Cardio? Low/high?

B

blasin

New Member
Hi, I have searched topics regarding some cardio. But I am a bit confused about them.

It seems, if you do low intensity cardio, then you will mostly burn fat.

But if you do high intensity. You will also burn calories.


Here comes the question.
If you are following a HST program. You want to take in more calories from foods. So you wouldn't want to burn calories would you?

So you/I would want to do low intensity cardio?

Thanks in advance.
 
Yes. You need your calories to grow.

It is my understanding that low intensity cardio burns a higher percentage of fat than high intensity. High intensity cardio can/will increase cortisol which will put you in a catabolic state - which inhibits growth at best and breaksdown muscle at worst.

Here's a good read: http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/cardiolayman.pdf

"evidence suggests that 65% +-5 VO2 max is optimal for total fat oxidation."
​
"In summary, cortisol increases proportionally with exercise intensity, with a threshold at 60% vo2 max; meaning that below 60% VO2 max, cortisol will be kept at bay. Thus, displaying an advantage to very low intensity exercise. However, this is not the case under a hypoglycemic condition. During such a condition, cortisol will increase dramatically no matter what intensity you train at, displaying the importance of proper nutrition."​
 
Turns out both types of cardio increase cortisol. But that's ok, because you are also lifting weights during the week so you should be fine as long as you don't overdo the cardio.

High intensity intervals are going to be better at increasing your VO2 max. Also, doing HIIT can burn calories after the session whereas steady state will only burn calories during the session.

For best results, I do both.

Here is a post from Lyle explaining the differences. It seems that both have advantages and disadvantages over each other:

http://monkeyisland.lylemcdonald.com/showthread.php?t=31228&highlight=hiit+steady+state
 
So I'm trying to loose fat I should do both high and low intensities. Would taking a low amount of carbs and increase protein make me loose fat ?
 
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