Sports Realm

How does cardio affect muscle building?

Any old time stalwart, when asked, will tell you that cardio is a waste of time.

But let me tell you that this is not true.

Cardio helps muscle building in two ways.

1) Muscle building cardio warm-up.

The best way to warm up before lifting weights is a five-minute light cardio session.

It not only reduces the risk of injury to your limbs by prepping them for your weight lifting session but also increases your body’s core temperature.

You can chose from any form of cardio such as running, spot jogging, using a stair climber or elliptical trainer, or cycling.

Your heart rate increases during a cardio session, resulting in adequate blood being pumped throughout your body, and this prepares your body for a weight training session.

2) Muscle building cardio for definition.

Cardio only plays a role during the warm up session of your exercise, and not otherwise, if your goal is only to increase strength and build muscle volume.

However, a combination of high intensity cardio and weight training is required if you want to get ripped muscles and six pack abs.

I have seen this, more often that not, in gyms around the country.

People mostly head to the gym to get the ripped physique of their favorite movie star.

Then, after pumping iron for months, even though they get bigger and stronger, they find it difficult to get the definition that they’re looking for.

For well-defined muscles, you need to include muscle building cardio into your workout.

So would you choose muscle building cardio that comprises of a long, leisurely run through that park or 45-minutes on the treadmill every alternate day?

None of them.

If you are looking for serious definition, there is only one form of muscle building cardio that can get you those washboard abs and make you look ripped: high intensity, low interval cardio.

That’s correct; you don’t need to spend hours running on the treadmill.

For it to be truly effective, muscle building cardio needs to be very intense and short, just like weight training.

Now that we have spoken about the kind of cardio that needs to be done, let’s talk about how often and when.

It has been shown through studies that maximum fat is burned when you perform a high intensity cardio just after the weight training session.

Doing cardio after your weight training session also means that you won’t have to schedule time for exercises on your off days.

In fact, by adding some standalone muscle building cardio on your off days, you can even maximize your fat loss.

It is a good idea to start slow if you’ve previously never done high intensity muscle building cardio.

Starting off slow does not mean you need to reduce the intensity; it simply means that you should reduce the number of days in a week that you want to do this.

Trust me; it is not easy to do high intensity muscle building cardio.

You will be left panting for breath, while your muscles burn and your eyes water.

But don’t give up, and in time, the fat will dissolve revealing the muscles beneath.

Visit the website below for additional information on muscle building cardio training….

By Don Demarco. Don is a fitness coach and writer. Have you been misled by these popular fitness myths? Don debunks them at Men’s Workout Heaven Are you inviting injury the way you train? Here are a few simple tips that greatly reduce this risk. Visit Men’s Workout: Avoid Injury