the extra time needed that I normally didn't use for workouts.
 
Joined
Jan 24, 2023
Messages
232
Reaction score
171
Points
43
I did for basically all of prep.

50 minutes fasted stairs
40-50minutes post workout stairs or treadmill all at 140-160hr (clock didn't start until I got at least 130hr)

Even though I'm full blown off-season now and we are intentionally cutting back on cardio so I don't have to shovel so much damn good, I'd still be doing the fasted cardio if I had the time because I did feel pretty great from it
Do you find it hard to keep your strength gains the more cardio you do?
 

TomJ

"Elite" 😏
Joined
Sep 3, 2021
Messages
4,290
Reaction score
11,110
Points
288
Do you find it hard to keep your strength gains the more cardio you do?
Not even a little.

Maybe if I was someone who maintained a naturally higher BF and the cardio was putting me into a net deficit. But as someone who naturally operates at a lower relative BF, cardio only improves my training.

I never lost any strength through prep, the workouts just wore me out far far more and volume had to be cut back.

Outside of prep, even in a surplus, I feel like my workouts only improve when I have a decent amount of cardio. I train very heavy to absolute failure, so on bigger movements cardio often gives out before muscles do. When I keep cardio in at a moderate/high level I feel like I can train harder, longer, without needing a 5-6m rest in-between hard sets just to catch my breath



It's worth noting that my training isn't centered around strength specificity anymore and is almost exclusively hypertrophy focused. If I were training like a power lifter, maybe I'd see a different response to a high amount of cardio
 
Joined
Nov 11, 2022
Messages
677
Reaction score
1,920
Points
93
I have a huge running background. I used to run 80+ mph. I’ve run marathons, ultras, etc. These days I only run about 5-15 mpw, which includes speed work at the track. Twice a month I run long on the weekends, 10-13 miles around the lake or on trails.

I also cycle anywhere from 50-100 mpw. Depending on the season it’s either indoors/outdoors. Zwift, mountain biking, spin, etc.

Time isn’t an issue as I’m blessed that I work from home and have the time to do cardio and strength training with very little impact to family time. I like to run early AM before kids are up, and I lift before kids are back from school. Sometimes it flips, but running/cycling in the Texas summer afternoons is pretty brutal so it’s usually always cardio in the AM, lifting in the afternoon/evening.

*I* do notice an impact to strength training after my long/hard runs/rides so I usually modify my workouts for a day or two to recover. Easy cardio I don’t notice much of an impact.
 

TODAY

Elite
SI Founding Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2012
Messages
5,768
Reaction score
14,926
Points
333
I spent most of the last 2-3 years doing 12-17 hours/wk of muay thai training.

Most of this was relatively hard sparring.

I was also walking an average of 21k steps/day during this period.

I was lifting 3-4 times per week, but muscle and/or strength gain took a back seat to improving my thai boxing.

I lost a pretty significant amount of muscle during this time (especially in my lower body).

If I had cared more about maintaining muscle and strength, I would've been taking a lot more drugs and eating a lot more food, but even then, I doubt I would've been able to eek out more than minimal gains in strength/muscle. The fatigue from that amount of training was pretty hard to work around.
 

The Phoenix

Elite
Joined
Jul 2, 2020
Messages
5,638
Reaction score
5,735
Points
283
I used to do more of it when i'd have to test for my fitness incentive for work but since I am leaving that job in just over 3 weeks, I only do it when I do legs.
 

Yano

Flatlandah
Joined
Aug 28, 2021
Messages
13,181
Reaction score
26,274
Points
383
30 min stationary bike in the morning , 30 min at night

I try to space the morning session out at least 4 hours from lifting , gives me a chance to recover , relax , even get in a nap if I feel like it.
 
Joined
Jan 24, 2023
Messages
232
Reaction score
171
Points
43
30 min stationary bike in the morning , 30 min at night

I try to space the morning session out at least 4 hours from lifting , gives me a chance to recover , relax , even get in a nap if I feel like it.
Did you increase your cardio time when you were dropping weight?
 

Yano

Flatlandah
Joined
Aug 28, 2021
Messages
13,181
Reaction score
26,274
Points
383
Did you increase your cardio time when you were dropping weight?
Ive been "dropping weight" for years. So yes but it wasn't so much for weight loss but actual cardio. I started at 305 dropped to 199 and now putting some mass back on slowly and properly.

I could only pedal for 10 to 15 minutes before feeling like I was going to pass out , so slowly over time ive kept adding time and tension and walking when the weather permits.

Basically a gradual uphill ride [there is no visible setting for degree of angle or tension just a knob to spin] for 30 mins , heart rate is around 126 for the most part , I get in between 9 and 10 miles in that time.
 
Joined
Nov 11, 2022
Messages
677
Reaction score
1,920
Points
93
@li.. @mass gain 🤣 What’s your end goal? What type of cardio are you doing? And where are you doing it? I didn’t see it mentioned. If time/space is a concern, a stationary bike at home could work for you. It’s easy to jump off/on based on what’s going on at home.
 

New Threads

Top