Thread: Cardio Question

Do you have injuries or any other problems on them? If there are none, it should be fine. What is your specific fitness goal? More info please.

I am looking to have more lean muscle than bulky. No Injuries.

Thanks!

Distance runners tend to have "lean" while sprinters tend to have "bulky". Depending on what you are actually doing for Cardio, you should be okay. Lighter weights and higher reps generally equates to leaner muscle mass.

Of course, you have no control over your genes and all of us are predisposed to one body type or the other. How are your parent's built?

I have to say, I think bigger/thicker legs ROCK! I have them and I love them. If you want to be strong - as in, explosive - or have physical performance goals, I'd chase those without worrying about what your legs look like. You will never reach your genetic potential with the Tracy Anderson method, but you'll always be able to pick up a 3-lb weight without straining a muscle

I joke. But seriously, you've got some serious power lurking in those fabulous gams. Love it!

I also have been told to do 45 min cardio and i do this 3 days a week generally half on bike and half on cross trainer. I'm starting to find it alot easier, should i be starting to do shorter periods with interval training on the bike? My goal is to lose weight and tone, but not bulky just lean. I dont mind just keeping a good pace and doing cardio for a longer period of time if that means ill stay lean. I just heard that the more cardio you do the more your body adjusts to it and less calories you can burn.

Yeah I try to do cardio with some resistance as well, I like to have a well-rounded workout. Although I'm still trying trial and error to see what works for me

What you want to try and avoid is your body's ability to adapt to "muscle memory". Eventually, your body will adjust to whatever activity you are putting it through and you will "plateau" or not continue to see the results you desire. This is due to "muscle memory". So, in order to avoid this, you need to keep your body guessing by switching up your routine frequently (like every four to six weeks).

Change equipment, increase the resistence, add free weights, etc. Keep your body guessing and it will keep "working" towards your goals.

45 minutes, three times per week is about the minimum all of us should be exercising, or elevating our heart rate (doing cardio). I would suggest increasing your efforts to four times each week and keep everything else the same for now. If you can't increase to four times per week then increase the amount of time from 45 minutes to 60. Break it up between two or three pieces of equipment.