Contest Prep Cardio

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Hey everyone. Started into contest prep yesterday. I really want to nail my conditioning this time and I have a question about how you guys ramp up and/or determine how much cardio to do.

I plan to do either fasted am or post training LISS. My plan right now is to start at 20 min three times per week and go up as I go along and hit plateus in fat loss.

Is 60 min. per week to little to start off with? How do you guys determine when you are going to ratchet up the time? How much do you go up at one time?

Any other insight into cardio is welcome as well.

[Rocky]

High intensity cardio

[zalex999]

http://www.youtube.com/user/TEAMSKIP#p/u/21/24CTBVG_U8k

I like how skip talks about it here, so ill let him do the talking.

[Freakzilla]

The main point I took away from that video is that you only count the time your in your target heart range. I've been guilty of counting my warmup as my total time because of the time I can spend in the gym.

Freak:rain:

[zalex999]

The main point I took away from that video is that you only count the time your in your target heart range. I've been guilty of counting my warmup as my total time because of the time I can spend in the gym.

Freak:rain:

My main takeaway was use cardio as a tool, not a crutch. If your diet is in order you should be strategic with cardio, dont eat like a fool and think 1.5hours of cardio/day 7days/wk is gonna get you lean.

[BryanB]

Is 60 min. per week to little to start off with? How do you guys determine when you are going to ratchet up the time? How much do you go up at one time?

I guess the answer would be, "How far out is your contest and what kind of shape are you in?"

I would do 30 minute sessions (after you reach heart rate). Start with 3 sessions per week and adjust from there. If you aren't seeing changes then add a day or change diet. Do one or the other to see if one is working before you add something you don't need to.

[DCBliever]

Pick a baseline number of minutes per week based on how far out you are from your show. How lean are you now? How hard was it for you to lose fat your last prep? What'd you do your last prep and how did it work out for you? Lots of stuff to consider. Even if you do LISS I think you should do more than 3 sessions but maybe less duration. Like SKIP says it's more of a metabolic stimulation. You can up the duration of each session as your progress slows down.

[eggwhites]

Last 2 preps (to lean out, not for a contest), I started with around 45 minutes 4 times per week and slowly upped it until I reached a little over 2 hours every day (split up between a fasted AM session and a post-workout PM session).

I have been doing 45 min every morning this off season, so I'm going to have to start with a higher number next prep.

[DCBliever]

Last 2 preps (to lean out, not for a contest), I started with around 45 minutes 4 times per week and slowly upped it until I reached a little over 2 hours every day (split up between a fasted AM session and a post-workout PM session).

I have been doing 45 min every morning this off season, so I'm going to have to start with a higher number next prep.

Are you letting your bodyfat go? 2 hours a day seems a bit too much, the diet should be working. I even think SKIP said 1 hour a day 5 days a week is about the limit.

[Adam2433]

2hrs a day and you weren't even doing a show??? I'd definitely say there are some flaws in your diet if you needed that much cardio just to "lean out".

[Rocky]

ronnie coleman used to do 2 hours a day prepping for the olympia!

[DCBliever]

ronnie coleman used to do 2 hours a day prepping for the olympia!

I Think he'll agree, he's not Ronnie Coleman, but that's just a guess on my part.

[Heckman]

I Think he'll agree, he's not Ronnie Coleman, but that's just a guess on my part.

Ya think???...lol

[Daniel7908]

I Think he'll agree, he's not Ronnie Coleman, but that's just a guess on my part.

Lol... And there's also that famous video showing Ronnie 5.5 weeks before the Olympia, deadlifting 800 lbs for 2 reps. Who else on Earth could try that?

[[email protected]]

ROFLMAO!!
Yeah, I pretty much discount everything that Ronnie Coleman did/does. Elite genetics above and beyond anything ever seen before, IMO.
Actually, that sounds bad like I'm dissing him, which I don't mean at all. He is also one of the hardest working BBers ever, and aside from genetics he's built his physique lifting heavy ass iron in compound lifts. That IS something I have taken away from both him and Dorian.

Anyway, my diet is still on track, and I've been doing 20 min. of LISS in the AM. I will watch the scale and mirror and adjust as time goes on. I really want the diet to do most of the work, as I feel that will spare the most muscle.