Is Some Cardio on HST Day, OK?

S

Steiner

New Member
I have searched for this topic and it seems most recommended to do cardio on the "OFF Days" But since I will only be able to make it to the gym 3 days/week I was hoping to incorporate some cardio on the same day.

I have not started HST yet but have been doing a 5 min warm-up on the eliptical and after my heavy workout, another 20-30 min on the stationary bike. When I start HST, will I be able to continue this cardio session after the weights, or should I skip cardio altogether? Do you guys think that a short period of intense or moderate cardio on HST days will impact hypertrophy that much?

Also, since the other day I have some pain in my left knee (I think it's the stationary bike) so I have been using the eliptical instead. Have any of you found the bike to be hard on the knees, as I do?

Thanks in advance folks,
Steiner
 
Never give up cardio. This is the biggest mistake I made when I started HST. All I did was lift. I did a very difficult HST cycle my first time around, sometimes spending up to 4 hours a day lifting in the latter part of the 5's.

Sure the gains were great, 30lbs over the summer (yeah some fat and a lot of water, but there was muscle involved too).

Sounds good doesn't it?

However, cardiovascular deconditioning set in very quickly. I did an olympic triathlon in May. In October I tried to run a couple of miles. The results weren't pretty
sad.gif
.

Keep doing the cardio, just do it after lifting and don't go too intense. Does your gym have a recumbant bike? They are supposed to be pretty easy on the knees.

Personally I get my cardio from two kung fu workouts a week and some time spent on the heavy bag a couple of days a week.

Doesn't matter how you get it, just do it.
 
Vagrant,

Were you also taking in excess calories during that summer to gain that much weight? Your triathlon results tell me to keep cardio in my routine though!

My gym has recumbent bikes but even these seem only to aggrivate my left knee. I wore a brace today just in case.

How much cardio is a good idea afterwards? (ie. 20 min eliptical @ moderate intensity?)
 
How many calories? Close to 5K every day, including off days.

How much cardio do you need? Well, that depends on your goals. If you wish to keep cardiovascular capacity or minimize fat gains then 20-30 should be fine.

One thing I've noticed too. Squatting and deadlifting is so much easier now that the first or second set doesn't make me short of breath. Kind of hard to lift effectively if you are gasping for air.

As far as what kind to do, it really doesn't matter. Just do what you like or are able. Swim, run, bike, walk, beat and kick on a bag, take an aerobics class...whatever.
 
Steiner

If you are not loosing muscle mass (and this only happens with excess calories burn't), then keep at it.

There is always the Tabata type HIIT which takes only 4 minutes or the steady state 20 - 30 minutes at between 50 - 70% of your Heart Rate in Beats per Minute, to find out your maximum heart rate take 220 - your current age then work out what 70% of that is and go do it.

Apparently the best fat burning frequency is between these heart rates, above that the body switches to using glycogen as energy source and that is not what you want!
 
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(Fausto @ Feb. 05 2007,06:53)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Apparently the best fat burning frequency is between these heart rates, above that the body switches to using glycogen as energy source and that is not what you want!</div>
It doesn´t &quot;switch&quot; but the higher intensity the more glycogen and fat is used, however, glycogen use is elevated much more than what fat is so the ratio between them changes drastically at very high instensity and if you are training with weights, you dont want to waste too much glycogen during cardio as you will need all you can get the next time you lift.
 
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