Tip of the Week: Cardiovascular System and Fat Burning

[TheMac]

Many people ask me what intensity should they do their cardio at but the truth is it depends on the rest of your training. Amazing article written by Venom on the topic can be found at:
http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/Nutrientpartitioningpart1.php
http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/Nutrientpartitioningpart2.php
http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/Nutrientpartitioningpart3.php
http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/Nutrientpartitioningpart4.php

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But i want you to understand one more thing about cardiovascular training, the better shape your cardio system is in the more fat you burn during ANY activity. Did you know that as your cardiovascular system increases so does the threshold for your aerobic system? this means that a higher percent of fat is burned at higher intensities. This also creates a higher percentage of fat being burned while you are at rest!

The reason for this is mostly due to our mitochondria. Mitochondria soak up fat for energy unlike any other system so the more we have the better!

Interestingly enough an untrained person will have an aerboic threshold of about 40% of their Max VO2, while elite Cross Country Skiers are able to work at 90% of their max VO2 while remaining in their aerobic system, How cool is that! This would traslate to being able to do near sprints while still having fat as the major energy source!

This proves to be very important for bodybuilders as we strive to burn as much fat as possible while keeping our glycogen stores as full as possible.

In times of a major caloric restriction i would not recommend doing too much high intensity cardio as you want to preserve your carbs but if you train under 4 times a week with weights or are on a bulk, high intensity cardio will make future cuts that much easier!!

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[stillflabby]

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Interestingly enough an untrained person will have an aerboic threshold of about 40% of their Max VO2, while elite Cross Country Skiers are able to work at 90% of their max VO2 while remaining in their aerobic system, How cool is that! This would traslate to being able to do near sprints while still having fat as the major energy source!

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That's awesome, but is there anyway the average person can determine this for him/her self?

I'm thinking something like the "talk/sing" test while exercising.
Let's say I'm doing cardio, and I can still talk at 150BPM with out gasping, but if I kick it up to say 165, and can talk, with pauses with breathing. My threshold might be somewhere in between.

Thanks for the information...I have some reading to do. Or re-reading as it were.

[ro151]

i'm training to maintain muscle while losing fat. i'm hoping to drop 5% body fat by summer. i'm currently doing a split routine working out 4 days a week (each bodypart 2x week). after reading these articles, i'm a little confused. can someone tell me what's the best time to do cardio (before or after weight training), how frequently a week, how many minutes and at what heart rate. i'm 38, 5'10", 185 lbs. any help is greatly appreciated!

[TheMac]

Hey ro151 there are a few factors to consider here,

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what's the best time to do cardio

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Generally speaking seperating cardio and weight training by 6 hours is recommended and will lead to the best results. If this is not an option for you (if you aren't working over 10 hours a day i can't see how you can't have the time if you want it bad enough) then either doing 30minutes of low intensity before or higher intensity after would be your best bet. Remember to try and minimize the time spent doing cardio after a workout as you want your Post Workout Shake as soon as possible to supress cortisol.

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how frequently a week, how many minutes and at what heart rate.

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My recommendation is that the more times you spend weight training a week the less high intensity cardio i would do while on a cut. In your case you should have no problem doing cardio at least 3 times a week with 1-2 of them being higher intensity. As for the time length this will depend on your intensity, to optimize fat burning 30-60minutes at 70-80% of your Max HR would be great. For cardiovascular benefits i would recommend intervals reaching a minimum of 90% of your max HR for best results.

Hope that helps! /forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[TheMac]

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I'm thinking something like the "talk/sing" test while exercising.
Let's say I'm doing cardio, and I can still talk at 150BPM with out gasping, but if I kick it up to say 165, and can talk, with pauses with breathing. My threshold might be somewhere in between.


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Although it wold be difficult to find out anything exact your idea would be a great estimate! Lactic Acid would be another sign you are working anaerobicly.

[mighty mouse]

thats good stuff. ive heard it all before but now it makes sence to me. thanks

[W8isGR8]

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Interestingly enough an untrained person will have an aerboic threshold of about 40% of their Max VO2, while elite Cross Country Skiers are able to work at 90% of their max VO2 while remaining in their aerobic system,

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Source?

[TheMac]

I will find on if you want, i beleive i read it in one of my profs physiology text books. I'll get back to you there bro if you really want it /forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[W8isGR8]

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I will find on if you want, i beleive i read it in one of my profs physiology text books. I'll get back to you there bro if you really want it /forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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No big deal, just found it interesting

[A.J. Rochon]

What about after doing cardio? Say a 30-40 min run(jog). Does consuming immediately dextrose and maltodextrin apply in this case aswell?

[shodan]

No PWS after doing cardio, most people wait 45 min to an hour and then consume some lean protein and complex carbs.

[A.J. Rochon]

<font color="red">"For cardiovascular benefits i would recommend intervals reaching a minimum of 90% of your max HR for best results."</font>

What about using this as an other option for building Quads? It looks effective since sprinters have hugh legs. It utilizes fast twitch 2B`s. I take it that this would also burns a lot of glycogen that would have to be replaced soon after.

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<font color="red">"For cardiovascular benefits i would recommend intervals reaching a minimum of 90% of your max HR for best results."</font>

What about using this as an other option for building Quads? It looks effective since sprinters have hugh legs. It utilizes fast twitch 2B`s. I take it that this would also burns a lot of glycogen that would have to be replaced soon after.


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Yep, right on! Sprinting is very anaerobic. It actually hits the hams and calves harder than glutes and quads, but definitely awesome for legs. Try substituting sprinting for leg day as a shock! Walk-back sprints work great - sprint all out for 15 seconds, then walk back to your starting line (about 45 seconds) and do that 5 times. Work up one more each time.

Since that type of exercise is at such a high intensity, you're right, it burns mostly glycogen for fuel. So, after you're done, you'd probably want to eat some high GI carbs or a Post workout shake similar to after a weight training workout /forum/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[TheMac]

^^ What he said.

And although the hams do most of the concentric work while sprinting the Quads do a lot of eccentric work so they get hit hard too /forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I would not recommend replacing a leg workout with sprints but they are a great way to increase the frequency of lower body work. Sprinting has been one of the few methods that work to bring my calves up to par, i have seen huge changes in them since i started sprinting.

[Attila]

This thread gave me an idea. By this rational could you design a workout routine for individuals (primarily female) who wish to burn fat while not putting on too much bulk? What I'm thinking is stamina lifting to target the capillary rich ST muscle fibers. Activities such as 'Hundreds' lifting utilize extremely low weight with extremely high reps to increase capillary density. Primarily this is used to reduce recovery time and/or break plateaus but it could replace a traditional routine altogether.

Since ST fibers don't grow nearly as large as FT fibers you cold in theory design a full body stamina lifting routine to increase your body's overall capillary density without bulking up to a great extent. I know from experience one of the hardest myths to break through is that women will look manish if they lift weights. It's total BS but they never believe you. All the women I know usually go the cardio route and end up hurting their knees.

To each their own but to my understanding weight lifting has a much greater resting caloric burn than cardio. More mass means more calories spent to maintain it all day long. Could a great deal of that be the amount of capillaries in that mass of muscle? If that's so would a greatly increased capillary density over the whole body give a similar effect?

I started researching stamina lifting and capillary density for a completely different reason but this thread put a whole new spin on it for me. Thanks!

[Venom]

Attila

Well, first off, women will never be able to be "massive" unless they take drugs (i.e. steroids) and eat an excess of calories. They simply lack the hormonal mileu that men have to achieve such a feet. So yes, it is certainly a myth that lifting weights will automatically make women bulky.

Capillary density is really not going to raise metabolism. Capillaries are responsible for defusion of nutrients and hormones to adjacent tissues. So if you have more capillaries, you will get a greater supply of nutrients and hormones to tissues, like muscle.

The aspects of exercise that would increase metabolic rate are increased mitochondria (the so called "cellular furnace" where you produce most of your ATP), increased muscle mass, and particularly increased muscle protein turnover. And of course, just the calories you used during exercise, and the increased short term caloric expenditure after exercise due to a variety of reasons such as increased adrenaline.

From cardio, you will increase mitochondria, capillaries, and use a lot of calories. Weight lifting and also sprinting (very high intensity cardio) will have a great impact on increasing muscle protein turnover, and muscle mass.

So a combination of both cardio and lifting weights is ideal for weight loss. And at the end of the day, you will also look better and be more functional with the combination of both.

[Attila]

Wow, I'm starting to wish I had taken biology in college rather than chemistry. Thanks so much, that answered a ton of questions I had.

Now I remember back in the day I tried a program where I was doing a 30minute lifting routine flush. All heavy weight, low rep but never more rest than it took to move stations. It sure got your heart pumping like crazy, would that activate both the cardio (mitochondria) and weight lifting (mass) aspects you described above?

[Venom]

Yes, but to maximize mitochondria biogenesis from exercise, you will need to do cardio.