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Too much cardio?

sailor1029 Posts: 76 Joined: 2003/05/12	2003/10/07, 05:45 PM I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this question, but is there such thing as too much cardio? I'm going to the gym 5 days a week, eating properly, and I'd like to add an additional 30 minutes of cardio 7 days a week. I know good things don't come quickly, but I also know that the more I put into this, the more I'll get out of it. So tell me, Is there such thing as too much cardio? -Scott PS: I'm back after two months of summer (army reserve) training and a month of relaxation.
bb1fit Posts: 11,105 Joined: 2001/06/30	2003/10/07, 07:03 PM Yes, too much cardio can actually teach your body to store fat in certain areas in anticipation of the next bout. It is a survival mechanism, like being chased through jungles and endless deserts. This will cause your body to be secreting tons of cortisol in response, which will eat muscle and further slow your metabolism, giving you the opposite of what you are trying to achieve. Your muscle to fat ration will actually become worse, and this leads to the cycle of never making any headway, though you are exercising like crazy and eating "right". -------------- Great people never want it easier, they just want to be better! Ron
FirstJump Posts: 3 Joined: 2003/10/07	2003/10/08, 03:11 PM Alright, and as a corollary to that question. How much is too much? My major goal right now is to loose this paunch, so I'm throwing myself into it. How much can I do without instigating this survival reaction from my body? -Scott
Philia2 Posts: 4,078 Joined: 2001/10/19	2003/10/09, 02:24 AM Cardio training 3-4 times a week is enough. Weight training heavy 2-4 times and what about doing one good circuit training as well? That's enough to get the results you want. Good luck! -------------- - Nina :o) Les Victoires éternelles sont celles du coeur.
kjerl Posts: 14 Joined: 2003/10/02	2003/10/17, 11:01 AM What about HIIT? I am thinking of replacing regular cardio with HIIT. I normally do about 40 mins of cardio, but if I replace it with HIIT, how long should those sessions be?
bb1fit Posts: 11,105 Joined: 2001/06/30	2003/10/17, 12:54 PM Mix it up. Don't do one type of cardio all the time. Do HIIT one time, a more standard cardio the next. Standard cardio sessions should last no more than 25-30 minutes, HIIT no more than 12-18 min. HIIT has a very anerobic component to it, thus more fat burning over the long haul in a shorter period of work time. -------------- Great people never want it easier, they just want to be better! Ron
britder Posts: 10 Joined: 2003/10/15	2003/10/17, 01:41 PM I went to the fitness room here in my apartments on Tues. for one hour on tred at average 3.0 incline and 3.2 pace. Weds. the same, only for 1/2 hour, then arm strengthening, and Thurs. I was on the tred. again for 1 hour, same pace and incline. Is that too much on the tredmill? I don't start my program until this monday, so I am just trying to get myself ready.
kjerl Posts: 14 Joined: 2003/10/02	2003/10/20, 12:58 PM Cardio myth? I heard that you don't start to burn fat until 18mins or so of cardio; thats why its recommened to do at least 30 mins.
asimmer Posts: 8,201 Joined: 2003/01/07	2003/10/20, 04:46 PM The amount of fat you burn depends on many factors, but the most important thing is total overall calories and 'afterburn' when you do HIIT you burn a lot more calories in less time and you experience a longer metabolic increase afterwards. Long sessions of cardio can fatigue your heart, over 45 minutes has been shown to be a waste of time. It may be in what is considered a fat-burning zone, but those zones have basically been debunked. You still end up burning less calories and have les after-burn. I am sure bbfit will have a more scientific article on this, I am too lazy right now to find the data.. -------------- Challenge + Consistency = Results "You do or you do not. There is no try." - Yoda