Aerobic or anaerobic?

BARKER!

Which form of cardio is best for burning fat whilst most importantly retaining muscle mass? Will i retain more of my muscle mass from a high intensity workout (ie fast run/sprints) or from a low intensity workout (ie slow run)?

Also is it best to do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach or havin eating an hour or so before?

I'v read the best time to do cardio for fat burning purposes is to do it without eating. This makes sense as the body would burn fat for energy as there is no food inside you, however i have also read that when performing cardio it is best to eat before and after your workout if you want to retain muscle.

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I have shy'd away from cardio in the past because i have lossed too juch muscle when doing cardio, however i want to loose a little fat but my main aim is to retain the muscle i have worked so hard for!

PScarb

for fatloss and to retain muscle mass walking at a brisk pace on a treadmill for 30 - 45min first thing in the morning is best IMO

BARKER!

So your suggesting aerobis exercise on an empty stomach. Without rubbishing your coments, i found this statement on a website and its not the only one which makes this claim.

Intervals help you burn extra calories because they work your muscles harder than steady, moderately paced aerobic exercise. And because they work both aerobic and anaerobic systems, intervals do a better job of helping you retain muscle while losing fat. The more carbohydrates burned by your muscles to fuel the higher intensity exercise, the more fat burned after the exercise to repair, replenish and rebuild these muscles.

BARKER!

I have been considering doing moderate slow pace cardio whilst eating before and after traing (including high protien intake) to burn fat in an aerobic state whilst feeding my muscles to help keep the size.

Each person is different and every website/article/study seems to contradict the next.

I used to wiegh 9 stone ringing wet and have put on about 3 stone mostly muscle with a bit of fat which i want to loose. This means as soon as i do cardio or reduce my calorie intake my body size begins to reduce drastically.

My main reason for wanting to loose fat is as although i still have a pretty defind '6 pack', by body fat percentage is above 20% and im only 22. This must mean that my internal organs are surrounded by fat. My diet is very 'clean', although to keep my size i eat 5 to 6 portions of carbohydrates a day (each about 50g). It may be this what is turning into body fat. The thing is, as i say as soon as i reduce my carbohydrate intake i start losing valueable muscle mass!

LeeB

1 - pscarb is correct

2 - interval training increases cardiovascular fitness... it does burn more calories.. however these calories are mainly muscle glycogen and not bodyfat.. if your on s strict diet and do this type of training then tghemost likely result is that it will burn muscle tissue as energy! if you want to get lean and KEEP HARD EARNED MUSCLE then take pscarbs advice.

3 - we dont need a study to prove the above.. hundreds of bodybuilders diet for shows every year... i bet you 99% of them will give you the same answer as pscarb.. who himself is a very successful competitive bodybuilder.

4 - i read on a website somewhere that you can make gold from horse sh*te... just cos its on a website dont mean its true!

5 - how are you testing your bodyfat.. are you using calipers from multiple points on yuor body? or some type of scales? and who cares if your insides are surrounded in fat?

6 - you say when you reduce your carb intake you seem to lose muscle mass... when you reduce carbs.. your reducing calories... i.e. energy your body uses... so it has to burn something... have you tried replacing these carb calories with extra calories from good protein sources? or even healthy fats? - o even timing when you feed your body carbs so that it uses them more appropriately?

LeeB

sorry to be a total arse... BUT just re-read your quote from a website above.... can this person also explain to us how burning FAT repairs and rebuilds muscle??? lol

BARKER!

Haha, ya quite right. This was just a daft website anyway its just that i have read the same in many studies which to be fair all contradict each other.

One study shown on bodybuilding.com stated that low intensity cardio brunt more muscle and that this form of cardio can only be used by competative bodybuilders who have gained excess muscle during their 'bulking phase'.

So to summerise the best way to try to loose a bit of body fat whilst, most importantly keep existing and gain further muscle with resistance training, is to perform low intensity cardio on an empty stomach?

PScarb

thanks Lee....

BARKER - high intensity cardio burns calories much better than low intensity cardio this is fact but it is where these calories come from that matters when you exert more than 65%intensity your body uses carbs for energy therfore burning carbs or turning protein in to simple sugars and burning them.....BUT when you train at 65% or less your body uses fat for energy hence why it is renoudly known that doing cardio before breakfast on an empty stomach using walking at approx 3mph is best for fat loss....

and just so you don't feel left out i have collected some statements about supplements from a few websites -
It is backed by amazing scientifically backed data which shows that 1-testosterone is over 700% more anabolic than the anabolic steroid testosterone and has a longer effective lifespan.
Its anabolic activity is prolonged for increased muscle growth and strength.

And

Anator-p70 ™ is the most exciting development in the
science of muscle growth ever recorded!

now i am sure a decent course of D/bol will yeild far better results than a year on either of these but seeing as it says it on the web it must be true....

BARKER!

I dont believe everything i read on the net its just there are so many websites, studies and people givin so many different theorys all contradicting each other, i really wanted to get to the bottom of this one.

I have now started doing cardio in the form u's have advised.

Cheers for the help boys!

LeeB

thats why this website is such a useful resource.. we are not advertisments or studys.. we are people with first hand experience!