YAWT: How long does it take to get fit

[Jeraden]

Well you can't "tone" specific body parts, if by toning you mean losing fat in that specific area. The body distributes fat uniformly - well except for those freakish women you see who have a normal sized body but one disproportionately fat part, like their legs or upper arms or butt.

I've read numerous articles on how its not advisable to ignore your legs. Squats are one of the best whole-body exercises you can do and they hit your largest muscle. There's probably lots of info out there you can search.

For cardio, you might want to look into HIIT (high intensity interval training). Its been shown to be more effective at weight loss than standard low-intensity cardio. It also preserves more muscle, and can actually have muscle-gaining properties.

 

[Turkey22]

I would also reccomend HIIT, not only will you retain more muscle mass, but it will take far less time out of yoru day. Not to mention you need to make sure you space out your lifting and your cardio, you should not be doing both at the same time or one after the other. You can get by with cardio in the morning and then lifting later in the day. I'd say if you still really wanna do alot of cardio, limit yourself to longer times on your off lifting days and plan out your splits accordingly. Your trainer should help you get a good schedule. I went on a similar mission starting around March of this year, although it was primarily to lose weight and I'm not very disciplined. During the time I was more disciplined I did see good results and even now that I'm pretty much off my diet the added muscle and exercise habits are keeping me around maintenance weight. Also I did do quite a bit of research, before starting my diet primarily on the forums at body-building.com. Very useful regardless of your goals.

Btw atkins or any other form of low carb dieting, isnt necessarily bad for heart health. Do some research on it before dissmissing it as such. Out of all the stuff I tried diet wise, it was the most effective at losing weight and keeping muscle.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Qosis

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Qosis
Is there any type of professional I can speak to regarding my diet? I've been a bit concerned that with the strenuous cardio I'll be doing that I'll mitigate my efforts of bodybuilding. I'll be doing about 1 hour of running on a tredmill, and 2 hours or so in the pool 6 days a week.

If you are trying to bulk up why so much cardio? You say you aren't overwieght so I don't see any reason for that much unless it's for some type of sport.

I do cardio because I enjoy it, and my family has a histroy of cardiac related deaths... so keeping the ticker in tip top condition is a cardinal concern of mine.

Well diet will do as much to prevent heart problems as Cardio. Jim Fixx, the famous long distance runner and fitness guru died of a heart attack while still reasonably young. A moderate amount of Cardio will be all you need to keep your heart strong.

Yep, just as with anything in life, too much cardio can be bad.

Pffffffft. You're just a wuss.

 

[CptObvious]

Is it true that being lean is healthier in the long run than being big? I've been working out for about a year now, and have lost weight (~30 lbs.) and gained muscle. I don't know whether I want to bulk up more or focus on being lean. I would rather not have to eat a lot of meat to stay big.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Qosis

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: Qosis
What should I tone my cardio down to in your opinion if bulking up is in my interest? But still gaining as much benefit for my heart as possible.

If you want to bulk up, just limit the time and intensity of the cardio you do. Excessive cardio can and will limit muscle growth. Just look at any marathon runner or long distance bike racer. Seen any that look big?

Cardio is still a must for body building. It just should be limited.

I've heard that if you do high intensity weight lifting you can get your cardio in while working out. Is there any truth to that? I didn't hear much more than that in depth, so don't recall the specifics.

Eh...you could kinda do this if you did a buch of supersets or circuit training but you'll really end up half-assing both the lifting and the cardio IMHO.