5/3/1 Cardio Question (I Did Read the Book)

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
#1

I read the 5/3/1 book (highly recommended), and I just started the program today. What I like about it is it is simple and looks effective. My only question is this…

It recommends Prowler Pushes or Hill Sprints for cardio. I live in Manhattan (no hills) and I workout in a small NYSC (broke college kid, 20$ student memberships). If my only options are the equipment they have at the gym (treadmills, bikes, and elipticals), what is the best use of my energy for some good cardio. My only guess would be to turn the treadmill up to an incline, and sprint on an incline setting, but alas, I am a beginner and am looking to start off right, rather than F*** up my cardio, which is a huge part of training.

Thanks in advance

#2

I recomend Tabata training. read this article:

#3

Goals.

List them.

It has bearing on what we’ll recommend.

#4

I am 6’1 195 22%bf, so I want to get more muscle mass, but have my abs show

#5

so essentially gain muscle mass, but lose weight in the process.

I am more focused on aesthetics then strength

#6

Any of the machines should work fine, provided you put forth enough intensity and effort. Hell, you really don’t even need a machine. Just go outside and find a long stretch of road, grass, dirt, whatever. Just start sprinting. That’s really all you have to do. I wouldn’t over-complicate things.

Hill sprints are an excellent form of cardio/conditioning exercise, but that does not mean that they are the ONLY exercise that will serve those purposes.

#7

[quote]DanJS14 wrote:
so essentially gain muscle mass, but lose weight in the process.

I am more focused on aesthetics then strength[/quote]

Doesn’t work that way. Losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time are impossible for anyone but true beginners.

At your current body fat I suggest you lose some fat before bulking back up.

This requires a caloric deficit. Work on your diet, do some cardio and lift weights.

It’ll require more work later on but at the get go it isn’t rocket science, just hard work.

Good luck.

#8

if you are a true beginner, never lifted before etc, then any exercise you do right now and prolli for the first year or so is gonna lower weight and build muscle mass. I would clean up the diet and make sure ure getting good healthy calories in and just stick to the workout.

Like nate said i wouldn’t over complicate things if u can’t do cardio as stated in the book, do something similar. Maybe the treadmill at 45 degree incline or 22.5 degree incline. At this point any exercise is good exercise and combined with clean calories you should be shedding pounds while still gaining muscle mass. Good Luck.

#9

I normally do HIIT.

8 mph - 1min
4 mph - 1.5 min
10mph - 1 min
4mph -1.5 min

Normally do this for 4 cycles and I am pretty dead after it, but this seems like it would be too much cardio, and not enough intensity.
Would this HIIT routine suffice, or should I focus on only sprints?

#10

^^if you want to lose bodyfat you need to make sure your diet is in check. Diet is where you’re gonna lose the most BF not doing cardio (although cardio helps)

Post up your diet for an average day for critique.

#11

I think you’re putting way too much thought into something that isn’t that huge of a factor for what you’re trying to accomplish. Like gregron said, your diet plays a much more important role in fat loss than how much or how little cardio you’re doing. Just watch your diet, hit the weights hard and do as much or as little cardio as you feel necessary. Above all, watch the diet. Watch diet. Diet. D I E T…

#12

Get on the treadmill but don’t turn it on, grab onto the bar in the front, and “push” it like you would a prowler.

http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/treadmill-pushing-the-solution-to-the-prowler-less-gym/

#13

[quote]inkaddict wrote:
Get on the treadmill but don’t turn it on, grab onto the bar in the front, and “push” it like you would a prowler.

http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/treadmill-pushing-the-solution-to-the-prowler-less-gym/[/quote]

but do you know how many people would laugh at you for doing that? :slight_smile:

Sounds really hard though

#14

My diet:

breakfast
-shake (2 scoops of whey, milk, 2 scoops of PB, 2 scoops of oats, flaxseed)
or (2 scoops of oatmeal, and pb on ezekiel bread)

snack
-tuna or chicken on ezekiel bread, and almonds

lunch
-grilled chicken breast
-almonds
-brocolli

dinner
same as lunch

snack
-greek yougurt
-brocolli
-almonds

#15

Boring But Big Template, rest for 5-10 mins then do your HIIT.

If feeling especially trashed just do low intensity *fat loss zone" cardio or skip it all together.