Cardio with HST

S

SWQuintin

New Member
I'm about to begin a new HST program, and I'd like to know how much cardio (and at what intensity) would be beneficial. I'm 36, I've been lifting for two years, and I generally run 3 miles at a slow pace (6mph) 3-4x per week.
 
Too much cardio in conjunction with HST will limit your recovery ability and will increase the likelihood for overtraining. Your current volume of 3 miles 3-4x per week is probably too much if you're planning on adding a 3x per week HST program.  If I were you, I'd superset my HST exercises to get a cardio workout along with the weight training.  Then run a little longer after the workout if you feel up to it. On the other four non-workout days of the week, rest, eat well, and recover.  After a few weeks if you feel like you can handle more volume and you're not overtraining, then add some more cardio, either to the end of the workouts or to an off day.
 
ive had some personal experience with this as i like to run,i had to drop the running to twice a week(3-4miles) so as not to overtrain,but i would definitley not run after a good work out you run the risk of exhausting glycogen stores(among others)and your body may begin to break down proteins(muscle) and fat(the latter being a good thing),if you have to run make sure its a short one.although i dont take it anymore i found that creatine allowed me to train and run without any overtraining issues. good luck.
 
I would do cardio for a bit before your workout rather than afterwards. As for the the 3 miles or so on non-lifting days, I don't forsee it as a problem, but it is different for every person. I run a few miles on OFF days, but then again I am 20 years old.
 
it has been shown that even though a muscle has been loaded again after protein synthesis has begun,that this did not inhibit the muscle from growing..so doing cardio on of days wont do any harm in fact it will help burn fat and clean the lactic acid out of the muscles like a metabolic set.even if you do cardio after a weghts session as long as you replace the glycogen stores with a sports glucose dextrose drink that should be ok.
 
I think this varies depending on the person, but.....My own personal experience over the past 6 weeks has been cardio definitely cuts into my gains.

I used to run 4 times per week, 30 minutes per session, as I was always concerned with keeping fat under control. When I started HST, I cut back to 3 x per week on the running, only on the off days, and was feeling very tired most of the time. Well, long story short, I now keep my cardio at 3 days per week, but do ONLY incline walking on a treadmill for 20 minutes a shot. I keep my heart rate in the "zone" for my age, but find that my legs, and just about everything else, are doing far better without the running.

I've also noticed NO extra fat gain with the cut back, and frankly, am thinking of dropping it altogether. I'm starting to believe that cardio is not all it's cracked up to be, and does nothing but inhibit strength and size gains. (At least for me). My wife has been a prime example for myself as well. She cut cardio altogether 2 months ago and has gained more mass, and dropped more body fat, than when she was running 5 miles a day 6 days a week.

But again, in the end, I think it really depends on the person, and how your body reacts to different types of stimulus.
 
there are also health benefits to cardio..the heart and lungs are muscles and need exercise, the stronger the heart and lungs the easier it is to pump blood and oxygen to the muscles surely that must be a good thing.
 
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