BEST CARDIO to MAINTAIN MUSCLE????

[My_Pitch27]

Hey guys...
I'll keep it short and simple.
191lbs, m, 28, 11-14%bf train 4-5 days week, lift hard eat right

My question is this...

What is the best cardio to maintain muscle mass and lose bodyfat? I'm trying to lose that extra lil bit in my lower tummy and lovehandles! I've researched so much and have been doing speed rope in between some lifting sets and roughly 15-20 mins 3-4 times a week of light cardio on a treadmill after my workout at 12-12.5 incline, speed 2.0-2.5

Does anyone have any other suggestions besides diet? I mean, is high intensity better or low intensity, what type and how long, how often???? any feedback and/or experience will be beneficial as well.

Thanks!

 

[Fingerling]

Id aim for the above, 30 min medium cardio. dont push yourself, maintain a steady pace and dont get winded. aim for 300 cals if your machine hits it....assuming that your diet is indeed incheck that will add up easily

 

[My_Pitch27]

right on guys...
anyone else have any advice?

 

[Mike696]

Doesn't a lot of cardio produce alot cortisol? Which in terms eats away at muscles? Trying to learn the same thing but keep hearing cortisol is produced more when doing any cardio.

 

[mrricco2012]

I hear HIIT is a great cardio, that is suppose to help not burn less muscle compared to other cardio

 

[Mrrippedzilla]

Best cardio to maintain muscle is hiit.
Look at a sprinters physique - enough said.

 

[Storm827]

yea but their all on steroids.. just ask ben johnston

 

[venomancer]

Muscle loss is rarely a problem unless you're not getting enough protein.

IIRC you may burn more amino acids (protein) during slow cardio, but as long as those AAs are coming from your blood (i.e. you are eating well) then there's no reason for your body to dig into lean muscle mass to get them.

This is probably why even super low-calorie keto diets are considered "muscle sparing."

High intensity cardio would probably burn fewer AAs but it's harder on your central nervous system and also requires a lot of glycogen and adrenaline to get a "good" session - unlike steady state.

Some people would disagree, but I think it's easier to do primarily fasted cardio with adequate protein intake on a day-to-day basis. Plus, steady state is considered "safer" than HIIT when you're on any sort of diet drug that affects heart rate or blood pressure (which is basically all of them.)

 

[spiderpig]

BCAA's before cardio! Do rapid intervals not long boring joggin! increase post workout calories by a fraction!

 

[spiderpig]

Doesn't a lot of cardio produce alot cortisol? Which in terms eats away at muscles? Trying to learn the same thing but keep hearing cortisol is produced more when doing any cardio.

Whaaaaaa?

 

[venomancer]

BCAA's before cardio! Do rapid intervals not long boring joggin! increase post workout calories by a fraction!

I have yet to see a believable study where BCAAs prevented muscle loss. Especially during cardio.

They don't even prevent it in theory.

Doesn't a lot of cardio produce alot cortisol? Which in terms eats away at muscles? Trying to learn the same thing but keep hearing cortisol is produced more when doing any cardio.

No. Excess stress produces cortisol. If you're doing less than an hour of cardio a day, you're fine. Assuming you sleep at night. You get the idea.

 

[forumaddicted]

Hiit is the best and fantastic cardio to maintain muscle.

 

[juced_porkchop]

I have yet to see a believable study where BCAAs prevented muscle loss. Especially during cardio.

Here is a couple of many:
Long-term effects of leucine supplementation on body composition: Long-term effects of leucine ... [Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI

Branched-chain amino acid supplementation during trekking at high altitude. The effects on loss of body mass, body composition, and muscle power: Long-term effects of leucine ... [Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI

They don't even prevent it in theory. How so? Makes lots of sense to me, I have researched this before. your theory must be flawed or you don't understand the theory they convey about it.



No. Excess stress produces cortisol. If you're doing less than an hour of cardio a day, you're fine. Assuming you sleep at night. You get the idea.

In red




I dont really care for cardio or workouts for fatloss, its more about diet. workouts is minimal on fatloss.
try carbcycling.
I DO rec cardio of course, for health.

 

[juced_porkchop]

Id aim for the above, 30 min medium cardio. dont push yourself, maintain a steady pace and dont get winded. aim for 300 cals if your machine hits it....assuming that your diet is indeed incheck that will add up easily

yeah cardios is the difference of eating two cookies or workout out for 30-50min... why i just subtract the cookies for fatloss and do cardio for health more so.

 

[bigbody305]

IMO everyone is diff, My easy way to cut fat is diet 100% and fasted cardio with precardio supps. for about 30 mins on Target heart rate and after a BCAA brink with a nice breafast. Watch the fat melt off in a week or 2

 

[bigbody305]

drink*

 

[venomancer]

In red




I dont really care for cardio or workouts for fatloss, its more about diet. workouts is minimal on fatloss.
try carbcycling.
I DO rec cardio of course, for health.

The ineffectiveness of BCAAs is a claim (rather well) substantiated by Lyle McDonald. Basically for something to prevent catabolism, it has to either promote protein synthesis or prevent breakdown. Non-essential amino acids may have a claim to promoting protein synthesis, but with no essential amino acids present to actually synthesize anything with, its mechanisms of action are controversial to say the least.
It's sort of pricey for anyone on a budget, too.

 

[jdenny]

Best cardio to maintain muscle is hiit.
Look at a sprinters physique - enough said.

Hi,
I also say that hiit is the best cardio. High intensity, short duration cardio has become more popular in recent years. The most effective form of high intensity cardio has been proven to High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Read more muscleandstrength.com/articles/cardio-question-what-type-cardio-best-fat-loss.html

 

[Turkey_535i]

yeah cardios is the difference of eating two cookies or workout out for 30-50min... why i just subtract the cookies for fatloss and do cardio for health more so.

Agree 100%, cardio mostly for heart health, very minimal calories will be burnt doing light cardio...you can walk all fucking day and not burn very many calories, all about diet!

 

[Danielsu21]

I always had trouble burning fat and maintaining muscle but started bccas and weighted jump rope 3 times a week and its pretty noticeable