Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

I've been pretty hard on myself the past couple weeks. I've been training everyday... literally.

I've gotten myself into a mode where I have to do at least 90 push ups a night, broken up into three sets of course, mixed in with 120 sit ups (also broken up into three sets) in between my push up sets.

I also have been doing a lot of running. I've ran 2 miles everyday for the past three days and my legs are sore. Not sore enough where I can't walk or go up stairs comfortably, but tender in a sort of way. When I get to the gym I still run, but not cramp up which I thought would happen, so I keep running and I'm planning again to today. At the gym as well I do some weights. Primarily biceps, triceps, chest, and a few in the sit-up machine. I'm starting to do a little bit of leg presses as well. When I get home after the gym, I still do my sit ups, and push ups, as noted above...

Am I doing the right thing?

:eek: Wow can I have some of your energy? :) I'm not a fitness professional, but I think you should alternate your days, if anything because you need to let your muscles have a recovery day.

There was a time this past year where I was seriously gung-ho like that and I ended up wearing myself out to the point that I was getting colds constantly. Just be careful and pay attention to your body.

Your body needs time to rest and recuperate. If the muscles don't have rest and the time to recuperate then they won't grow.

Your on the right track but ease up a bit and take some time to rest.



Rome wasn't built in a day.

I think you are over-doing things a bit. Most people who are detrained (or have not trained regularly) will experience quick and steady gains no matter what they do or how often they do it. I'm assuming by your post that you are just getting under way. So here's my advice: Run every other day. Every day is going to beat the sh*t out of you in time - unless you are one of these 130lb marathoners - and even those folks have worked their way into that over a long period of time. I'd go every other day, and if you feel the need for more cardio, add eliptical or cycle training on the days between runs. Additionally, interval training is your friend, and contrary to what some people will insist, you do NOT have to establish a "cardio base" before interval training. Run a long, slow day one day, then add a day of alternating running and slow jogging. Try a 30sec:60sec split to start. Run hard and fast for 30sec, then recover with a casual jog for 60sec. Start with about 5 intervals and see how it feels. I find that doing this makes me decrease my run times when I do my long runs (faster running speeds).

As far as weights, I'd develop a training split with perhaps 2 days of upper body and 2 days of lower body per week. Hit the major muscle groups. Skip the push-ups every day. Your body needs recovery time and if you dont give it the recovery time, you are asking for stunted results or an injury. Chest/push-ups 2x a week is plenty.

Abs are a different story, and I'll tell you why. Muscle is made up of 2 main types of fibers - fast twitch and slow twitch. Fast twitch fibers generate a lot of force, but have poor endurance, and slow twitch fibers generate lower force levels but can work for longer periods of time. Most muscles are predominately one type of fiber over the other, depending upon their main function. The muscles in the lower back, abdomen, calves, for example, are predominately slow twitch because they must constantly work to provide support and locomotion. These muscles can be exercised with high reps and often and not be overtrained. It's a long explanation, I know, but it's the physiological reason why you can train abs and calves with 15-25 reps every other day and get good results, while doing the same with chest and biceps will not get you optimal results.

I received a fitness guide from the Marine recruiter last week and it has a section titled: "If your ship date for training is less than 30 days". It had days off even during the training schedule despite the little time of preperation to boot.

Thanks for the input.

I weigh about 165-170 right now, and I'm only 5'6". I'm in a frenzy for some stamina/strength since I got the letter that my PAT is set for next weekend for one of the agencies I applied for. That's way sooner than I expected to get a letter in the mail telling me that. Plus, I have another PAT for another agency on 2/24, all this is fueling me to get into shape and I still haven't heard from a third agency I just took my written test for.

I need to come up with a routine I can realistically stick with without feeling like I've slacked off on a day.

What you need to do is find out what the assessment will be and make sure you can hit it.

Your body needs rest if you want to make improvements, training hard tears up the muscle and rest is needed for regeneration.

I've been pretty hard on myself the past couple weeks. I've been training everyday... literally.

I've gotten myself into a mode where I have to do at least 90 push ups a night, broken up into three sets of course, mixed in with 120 sit ups (also broken up into three sets) in between my push up sets.

I also have been doing a lot of running. I've ran 2 miles everyday for the past three days and my legs are sore. Not sore enough where I can't walk or go up stairs comfortably, but tender in a sort of way. When I get to the gym I still run, but not cramp up which I thought would happen, so I keep running and I'm planning again to today. At the gym as well I do some weights. Primarily biceps, triceps, chest, and a few in the sit-up machine. I'm starting to do a little bit of leg presses as well. When I get home after the gym, I still do my sit ups, and push ups, as noted above...

Am I doing the right thing?


My opinion? No. For the sole reason of muscle regeneration, as others have said.

I alternate. When I run, I don't lift, and vice versa.

you need recovery time, if your really tearing it up with the weights (high weights low reps) you need at least a week of rest for each muscle group you train.
meaning if you train chest hard, leave it alone until next week. higer reps stuff you can go to less rest.
as for running you just want to pay good attention to your knees shins and hips, when they get sore leave the high impact of running out for a few days, you can get just as hard of a cardio workout on a high setting with a stationary bike or something, elipticals (even though i don't like them) are okay too...
you also need to watch out being lopsided on your workouts, workout on your quads (front of the leg too much) and you'll end up overballanced pulling a hamstring chasing a perp.
forget about workout out your back you'll pick up weight and strenght in the front of your body and end up with SERIOUS back problems a few years down the road.

check this site out

http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/exercise1.htm

you've got exercizes for every bodypart. do something for every bodypart.

any more advice feel free to drop me a line i've been training hardcore and studying workout stuff/nutrition/etc. for around 10 years now.

-RJ

Some good stuff in here. Thanks for all the responses. I'm aiming for both muscle gain, with some weight loss of course.

Some good stuff in here. Thanks for all the responses. I'm aiming for both muscle gain, with some weight loss of course.

muscle gain, very high weight, very low reps, try to find someone that can spot you and do 3 or 4 sets of 4-6 reps (barley or unable to finish the last rep), as for weight loss, if you increase your muscle mass that will just come natural, those 5 extra lbs of muscle you gain won't just sit there, they actually eat up calories just to exist, even when your just sleeping - to have more muscle mass is to have a higher motabolizim automatically...

also on the looking to gain weight part, limit your cardio (jogging or whatever) to a max of 25 mins and always do it BEFORE the rest of your workout (i could explain that one but it would take a full page), and after your workout get some protein in you ASAP, that's amost as important as the workout itself.

getting the effect of weight training is not just about weight training, it's about smart recovery, you need to be as dilligent out of the gym as you are in the gym, also if you drink much alchohol (more than 2 drinks) within 24 hours of a workout, you just nullified your workout, alchohol actually causes your body to stop reparing and building muscle.

-RJ

muscle gain, very high weight, very low reps, try to find someone that can spot you and do 3 or 4 sets of 4-6 reps (barley or unable to finish the last rep), as for weight loss, if you increase your muscle mass that will just come natural, those 5 extra lbs of muscle you gain won't just sit there, they actually eat up calories just to exist, even when your just sleeping - to have more muscle mass is to have a higher motabolizim automatically...

also on the looking to gain weight part, limit your cardio (jogging or whatever) to a max of 25 mins and always do it BEFORE the rest of your workout (i could explain that one but it would take a full page), and after your workout get some protein in you ASAP, that's amost as important as the workout itself.

getting the effect of weight training is not just about weight training, it's about smart recovery, you need to be as dilligent out of the gym as you are in the gym, also if you drink much alchohol (more than 2 drinks) within 24 hours of a workout, you just nullified your workout, alchohol actually causes your body to stop reparing and building muscle.

-RJ

You might have misread what I intended. I want to lose some weight, not gain, I think I have enough already. I have to be under 175 at my height to even be eligable to pass the PAT :o

Yeah, I take a protein shake after I work out all the time. I thought I read somewhere that there's like a 2 hour window after a workout that is ideal to consume protein for max efficiency.

You might have misread what I intended. I want to lose some weight, not gain, I think I have enough already. I have to be under 175 at my height to even be eligable to pass the PAT :o

Yeah, I take a protein shake after I work out all the time. I thought I read somewhere that there's like a 2 hour window after a workout that is ideal to consume protein for max efficiency.

i'm 6'3" 255 Lbs. and i know i wouldn't match on ANY height weight numbers, but that's just the innital test, if you don't match on that they send you to a bodyfat analasys, there isn't a person in the world who would say i'm out of shape at my height/weight after looking at me, sure i'm WAY past "healthy" weight but that doesn't mean anything to anyone to include your PAT testers.

my department also made it clear to me one of the major reasons i was hired was my physical size/command presence. as you may notice from my signature when i'm working backup is often more than 30 miles away so i need to be able to hold my own.

i accadentally wrote weight gain instead of muscle gain on the second paragraph because they're the same to me, sorry for the misunderstanding. but let me put it this way for you.

you do 200 calories worth of cardio, you burn 200 calories,

each SINGLE lb. of muscle weight you pick up will burn 35 CALORIES A DAY! while you sit on your fat lazy bum flipping channels!

there are 3500 calories per lb. of fat

therefore with no other change in diet or exercise except to gain 2 Lbs of muscle (an easy goal). your body will loose approx 1-1/3 lb of bodyfat in the next 2 months. the equivalent of 7 hours on a treadmil.

if you gain muscle you will loose fat period.

the easiest exercise in the world to get burnt out on and quit is cardio by itself, so sure do 25 mins of cardio to start your workout, but keep in mind if you want to make a noticable PERMINATE change in your body (repeat perminate) cardio does not, will not, and has not ever been the solution, despite the claims of lots of so called experts who don't know a thing about fitness except steroids, lyposuction, plastic surgery, and implants.

also if your low carb dieting, please stop, it's got to do with the quality of the carbs on the GI (Glycemic index) not the number of carbs...i'd be more than happy to explain how eating carbs and insulin response go hand and hand, as well as how insulin is the "Bus" for every major good thing that comes into your body, shotchanging yourself on insulin can only lead to problems.

sorry if i sound like a preacher but...well...i used to be a preacher...
also sorry about the spelling and grammar, thor not write so good...ugh...

ohh yeah, and cardio work is fine every day, weight training is not, so if you want to go nuts on the cardio to help you loose a little extra weight go for it on your non weight training days. like i said just pay attention to those little aches and pains and try the low impact stuff when they start to hurt. otherwise you'll end up with huge lifetime aches and pains that never go away...

What Sandy said. When I wasn't eating very clean, something I did that reinforced how much exercise it takes to work off a certain amount of bad food was get on the eliptical and watch how long it took to burn say 200 calories. It makes that Coke not so appetizing.

ohh yeah, and cardio work is fine every day, weight training is not, so if you want to go nuts on the cardio to help you loose a little extra weight go for it on your non weight training days.

You just might find a bit of cardio on the 'off' days will help speed recovery time of the muscle groups you worked out the day before...

i'm 6'3" 255 Lbs. and i know i wouldn't match on ANY height weight numbers, but that's just the innital test, if you don't match on that they send you to a bodyfat analasys, there isn't a person in the world who would say i'm out of shape at my height/weight after looking at me, sure i'm WAY past "healthy" weight but that doesn't mean anything to anyone to include your PAT testers.

my department also made it clear to me one of the major reasons i was hired was my physical size/command presence. as you may notice from my signature when i'm working backup is often more than 30 miles away so i need to be able to hold my own.

i accadentally wrote weight gain instead of muscle gain on the second paragraph because they're the same to me, sorry for the misunderstanding. but let me put it this way for you.

you do 200 calories worth of cardio, you burn 200 calories,

each SINGLE lb. of muscle weight you pick up will burn 35 CALORIES A DAY! while you sit on your fat lazy bum flipping channels!

there are 3500 calories per lb. of fat

therefore with no other change in diet or exercise except to gain 2 Lbs of muscle (an easy goal). your body will loose approx 1-1/3 lb of bodyfat in the next 2 months. the equivalent of 7 hours on a treadmil.

if you gain muscle you will loose fat period.

the easiest exercise in the world to get burnt out on and quit is cardio by itself, so sure do 25 mins of cardio to start your workout, but keep in mind if you want to make a noticable PERMINATE change in your body (repeat perminate) cardio does not, will not, and has not ever been the solution, despite the claims of lots of so called experts who don't know a thing about fitness except steroids, lyposuction, plastic surgery, and implants.

also if your low carb dieting, please stop, it's got to do with the quality of the carbs on the GI (Glycemic index) not the number of carbs...i'd be more than happy to explain how eating carbs and insulin response go hand and hand, as well as how insulin is the "Bus" for every major good thing that comes into your body, shotchanging yourself on insulin can only lead to problems.

sorry if i sound like a preacher but...well...i used to be a preacher...
also sorry about the spelling and grammar, thor not write so good...ugh...


Nice. I really like the input you're giving. I don't do the counting carbs thing, and I never did. I actually watch my caloric intake of all things, then work out. I eat light all the time. My main goal though is to beef up a little, especially around the stomach. The last body fat test I took I was still in the black, but teetering on the edge. I actually took yesterday off of exercising all together, and I feel great today. Looking forward to do a little more running and focusing on my torso.

Your grammar is fine, if I can read it and understand it, that's all that matters to me.

What Sandy said. When I wasn't eating very clean, something I did that reinforced how much exercise it takes to work off a certain amount of bad food was get on the eliptical and watch how long it took to burn say 200 calories. It makes that Coke not so appetizing.

I feel that right there man. I sweat bullets and see that's I burnt approx. 200 calories and I go back and think about what I ate all day. Diet Coke is good enough for me.

diet coke, that's got loads of aspartame, it's whats called a catabolic, meaning it not only doesn't help you build muscle, it helps your body to EAT muscle.

there are also 92 other proven side effects of aspartame, check out the list and see if you have any them - then see if you cut it out of your diet if those problems go away...most notably headaches/migranes, i've gotten a lot of my friends off that crap and that was the "miracle" cure to their headaches that just wouldn't go away.

http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html


I feel that right there man. I sweat bullets and see that's I burnt approx. 200 calories and I go back and think about what I ate all day. Diet Coke is good enough for me.

diet coke, that's got loads of aspartame, it's whats called a catabolic, meaning it not only doesn't help you build muscle, it helps your body to EAT muscle.

there are also 92 other proven side effects of aspartame, check out the list and see if you have any them - then see if you cut it out of your diet if those problems go away...most notably headaches/migranes, i've gotten a lot of my friends off that crap and that was the "miracle" cure to their headaches that just wouldn't go away.

http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html

Man! I've got some of those things on that list. That's kind of scary actually. I need to show my GF that since she drinks A LOT of diet soda. I wouldn't have a problem not drinking it at all, but that's still nuts how that does that to people unkowingly.

i disagree that cardio is ok everyday. if you're trying to preserve lean muscle mass while running everyday, you're fighting a losing battle and will end up spinning your wheels. are you relatively new to lifting? what does a typical training week/day of nutrition look like?

i disagree that cardio is ok everyday...

Sorry, man. I have to disagree with you on this one. The key is smart cardio. No matter what lifting routine you follow, there is always some rest. I ran track in college... do you think we ranonly 1/5-7 days? Of course not.

You can do cardio everyday without any problems. The key is to vary the activity and intensity. Running everyday is great for you (assuming your joints have no problems). I wouldn't do hard sprints everyday, though. LOL Personally, I like to mix up running and biking. Every now and then I will do a day of hard wind sprints. I am sure to follow that day up with a day of slower, longer cardio.

Another tip for those wanting to do more cardio... get a heart-rate monitor. It makes for a lot more efficient cardio training.

what is 'smart cardio'? switching up cardio so your body doesn't adapt, i agree with. however, cardio does nothing for preserving muscle (especially long bouts of steady state) and if the goal is muscle growth...the two do not go hand in hand.

we'll have to agree to disagree on both the cardio everyday and the heart-rate monitor. i don't think they're necessary.


Sorry, man.

i'm a chick ;).

what is 'smart cardio'? switching up cardio so your body doesn't adapt, i agree with. however, cardio does nothing for preserving muscle (especially long bouts of steady state) and if the goal is muscle growth...the two do not go hand in hand.

we'll have to agree to disagree on both the cardio everyday and the heart-rate monitor. i don't think they're necessary.



i'm a chick ;).

I suppose the Cooper Institute would be wrong in this opinion. :) Also, FWIW, many athletes do just fine with doing cardio every day while gaining (or maintaining) weight.

I used to think the same thing about heart-rate monitors until I tried one. Many people who are serious about training would agree.

all due respect to the Cooper Institute but the viewpoint of one non-profit/research organization isn't enough to alter my thinking. an 'opinion' can never be wrong so i'm not gonna argue about their methodology for which they probably have sound research. however, there's always two sides to a coin :).

Running is the great "muscle negator" due to the heavy volumes of cortisol released as a result. Cortisol has the marvelous little habit of being catabolic. That is why it has long been advised that one not run when looking to gain muscle mass. When's the last time you saw a Lou Ferrigno in a marathon?

But cardio itself is not the enemy. That's what is meant by training smart. Increase caloric intake, increase weight - this we all know. Moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise (55-70% MHR) will burn stored fat, and muscle is built from protein and glycogen. It would stand to reason, then, that if you lift hard, eat heavy carb and protein meals with the required amount and types of fats, and perform some moderate intensity cardio to burn off stored fat and any excess glucose so it doesn't get stored as fat - hey - you got a winning combo.

More bad news today on aspartame:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/business/yourmoney/12sweet.html?incamp=article_popular_2

I never touch the stuff myself, after I found out how crappy it made me feel, before I ever read anything about it. The headaches are the most obvious problem. I like Splenda (sucralose), or even small amounts of good ol' real cane sugar.

Running is the great "muscle negator" due to the heavy volumes of cortisol released as a result. Cortisol has the marvelous little habit of being catabolic. That is why it has long been advised that one not run when looking to gain muscle mass. When's the last time you saw a Lou Ferrigno in a marathon?

But cardio itself is not the enemy. That's what is meant by training smart. Increase caloric intake, increase weight - this we all know. Moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise (55-70% MHR) will burn stored fat, and muscle is built from protein and glycogen. It would stand to reason, then, that if you lift hard, eat heavy carb and protein meals with the required amount and types of fats, and perform some moderate intensity cardio to burn off stored fat and any excess glucose so it doesn't get stored as fat - hey - you got a winning combo.


Careful, City. That is just your opinion (well... yours, along with trainers and professional journals across the country). :D

FWIW, you know I hate agreeing with you. I can picture yor head swelling as I type this. LOL

i disagree that cardio is ok everyday. if you're trying to preserve lean muscle mass while running everyday, you're fighting a losing battle and will end up spinning your wheels. are you relatively new to lifting? what does a typical training week/day of nutrition look like?

Nutrition wise, I very well can say I eat under 2000 calories a day for the past 3 weeks.

Yes I'am relatively new to lifting. I went to the gym all the time, but as I'm getting into this career path, I want to beef up a little more; thus me being more serious and wanting to know the proper way to do it.

I've always done cardio though, up until now that is. I'm getting myself into a routine alternating running days and weight days, while still taking into account my push ups, and sit ups mixed in within the week.

I think you are over-doing things a bit. Most people who are detrained (or have not trained regularly) will experience quick and steady gains no matter what they do or how often they do it. I'm assuming by your post that you are just getting under way. So here's my advice: Run every other day. Every day is going to beat the sh*t out of you in time - unless you are one of these 130lb marathoners - and even those folks have worked their way into that over a long period of time. I'd go every other day, and if you feel the need for more cardio, add eliptical or cycle training on the days between runs. Additionally, interval training is your friend, and contrary to what some people will insist, you do NOT have to establish a "cardio base" before interval training. Run a long, slow day one day, then add a day of alternating running and slow jogging. Try a 30sec:60sec split to start. Run hard and fast for 30sec, then recover with a casual jog for 60sec. Start with about 5 intervals and see how it feels. I find that doing this makes me decrease my run times when I do my long runs (faster running speeds).

As far as weights, I'd develop a training split with perhaps 2 days of upper body and 2 days of lower body per week. Hit the major muscle groups. Skip the push-ups every day. Your body needs recovery time and if you dont give it the recovery time, you are asking for stunted results or an injury. Chest/push-ups 2x a week is plenty.

Abs are a different story, and I'll tell you why. Muscle is made up of 2 main types of fibers - fast twitch and slow twitch. Fast twitch fibers generate a lot of force, but have poor endurance, and slow twitch fibers generate lower force levels but can work for longer periods of time. Most muscles are predominately one type of fiber over the other, depending upon their main function. The muscles in the lower back, abdomen, calves, for example, are predominately slow twitch because they must constantly work to provide support and locomotion. These muscles can be exercised with high reps and often and not be overtrained. It's a long explanation, I know, but it's the physiological reason why you can train abs and calves with 15-25 reps every other day and get good results, while doing the same with chest and biceps will not get you optimal results.

You said it best.

I'm at around 1200 calories per day with two cardio sessions of about thirty minutes each. I'm at about 75% MHR for the duration. I do pullups, crunches and pushups every other day. I'm not trying to build muscle mass, only stamina. I'm doing this for my possible enlistment to the Marine Corps. I burn about 550 - 600 calories during the cardio sessions. Will this routine get me where I need to be? COC, Switch, etc...
Edited to add I want to drop about 20 lbs. Less to carry could only benefit me on the 5 mile runs.

Careful, City. That is just your opinion (well... yours, along with trainers and professional journals across the country). :D

FWIW, you know I hate agreeing with you. I can picture yor head swelling as I type this. LOL

First of all, you love agreeing with me. It's OK though - cause I'm right.

Secondly, My head does not "swell", as you so put it. It's just that yours is shrinking. :D

I'm at around 1200 calories per day with two cardio sessions of about thirty minutes each. I'm at about 75% MHR for the duration. I do pullups, crunches and pushups every other day. I'm not trying to build muscle mass, only stamina. I'm doing this for my possible enlistment to the Marine Corps. I burn about 550 - 600 calories during the cardio sessions. Will this routine get me where I need to be? COC, Switch, etc...
Edited to add I want to drop about 20 lbs. Less to carry could only benefit me on the 5 mile runs.

Sorry - didn't see your post here first time 'round.

Well, my man - that is a lot of cardio. If you can hang with it, it won't hurt you. Just keep an eye on those kcal's. If you are doing that much cardio every day and adding the calesthenics, you may actucally find the calorie intake a little low. Blasphemy, I know - but you need kcal's to function properly, and if you go too low and exercise too much you could wind up lethargic and easily susceptable to a cold (decreased immune system efficiency). But it all sounds good just looking at it. Just make sure not all your cardio is running, and that running is excluded from all your cardio - if you hear what I'm saying. And add a little more resistance training - trust me you'll need it later. Compound exercises that augment the chins and push-ups. And add some leg exercises - squats, walking lunges and the like.

Running is the great "muscle negator" due to the heavy volumes of cortisol released as a result. Cortisol has the marvelous little habit of being catabolic. That is why it has long been advised that one not run when looking to gain muscle mass. When's the last time you saw a Lou Ferrigno in a marathon?

But cardio itself is not the enemy. That's what is meant by training smart. Increase caloric intake, increase weight - this we all know. Moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise (55-70% MHR) will burn stored fat, and muscle is built from protein and glycogen. It would stand to reason, then, that if you lift hard, eat heavy carb and protein meals with the required amount and types of fats, and perform some moderate intensity cardio to burn off stored fat and any excess glucose so it doesn't get stored as fat - hey - you got a winning combo.

Hence my original assertation that you should do a max of 25 mins of cardio before workouts.

strangley enough since you mention Lou Ferrigno, most of the advice i'm giving i got from a guy who trained the IFBB bodybuilders for a long long time, he got tired of the steroids thing and started training real people. i worked under him for almost 2 years.

his specialty obviously is bulk, and or retaining muscle, he took me from a serious "i'm stuck" plateau, to gaining 15 lbs in 2 years.

if you think those IFBB bodybuilders don't do loads of cardio your off your rocker! do you have any idea how much cardio you need to do to be able to see veins all over your body?

if you met Lou or any of the IFBB guys durring the off season yeah they wouldn't be doing any cardio but they'd also be carrying about 80 Lbs of fat so you wouldn't even know who they are.

keep the cardio sessions to around 25 mins and that keeps that nasty cortisol from getting released at more than normal levels.

Hence my original assertation that you should do a max of 25 mins of cardio before workouts.
cardio pre-lifting compromises your training.


if you think those IFBB bodybuilders don't do loads of cardio your off your rocker! do you have any idea how much cardio you need to do to be able to see veins all over your body?
vascularity is a function of low bf% that is primarily achieved via nutrition. some pros incorporate a ton of cardio/others don't. impossible to make a blanket statement like this. not to mention...excess cardio makes your muscles 'flat' which every BBer in the industry pre-comp time is doing their best to avoid. no to mention, if you're on gear...a ton of cardio isn't necessary.

Nutrition wise, I very well can say I eat under 2000 calories a day for the past 3 weeks.

Yes I'm relatively new to lifting. I went to the gym all the time, but as I'm getting into this career path, I want to beef up a little more; thus me being more serious and wanting to know the proper way to do it.

I've always done cardio though, up until now that is. I'm getting myself into a routine alternating running days and weight days, while still taking into account my push ups, and sit ups mixed in within the week.
what are your stats? being reletively new to lifting gives you an advantage in that you'll be able to loose bf while increasing muscle size at the same time. there are few instances where this is possible.

if you think those IFBB bodybuilders don't do loads of cardio your off your rocker! do you have any idea how much cardio you need to do to be able to see veins all over your body?

keep the cardio sessions to around 25 mins and that keeps that nasty cortisol from getting released at more than normal levels.

I think I said that cardio is a good thing. And I'm pretty sure I said that lots of food and lots of cardio were good things. My point was that marathon runners, or people who are out for the 1 hour running sessions, tend not to be the most massive of muscular specimens. Function of training? of course. But also a physiological response to all the running.

City, i was actually agreeing with you, just adding a little info for everyone else.

BadWolf:
Re: Cardio pre workout compromising your workout, lots of people have lots of diffrent opinions, i'll leave you to yours, though my suggestion of 25 mins as a max pre-workout cardio still stands as my opinion and the opinion of some VERY well studied people.

take it or leave it, though i think we're now significantly off the subject of helping the guy that started this thread...

My bad. Sorry - I just read it and heard a different tone. Re-read it after your post and was able to get you tone.

...BadWolf:
Re: Cardio pre workout compromising your workout, lots of people have lots of diffrent opinions, i'll leave you to yours, though my suggestion of 25 mins as a max pre-workout cardio still stands as my opinion and the opinion of some VERY well studied people...


Bear in mind, BigSandy, that BadWolf is all too eager to tell everyone that they are wrong and that she is right... this is to include The Cooper Institute, which tends to be at the forefront of aerobic and fitness research. I have yet to hear what credentials such a person could have that would put them in such a position.
:rolleyes:

Bear in mind, BigSandy, that BadWolf is all too eager to tell everyone that they are wrong and that she is right... this is to include The Cooper Institute, which tends to be at the forefront of aerobic and fitness research. I have yet to hear what credentials such a person could have that would put them in such a position.
:rolleyes:
are you kidding :confused:

i don't recall ever stating that 'everyone' is wrong and i am right. i have my opinion and you have yours. the Cooper Institute tends to be at the forefront of aerobic and fitness research according to who? there are always two sides of a coin. every institute does not pull from the same methodology and i don't think a post specifically geared towards attempting to belittle me is mature nor appropriate.

as you were...

I think we should all just take a step back, pull in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and realize that I'm right.

With a name like that, how could you not be right. :cool: lol

I am going to agree with the big bad wolf lady on this one to a point:

10 or so minutes of light cardio prior to lifting is a good idea only for a warm-up procedure. However, exceeding that can be detrimental to the benefits of weight training..here is why (taken from many, many sources)

We all know that one of the main energy sources of our bodies is Glycogen. Now, if you are doing cardio for 25-30 minutes PRIOR to weight training, what are you doing? You are burning all of your glycogen stores BEFORE you begin to burn body fat. However, depending on how long it takes your certain body to burn glycogen stores, you may have delved into some fat burning as well and coherently sped up your metabolism. This is all very good, however.....when you WEIGHT TRAIN-you want to build/maintain lean muscle. you NEED enegry from glycogen stores to build that LBM. buuuuutttt, that 25-30 min of cardio before lifting has all but used all of the glycogen stores up. seems to me to be science here, not really opinion. *edit* after a bit more research-this theory does in fact tend to be theory and science coupled into a recommendation. However, the other argument seems to be the exact same. So, it all comes down to this IMO: doing TOO much cardio prior to lifting can and most likely will cause you to tire more during weight training. Most people want to focus on lifting and do it as hard and as controled as possible. The fatiguing factors of too much cardio can be detrimental to this. However, for some people that amount of cardio may be just the perfect amount to "warm" up and get pumped for lifting. it's all really just a matter of speculation. :D

but I completely agree with the fact that everybody has an opinion on dieting, exercising, etc. There are studies beyond studies that disprove everybody else's studies. But, the main point I like to get across to everbody is this: try EVERYTHING. find out what works the best for your body. I have gone through a TON of changes trying to find the best compromise. take people's opinions and studies and mold them into a plan that can be the most effective on your body. dont expect to get the body you want in 2 months. Make your choice of change a long-term choice! However, do keep in mind the science aspect of some things. What science tells us will most likely hold true and be the most effective.

Eat more clean foods, do cardio and weight training 8 hours apart from each other. Tried and true methods that have worked for a lot of people. Dont just lost weight by burning muscle AND fat..like most "get skinny in 5 days" diets cause. catabolism is your enemy....do all that you can to avoid it! :D


and...I hate (well not really!!!) to insert a shameless plug here BUUTT..if ANY of you are still confused (as I was for a long while) and just dont know what to do to lose weight while retaining LBM...please...please consider checking out www.gotswole.com it takes the guess work out of burning fat, eating right and building LBM. not too mention it is a wonderful community of encouraging, helping, awesome people devoted to changing their lives and helping you to change yours!

Yes.......................But I'm still right. Let's not forget that.

hahhaha...oooookkkkkkaaayyyyyy fine..Ill say it:

"thats true, you're absolutely right" :p :D

I knew it.