Best cardio question

[Bobbyrude]

what is the best cardio. I keep hearing a few different things for best cardio for fat loss.
I hear doing fasted AM cardio burns fat. I heard that HIIT burns fat, and not muscle. And I also hear if your doing cardio you should keep your heart rate between 135-150. And doing cardio post workout burns fat, and not muscle. So im wondering wouldnt performing HITT break you past 150 heart rate. And wouldn't fasted AM cardio burn muscle?

I was thinking of doing HIIT 3 times a week Fasted for 15 minutes. And every workout day after workout doing 10 minutes in cardio room keeping heart rate between 135-150. But I'm bulking and want to keep my muscle and try and lessen fat gain.

 

[comrade00]

This should really get posted in the training forum...
but


I dont know much about cardio however my personal trainer has me on a cutting program where I do cardio every day(except leg day..no cardio on leg day) for 45 min on an empty stomach.

So what I do is I wake up early and go to the gym before I eat anything. I do stair master for 25 min on level 10(burns around 350 calories) and then I do treadmill of 15 inch incline at 4mph for 20 min(this burns around 280 calories).

And yes you need to keep your heart rate under 150, that way your body only uses your fat for energy. Anything over that your body will start using everything including muscle. If your heart rate skyrockets for some reason just take deep controlled breaths.

 

[Trevdog]

That old "fat burning zone" is a lot of bullshit. The truth is, the higher the intensity, the more fat you burn. While it is true that at a lower heart rate you can burn a higher percentage of fat as fuel and at higher intensities you burn a slightly higher percentage of carbohydrate as fuel - you still burn a lot more fat at higher intensities because the total calorie expenditure is much greater. This is why HIIT is so effective, and yes it will get your heart rate way above 150 if you're doing it right.

The best kind of cardio is an individual question. For me I can burn more calories in a given period of time running than doing anything else.

While it is true that doing cardio on an empty stomach forces the body to use more fat as fuel due to carb depletion (same theory with doing cardio after lifting), I don't really recommend it because it cannabalizes muscle. Better to have some whey protein in water before the cardio (no carbs is fine).

 

[DobieQueen]

I personally find that doing cardio as soon as you wake up and before you drink/eat anything works best for fat loss... you tend to use up the stored glycogen while doing lower intensity cardio... 30-45min will burn fat... it also helps to have protein with water right after with clean carbs for breaky along with glutamine and taurine.... doing more than 45 min is just wasting time as you will start burning muscle.... plus you will probably "run out of gas" and feel fairly weak... it takes some practice to handle it... but for me personally, it is totally worth it as I get great results.... similar theory for post workout... never do cardio prior to lifting...always after for 30min...

IF you like higher intensity then HIIT is wonderful.... but don't do it on empty stomach... you will kiss the floor fairly quickly... lol

I guess it's personal preference.... if you do low intensity, morning fasting cardio is awesome, if you want high intensity then HIIT is for you after you eat... try and see what your body responds to the best.... I personally swear by morning cardio before breaky!

Also timing.... some find it after 30 minutes but generally it's 45 minutes, your body switches gears and you start burning muscle.... NOT GOOD! CLEARLY! ....so start off with 30 and work your way up and see how it works. good luck.....

 

[Austinite]

There is no such thing as "Best". Fat burning process does not recognize time and/or what's in your stomach. Cardio is cardio and a calorie burned is a calorie burned. The only 2 important factors are that you do cardio, and that you're eating below your daily energy expenditure.

 

[Hull Tech]

HIIT is a bit old school Tabata is what's been used now as the go to for accelerated and extreme cardio vectors. Remember both HIIT and Tabata are methods not actual movements.. you need to choose the right movements to use with the systems. personally I like sand bag, chains and rock multi joint movements for my Tabata..

 

[4rings2snails]

HIIT is a bit old school Tabata is what's been used now as the go to for accelerated and extreme cardio vectors. Remember both HIIT and Tabata are methods not actual movements.. you need to choose the right movements to use with the systems. personally I like sand bag, chains and rock multi joint movements for my Tabata..

OK, after watching and reading about tabata, it seems to me that tabata is essentially 4 minutes of kicking ones own ass with 10 second rest intervals. This leads me to believe that the heart rate is accelerated for 4-6 minutes straight...whereas classic HIIT lets your HR come down to slightly elevated levels before ramping back up for ther next round.

Now from what I've read the whole idea of HIIT in comparison to steady state high intensity (essentially Tabata) is that the return to a lower HR and then back up for a minute and then back down is what is "muscle sparing" and the true fat burning zone. Tabata seems to be highly elevated rates for the duration of the routine as that 10 second break doesn't do anything to really lower ones HR. I saw a few videos of tabata and all I saw was catabolism being performed...

HIIT makes more sense...old school or not.

 

[J_Fox23]

austine u talk a lot of smack lets see ur bod pics to see what you look liek brah

Bro you're steppin on toes with 11 posts. Earn some respect around here before you call someone out especially Austin. He's one of the most knowledgeable guys on here and gives out nothing but grade A information. He deserves to be a mod on here.

 

[Hull Tech]

I've been using Tabata with some of the guys heading into SF training, ( JTF2), the requirement for both excellent cardio endurance and superior muscular endurance makes Tabata a better choice so far. That being said, it's not just about 1 format; with Tabata there is free weights with emphasis on explosive power and a tonne of functional multi joint training for flexibility, fine muscle control and most importantly dynamic balance.

OK, after watching and reading about tabata, it seems to me that tabata is essentially 4 minutes of kicking ones own ass with 10 second rest intervals. This leads me to believe that the heart rate is accelerated for 4-6 minutes straight...whereas classic HIIT lets your HR come down to slightly elevated levels before ramping back up for ther next round.

Now from what I've read the whole idea of HIIT in comparison to steady state high intensity (essentially Tabata) is that the return to a lower HR and then back up for a minute and then back down is what is "muscle sparing" and the true fat burning zone. Tabata seems to be highly elevated rates for the duration of the routine as that 10 second break doesn't do anything to really lower ones HR. I saw a few videos of tabata and all I saw was catabolism being performed...

HIIT makes more sense...old school or not.