My bad:
http://the-personal-trainer.com/Arti...dingcardio.doc
http://the-personal-trainer.com/Articles/hiit.doc
Let me clarify something first off: if I use numbers, they are for example purposes only. I'm not saying anyone needs 2000 calories of whatever, those are for examples. It never fails, everytime I post this ****, someone says "Yah but this is wrong because i cut better on 1200caleryes lol i suck at speling and gramer."
Understanding Cardio
By Boyd Myers
I think, in training, the word "cardio" is as mis-used as the word "diet."
Let's go over a few things:
-For fat to be the primary source of fuel, you need to be in the 55% (Maximum Allowable Heart Rate) MAH range.
-The 55% range does NOTHING to stimulate the heart and lungs. It will NOT increase your VO2 capacity (how efficiently your lungs/heart use oxygen)
-Training in the 55% range must be done for relatively long periods of time (>30-35 mins) to maximize fat burning benefits.
-75-80% MAH DOES train the heart/lungs, and THIS is what is actually meant by "cardio".
-75-80% MAH, unfortunately, primarily burns glycogen for fuel. Longer durations of the 75-80% range, however, will force your body to catabolize muscle in search of fuel (via BCAAs)
-Your heart is arguably the most important muscle. If you want ALL of your systems (hormone, digestion, ATP production, recovery, etc) to work optimally, you need to strengthen your heart. Thus, training within this range is important. Also remember that a stronger heart MORE EFFICIENTLY burns fat while at rest. 99% of the bodybuilders I know are TERRIFIED at training at this range, but it is a MISTAKE to be that way. You MUST, but of course, you have to ensure that you are giving you are "fueled" for it.
-Obviously, IF done for a shorter amount of time, you will burn more total calories (and, contrary to popular belief, more of those calories will actually be from fat than the slower version) with the 75-80% range.
This information should be pretty basic, but I repeatedly see asanine quesions like "Should I be doing cardio while bulking?" "How much cardio do I need?" Etc, etc.
Look at the information above and don't be afraid to use common sense. It seems like when it comes to building muscle and burning fat, people leave common sense at the door. I realize that the body works in mysterious ways and many times, it goes against logic (eating MORE to lose weight? drink MORE water to fight water retention?) But so many things DO work the way they are expected.
To be perfectly honest, cardio isn't even the most efficient means to create a caloric deficit (diet IS). It's a hell of a lot easier to remove 500 calories from the diet than it is to burn 500 calories on a treadmill, plus it's less impactive on the recovery systems of the body. Also, it's a little easier to manipulate what nutrients are consumed as fuel (via macronutrient manipulation).
Think about it in terms of math. Lets say after a full day of activity, including lifting, your body burns 2500 calories a day and to lose weight, you need to create a 500 calorie a day deficit.
There are a few ways to do that. Here are some EXAMPLES:
2000 calorie a day consumption
-Negative: the heart will get NO training.
-Positive: you don't have to do cardio
2500 calorie a day consumption minus 500 extra calories from cardio
-Positive: You CAN work your heart (if you get in the range)
-Negative: Unless your nutrition is perfect and you plan for it, you're going to tap into muscle. Also, you have to bust your @ss doing cardio.
2200 calories consumed minus 200 extra calories from cardio
-Positive: best of both worlds. Less time in the gym and you can eat a little more
When burning fat, I typically like to combine the two, like in the last example. IN my case, I don't WANT to be in a caloric deficit. I am focusing on building muscle WHILE training my heart. This is basically what I'm doing (an EXAMPLE, not exact):
On a typical day, I burn 3200 calories.
When I add cardio, I burn 300 additonal calories, bringing it to a total of 3500 calories burned.
I want a caloric surplus to ensure a positive nitrogen balance and optimization of recovery, so I will consume 300 additional calories, bringing it to 3800 calories.
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Same thing with this one - 5-6 intervals is an EXAMPLE. There are days when I run 20 40 yard sprints. It really just depends on a lot of other factors... Again, it doesn't have to be 30 seconds. Hell, I like to sprint the length and jog/walk the corners. Be creative...
HIIT
Right now, I'm training my cardiovascular system for maximum-response to my weight training. I want to recover faster between sets (I admit, it has become a weakness due to the fact that I haven't trained at the MAX % I should).
I think everyone knows the premise, but for me, it's an easy way to get the lungs and heart fired up and avoid getting bored. Remember that doing slow-go cardio (55% range) is good for burning fat as fuel, but it really does nothing for the cardiovascular system. So many people fail to train their hearts as hard as they train the rest of their body, and I don't think anyone would debate that it is the most important muscle. This is a way to integrate both: your heart really pumps and you burn a relatively high number of calories in a short amount of time. It's fast, it's explosive, and it works.
I recommend doing this on a track, but it can be done on a treadmill, bike, stairs, street, eliptical machine or whatever:
Warm-up with a brisk 3-5 minute walk. Stretch, and walk again for 2 minutes before starting.
I recommend it 2-3x per week. It may be strenuous on the CNS, so anymore may not be beneficial.
Week 1
3 intervals
Each interval-30 seconds sprinting (as hard as you can go for 30 seconds for whatever you're doing) /30 seconds walking
Week 2
4 intervals
Week 3
5 intervals
Week 4
6 Intervals
So on and so-forth
Keep this up for 6-10 weeks, and I guarantee you'll see some fat loss with minimal, if any muscle loss. I believe that it is an excellent type of cardio to complement heavy lifting, because of how brief it is. If you're looking mainly for fat loss, I recommend this for individuals that are already somewhat lean and in decent cardiovascular shape, and are just trying to get rid of stubborn fat or tune up their cardio systems.
Note-After a long lay off, I personally start at 5-6 intervals, because my cardio conditioning is pretty decent. I would generally recommend starting at 3-4 intervals, especially if you haven't sprinted in a while.
If you do this on a treadmill, remember that a treadmill takes a few seconds to adjust, so take this into consideration. Also, maybe you'll want to use the incline feature to make it more intense. When I use the treadmill, I look for one with a higher top speed (12mph) and I raise the incline to 4-6%. It's a lot harder than it sounds, ESPECIALLY after 5-6 minutes.
As far as different types of calories burned, although the duration is short, your total calories will be higher. A lot of the calories you burn will be from glycogen, but your fat calories burned will be quite impressive as well... Since the duration isn't too long, muscle should be spared. However, don't do this on an empty stomach (just like you shouldn't be for any cardio, IMO). By now, I hope you are aware that you need to have a source of BCAAs to ensure your body isn't tapping into muscle stores for aminos to burn as fuel...
It's really important to remember this - high intensity work (like HIIT and sprints) relies on glucose for fuel, but forces your body to burn fat for fuel for the rest of the day to compensate. Likewise, lower intensity cardio may use more fat for fuel (after stored glycogen is exhausted) but forces the body to burn glucose for the rest of the day for fuel, which is obviously an undesirable event for someone looking to maintain muscle. Think of the difference between Olympic sprinters and tail backs (always muscular and lean) and marathon runners (look like cancer patients).