Bodybuilding CardioThe importance of cardiovascular exercise when building muscle cannot be stressed enough yet there are many programs that dismiss the need for bodybuilding cardio workouts, or who play down the link between cardio and muscle gain. In this post you will learn about the three types cardio and find out if cardio is necessary for building muscle and if so, which type is the best cardio for bodybuilders.

Low to Medium Intensity Cardio Workouts

Low to Medium intensity bodybuilding cardio consists of exercises such as walking, jogging, cycling and swimming. Walking is obviously at the lower end of the scale and more energetic exercises such as swimming will require more exertion. The duration for this group of cardiovascular activities should be about 30 minutes to an hour. If you are overweight or quite unfit it is best to ease yourself into it with some walking and then increase the intensity of your exercise as your fitness improves.

Although this type of cardio burns fewer calories than the more intense cardio workouts it is a cardio exercise type that burns fat and not waste muscle so this makes it a good cardio for bodybuilding.

High Intensity Cardio Routines

High intensity cardio work is, as the name suggests, of higher intensity…no kidding! All of the exercises you utilize in the lower to medium intensity workouts can be used again except cranked up a few gears! This obviously means the duration of your training has to shorten as more effort is exerted and a 30 minute session is more than ample. Because of the nature of high intensity cardio exercise your body will require more energy in a shorter time frame and the only way your body can do this is by using the stored glycogen in your muscles.

High Intensity Interval Training

High intensity interval training is a type of cardiovascular workout that requires you to alternate between short bursts of highly intense and less intense exercise. In this case the high intensity workout should be extremely intense, basically you will go flat out and work as hard as you possibly can for 15 to 30 seconds, depending on your level of fitness, and then work at around 50% for the same period of time. This should be repeated for fifteen minutes by which time, if you have worked as hard as you can, you will be absolutely shattered!

Because of the sudden, sharp bursts of exercise your body will again tap into your glycogen stores for energy, but you will burn a lot of calories!

So…Which is the Best Cardio For Bodybuilding?

OK…so the explanations of each of the types of cardio exercise types were brief, but they did cover the most important aspects. The most important factor that we should be concerned with in regards to the best cardio for bodybuilders is what type of energy is used during exercise and where does it come from?

A bodybuilding cardio workout needs to burn fewer calories but also burn fat without tapping into your glycogen stores which are required to help build muscle. Your muscles require energy to increase in size and this is why you do not want to burn too many calories. Therefore, the best bodybuilding cardio workout is definitely the low to medium intensity workout, however the timing of when you perform your cardio workout does make a difference.

When Should You Plan To Do Cardio?

Timing, as mentioned, is important and you will most likely want to combine your cardio and bodybuilding, i.e. weight training, into some sort of daily schedule.

When you do so, always plan so that you do your cardio work at some point after your weight training and before you eat (ensuring that you have the right diet for building muscle and losing fat is also important!), this is because your muscles will have used up any glycogen stored in them and although low to medium intensity cardio primarily takes it’s energy from your body’s fat store, it has no glycogen to fall back on so will continue to burn fat even if you push a bit harder. You could even go to high intensity cardio this being the case!

Are There Any Programs That Incorporate Cardio Into There Plan?

The Six Pack Shortcuts Program goes into detail about the benefits of using cardio to build muscle and why cardio and bodybuilding need to go hand in hand, as it is a program specifically designed for people who want to get a six pack but also need to lose weight.

SPS is a great program which is becoming increasingly popular with both men and women as it helps them get to where they want to be in a relatively short timescale.

For More Information You Can Access the Official Site Here

Catch Up With You all Later!

Vince

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