# how much cardio do you do when you're cutting?



## sexy_animal (May 8, 2009)

I know a lot of people have different views on cardio when it comes to getting cut.  I've been doing a ton of steady state cardio lately and I find that it works like a charm.  

I do 3 days of weights per week, plus 1 day of bodyweight/medicine ball anaerobic conditioning traing, but I only started to see rapid fatloss when I tossed in lots of steady state cardio into the mix.

I do cardio at least 5 days a week, sometimes twice a day.  I noticed that I get the best results when I do cardio before bedtime and then follow up with cardio in the morning.  

I also noticed great results doing cardio on and immediately after my zero carb days.  I'm assuming the principle at work here is that when your glycogen levels are depleted, during moderate intensity cardio the body turns to fat for fuel.  

I have to admit that I've been getting better results with steady state then with HIIT so far.  

PS: I'm in the later stages of my cut...maybe 5 more weeks to go.


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## T_man (May 8, 2009)

maybe with HIIT you werent actually reaching the intensity required.
Plus steady state is probably to burn more overall fat but you lose way more muscle too


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## Hench (May 8, 2009)

sexy_animal said:


> I know a lot of people have different views on cardio when it comes to getting cut.  I've been doing a ton of steady state cardio lately and I find that it works like a charm. *Its probably affecting you a lot more than you think, i.e. muscle fibre conversion, hormonal changes ect. but im not an expert, where Built?*
> 
> I do 3 days of weights per week, plus 1 day of bodyweight/medicine ball anaerobic conditioning traing, but I only started to see rapid fatloss when I tossed in lots of steady state cardio into the mix.
> 
> ...



Your probably burning more calories total at the minute, however you body will adapt pretty quickly and start to become more efficient i.e. you will burn less cals for the same amount of activity. 

If it works for you and you enjoy it, thats fantastic. However this approach will not work for everyone, and personally I couldnt live doing cardio six days a week, twice a day.


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## sexy_animal (May 8, 2009)

Well, I gotta say I did experience a slight drop in strength, but I'm in a calorie deficit, so I guess that's normal.  I'm doing hard weights 3 days a week on back-to-back days.  I'm just going to assume that some muscle loss is inevitable and is the price of being ripped.


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## T_man (May 8, 2009)

sexy_animal said:


> Well, I gotta say I did experience a slight drop in strength, but I'm in a calorie deficit, so I guess that's normal.  I'm doing hard weights 3 days a week on back-to-back days.  I'm just going to assume that some muscle loss is inevitable and is the price of being ripped.



Im just saying it's less efficient at "keeping" muscle than other methods


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## danzik17 (May 8, 2009)

It's not the best way of doing it, but if it works for you and you enjoy it, then great!

Personally I can't stand cardio, I like my calories to come from my diet.  I am way too lazy to do that much cardio so I'll just eat a little bit less.

That said you do happen to be doing cardio at the best times which is when you're glycogen depleted.  One of the principles of UD 2.0 is that when you're fully glycogen depleted, alpha-2 receptors are inhibited which makes it far easier to mobilize stubborn fat (abs, lower back, ass *generally*).


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## sexy_animal (May 8, 2009)

danzik17 said:


> It's not the best way of doing it, but if it works for you and you enjoy it, then great!
> 
> Personally I can't stand cardio, I like my calories to come from my diet.  I am way too lazy to do that much cardio so I'll just eat a little bit less.
> 
> That said you do happen to be doing cardio at the best times which is when you're glycogen depleted.  One of the principles of UD 2.0 is that when you're fully glycogen depleted, alpha-2 receptors are inhibited which makes it far easier to mobilize stubborn fat (abs, lower back, ass *generally*).



What's this UD stuff I keep hearing about?...sorry, I'm not very well informed..

As far as HIIT goes, I like it but I tend to do it with such intensity that I burn out after a week or so. I also feel that it affects my weight training workouts because it works off the same anaerobic energy system.  

My weight training doesn't seem to suffer from steady state cardio, plus I use the time to meditate, whatever..


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## Marat (May 8, 2009)

sexy_animal said:


> What's this UD stuff I keep hearing about?




Lyle McDonald's The Ultimate Diet 2.0

The Ultimate Diet 2.0 by Lyle McDonald | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald


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## Matrick (May 8, 2009)

i don;t do much traditional cardio at all, i prefer sprint intevals with 70% max speed


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## Built (May 8, 2009)

Got Built? » How to do Cardio if you MUST!

Scroll to the end for a sample month. 

"Daredevils are shredded" (in my sig) goes into more specific detail on cardio for stubborn fat.


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## sexy_animal (May 10, 2009)

I agree with what you're saying about doing more than one type of cardio when cutting.  

Tomorrow, I intend to mix things up by hitting the heavy bag for 10 intervals of 3 minutes.  That's going to be the entire workout for the day.   I might do steady state cardio in the evening though in addition to the bag.


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## jhawkin1 (May 10, 2009)

I work during the day, but usually get a chance to run 3-5 times a week, couple miles each day (8 minute per mile pace).  I don't do as much cardio as I'd like, but all that matters is the caloric deficit!  DIET DIET DIET is 80%!


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