Anyone else cut with little or no cardio?

[goonstopher]

I know I hate cardio but do not mind dieting so I just never do cardio. Maybee under 8-9% for 20 minutes 2-3 times a week. In my experience it has worked very well and with a good cutting cycle I put on muscle while loosing fat.

I've heard bodybuilders do the exact opposite before competition and will keep cals high and do tons of cardio. One I am friends with does this.

I was wondering if there is something bad about just adjusting your diet to keep metabolism going aka carb and calorie cycling rather than cardio?

Anyone use either of these very different approaches?

 

[youreintrance]

This is a very good question.

I've read on many boards about this topic, and there are as many opinions as their are answers.

One thing I haven't seen brought up is that insulin release would be greater with more calories (supposing the calories are from carbs), which would prevent that last bit of bodyfat to be released into the bloodstream to be used as fuel.

I believe Lyle McDonald has stated that it would not matter until you got down to a pretty low bf%, and then to pare away that last bit, you'd need to cut the calories.

I hope this thread gets some respone. I'm wondering how to get my damn handles off after I'm pretty low bf!

 

[mr_meanor]

if you aren't disciplined enough to do cardio you aren't disciplined enough to cut

just my opinion

 

[goonstopher]

How can you say that? Cardio is alot less discipline than having a perfectly planned and exectuded diet. You need to put in the work no matter what but cardio is alot less discipline than NEVER messing up a meal for weeks at a time and having perfect nutrient timing and calrie cycling...

This is about effictiveness VS dislike. I simply do not like cardo because of the time ti takes and always feeling dizzy durring it. Also it scars me to burn muscle but that may be unfounded fear

 

[sixfeetfour]

I've heard bodybuilders do the exact opposite before competition and will keep cals high and do tons of cardio. One I am friends with does this.

I bet you would find most of them are taking T3 to keep shreaded while still keeping high calorie diets. There's more to it than just alot of cardio.

 

[mr_meanor]

How can you say that? Cardio is alot less discipline than having a perfectly planned and exectuded diet. You need to put in the work no matter what but cardio is alot less discipline than NEVER messing up a meal for weeks at a time and having perfect nutrient timing and calrie cycling...

This is about effictiveness VS dislike. I simply do not like cardo because of the time ti takes and always feeling dizzy durring it. Also it scars me to burn muscle but that may be unfounded fear

exactly my point man, cardio sucks, I hate it in fact I do not know one person who enjoys it (doesn't mean they don't exist) I have to force myself to jog or get on a stationary bike after a hitting the weights.

I can diet all week long as long as I have my one meal a week I splurge on and have somethig I am not supposed to (just something that helps me not the best to do when working up for a show)

just my personel experience might not suit everyone

 

[goonstopher]

exactly my point man, cardio sucks, I hate it in fact I do not know one person who enjoys it (doesn't mean they don't exist) I have to force myself to jog or get on a stationary bike after a hitting the weights.

I can diet all week long as long as I have my one meal a week I splurge on and have somethig I am not supposed to (just something that helps me not the best to do when working up for a show)

just my personel experience might not suit everyone

I got your point but it doesnt really address what my concern is. Is it better to keep more msucle and burnt more fat to:

Very low cal and no cardio
Higher cal and alot of cardio

OR is there negligable difference

 

[mr_meanor]

I got your point but it doesnt really address what my concern is. Is it better to keep more msucle and burnt more fat to:

Very low cal and no cardio
Higher cal and alot of cardio

OR is there negligable difference

my answer would be low cal more cardio than usual, or high cal lots of cardio and that is only if your diet is very strict and you are consuming "good" calories

nothing scientific just personal experience

 

[jbrand]

I got your point but it doesnt really address what my concern is. Is it better to keep more msucle and burnt more fat to:

Very low cal and no cardio
Higher cal and alot of cardio

OR is there negligable difference

That's easy, choice 1. Cardio isn't manditory by any means, it has very little metabolic effect post-training and the only real benefit is the calories you expend during the actual exercising. It's all a matter of calories in/calories out, cardio is nothing but an addition to a diet, never a replacement for eating habits by any means. I'd plan a perfect diet and allow for a slight caloric deficit before doing cardio any day of the week. Also, take into consideration the lowered caloric intake + training volume -- cardio can and will contribute to overtraining. Just my 2 cents.

 

[goonstopher]

my answer would be low cal more cardio than usual, or high cal lots of cardio and that is only if your diet is very strict and you are consuming "good" calories

nothing scientific just personal experience

I've gotten to a very ripped state on almsot no cardio and am more of an endo than anything else so I knwo i can control my diet I was just wondering if this super strict diet (2200-2400 cals) at 200-205 lean is too low and if say 2800 with mroe cardio would be better.

What I do works but im worried about muscle thats all... and people on higer cals and mroe cardio tend to see more full

 

[mr_meanor]

I am kind of a bigger guy with a slower metabloisim so I have to be more strict than alot of guys, sounds like your metabolism is naturally high so I see no problem with slacking on the cardio as long as you diet well.

 

[mr_meanor]

I am kind of a bigger guy with a slower metabloisim so I have to be more strict than alot of guys, sounds like your metabolism is naturally high so I see no problem with slacking on the cardio as long as you diet well.

and you can diet and get plenty of protein for your guns on low calories, Optimal Nutrition and EAS make very good low calorie whey protien drinks.

Also Dr. Phil has a meal replacement shake that only has 210 calories and has 26 grams of protien. I drink one of these every morning when I wake up for 2 reasons, I hate to eat breakfast and hardly ever do, and in order to boost your metabolism for the day you need something to east first thing in the morning. Thusfar this is the best mealreplacment shake I found on the market with calories, fiber and protien in consideration.

 

[goonstopher]

and you can diet and get plenty of protein for your guns on low calories, Optimal Nutrition and EAS make very good low calorie whey protien drinks.

Also Dr. Phil has a meal replacement shake that only has 210 calories and has 26 grams of protien. I drink one of these every morning when I wake up for 2 reasons, I hate to eat breakfast and hardly ever do, and in order to boost your metabolism for the day you need something to east first thing in the morning. Thusfar this is the best mealreplacment shake I found on the market with calories, fiber and protien in consideration.

I keep my metobolism up my carb and calorie cycling...
mon +tues: 2300-2400 cals: low carb days with high fat very high protein,
wens + thurs: 2400-2500 cals: moderate carb, high protein, moderate fat,
Friday: 2200-2300 cals: low to no carb, high fat, and high protein,
saturday: 1800-2000 cals: no carb, high fat, moderate protein
Sunday: 2800-3000cals carb up: high carb, mod protein very low fat and higher cals.

 

[Neodavid]

If that were true, Cardio would be a joke for cutting, because there are 3500 calories in a lb of fat.

Running 1 mile burns 100 calories.

You would have to run 30 to 35 miles to burn a lb of fat off.

Most guys can't do 10 miles in a week, and therefore, even in best case scenario, it would take most guys one month of HEAVY cardio (enough to cause muscle loss) to lose 1 lb of fat.

The theory that cardio keeps your engine burning, your metabolism UP for a while, is also wrong, because it completely avoids the fact that afterwards, there is a similar DOWNWARD trend in metabolism. It all evens out in the end.

For cutting, it would be better to work out 3x a day, light workouts in something like a circuit training situation. You create an env in which your metabolism is up all day, and you change the bodies composition by changing it's environment.

Enough cardio to burn fat, will cause much more muscle loss than is worth the effort. Who wants to run 30 miles in a week? Who CAN?

That's easy, choice 1. Cardio isn't manditory by any means, it has very little metabolic effect post-training and the only real benefit is the calories you expend during the actual exercising. It's all a matter of calories in/calories out, cardio is nothing but an addition to a diet, never a replacement for eating habits by any means. I'd plan a perfect diet and allow for a slight caloric deficit before doing cardio any day of the week. Also, take into consideration the lowered caloric intake + training volume -- cardio can and will contribute to overtraining. Just my 2 cents.

 

[jbrand]

If that were true, Cardio would be a joke for cutting, because there are 3500 calories in a lb of fat.

Running 1 mile burns 100 calories.

You would have to run 30 to 35 miles to burn a lb of fat off.

Most guys can't do 10 miles in a week, and therefore, even in best case scenario, it would take most guys one month of HEAVY cardio (enough to cause muscle loss) to lose 1 lb of fat.

The theory that cardio keeps your engine burning, your metabolism UP for a while, is also wrong, because it completely avoids the fact that afterwards, there is a similar DOWNWARD trend in metabolism. It all evens out in the end.

For cutting, it would be better to work out 3x a day, light workouts in something like a circuit training situation. You create an env in which your metabolism is up all day, and you change the bodies composition by changing it's environment.


Enough cardio to burn fat, will cause much more muscle loss than is worth the effort. Who wants to run 30 miles in a week? Who CAN?

Not sure why you quoted me, I said the same thing.

 

[Neodavid]

Just agreeing with you, adding some detail. But your right, I should have hit reply on the top post.

Not sure why you quoted me, I said the same thing.

 

[jbrand]

Just agreeing with you, adding some detail. But your right, I should have hit reply on the top post.

It's cool. Just got a little confused there, but I'm also with you in your argument. It's just too often used to rationalize a crappy diet.

 

[kbone]

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/satter2.htm

 

[Neodavid]

That's a good article, explains why even though cardio is horrible for fat loss, how it helps muscle growth.

Everything you do to stress your body without harming it, stimulates a response, but the folks doing cardio who think they are burning fat, really aren't burning all that much. They are getting other bebefits, much greater than fat loss.

I used to be big into running, and even though I knew it was 100 calories per mile (a little more actually) and would take 30 miles to equal 1 lb., I always thinned out. At 6 miles a week (3x 2 miles), and 3 or 4 hours of biking, I should only be losing a half a lb a week... but within 3 weeks of doing that, I always really thin out in the abdomen, and look much better in the mirror.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/satter2.htm

 

[dumbbellpress]

Let's say, hypothetically, cardio causes you to burn ZERO fat (which is just plain wrong). The cardiovascular benefits to doing cardio regularly are immense. I recommend to everyone I meet, whether they are on a cutting cycle, bulking cycle, or are just in the gym for their general health, to do cardio atleast 5 times per week for 50-60 minutes at 70-75% of their max heart rate (I give them the website and tell them to buy a Polar Heart Rate Monitor). Simply put, regular cardio work saves lives. Who gives a fuck if "Oh God, I am catabolizing a couple pounds of lean muscle mass by doing cardio"?? I mean who gives a flying fuck if you are sacrificing a couple pounds of muscle by doing cardio. Think of the big picture people!! There is more to life than worrying "Oh God, if I don't do cardio I will have 267 lbs of muscle, but if I do do cadio, I will only have 264 lbs of muscle". I could possibly see if you are an elite Mr. Olympia caliber BBer, where you might be a little concerned. But how many fucking Mr. Olympia competitors do we have on Meso???? none???? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Cardio makes you feel better. Cardio makes you sleep better. Cardio makes you look better. Cardio saves lives. If EVERY American bought a Polar heart rate monitor, and engaged in vigorous aerobic activity 7 times per week, for 60 minutes at 70-75% of their max heart rate, then it would not be so fucking pitiful to walk into Walmart. I swear man, I am not sure what your city is like, but in my city, you walk into a Walmart, atleast 50% of the men and women are flat out fucking obese. It is sick. It is a travesty. Obesity is probably the single biggest deleterious risk factor that Americans' health face today.

PPLLEEAASSEEE do cardio. It is good for you. It makes you look better, sleep better, feel better. Most importantly, it will add years to your life.

LOL - I am off my soap box now!

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