Daily Cardio & Becoming Bigger/Stronger/Leaner?

Bigger Stronger Leaner
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Hello all,

I have been studying many bodybuilders, watching their videos etc. I am trying to improve my education, my knowledge and look for commonalities / trends so that I can better myself and my body composition.

One curious thing I noticed was daily cardio advocated by Kai Greene, Jay Cutler, and Evan Centropani. These guys say they do 30-45mins fasted every morning, regardless of season.

I myself decided do the same exact thing, and I noticed that I got a little leaner while putting on muscle mass, in addition to improving my cardiovascular base. So thatā€™s a positive, my two cents = cardio is good. It does lead to a bit of exhaustion early on in the day but I am typically able to fix myself by training time

But I was wondering two things

1. What do YOU all do for cardio, if any? LISS? HIIT? What speeds? What machines do you use?

For me, I incline walk on the treadmill, 3.7mph at 10% for 45mins. Do any of you guys do something similar?

2. Why is it that the go to ā€œdailyā€ cardio for BBers is LISS and not sprints, jogging or HIIT?

Iā€™m a pretty young guy, and while the results have been good, it feels a little silly to be WALKING on a treadmill. I mean, I read articles on here by coaches like Jim Wendler and Christian Thibadeau talking about doing sprints, especially the latter on body composition and I feel like a pansy over here speed walking, plus it feels just plain wrong. One thing I want to make clear., I donā€™t consider myself a pure Bodybuilder, I donā€™t train like that- my goal is simply to become bigger, stronger, leaner, more athletic. But when you think of a big, strong, lean person, donā€™t you think of an athlete? Do athletes really walk on the treadmill?

TLDR: Should I get my ass outside and run every morning (Jogging or HIIT Sprints) if I think I can eat enough to handle it, or is LISS a better alternative for something I can do daily? What are you all thoughts? Experiences?

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I do realize that yes, doing more cardio is not OPTIMAL for the art of ā€œbodybuildingā€, but thatā€™s why I clarified I am not trying to become an IFBB Pro, I just wanna be jacked (muscle muscle muscle lol)

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Even if your making a joke. Probably would not want to quote a certain individual at the moment. Since some might get the wrong idea.

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Yeah,ā€¦ Ronnie Coleman doing his daily walking cardio on the treadmill, Dorian Yates doing his brisk walking cardio around his neighborhood every afternoonā€¦ too bad they didnā€™t have access to the latest articles online, they might have done well as bodybuilders.

S

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@swolagani for your goals, you should probably do which you prefer.

High-level bodybuilders prefer LISS for, likely, two reasons. Realize I say ā€œlikely,ā€ because Iā€™m not one and I donā€™t know any. Anyway:

  1. There is an interference effect from varied activities. Hard running absolutely will make it more difficult to maintain mass on your legs. Iā€™ve seen this even in my own self at my own low level of development back when I could run farther than the bathroom without dying.
  2. Theyā€™re using cardio to lean out, which implies theyā€™re dieting. The levels of body fat they diet to are no joke. I used to want to die all the time when I was wrestling, and I was probably only getting halfway there. Doing anything more than LISS is going to create deeper inroads to recovery for which they donā€™t have the tools at that time.

Thereā€™s probably thoughts around LISS improving recovery, but I really think being in shape is what improves recovery; LISS just takes less of a toll on the way there.

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Whenever i hear people say Low Intensity Steady State vs high intensity interval training as the two options and which is better, i tune out. There is a great amount of stuff in between. You need to define what you call liss and hiit. I consider people walking on the treadmill or hanging out on the stepper wasting their time.i workout in the 120-140 hr zone. How many calories do you burn walking on the treadmill? What is your heart rate? What are you trying to accomplish?

I donā€™t recommend running. Something low impact on the joints is ideal. Iā€™ve known many overweight people over the years whodid LISS cardio and are still overweight today. Walking on the treadmill reading a book, on the elliptical with their eyes closedā€¦

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Iā€™m more in the ā€œStronger/Leanerā€ category. I do incline walks on the treadmill, ramping up by 1 mph and 1% with each lap starting as low as 3.3 mph and 3% (if morning fasted cardio because Iā€™m old and creaky) or as high as 3.6 mph and 5% (evening cardio post jiu-jitsu training when I"m totally warmed up). My top end is about 3.9 and 9% for a couple of laps. Nothing impressive. Iā€™ve always had weak cardio. But itā€™s definitely helped me lean out.

I think @jackolee was doing low intensity cardio twice a day in the final lead up to his latest physique competition. Some interesting insights in his training log.

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I do both.
I mix up high intensity throughout my weight training, and keep my steady state running for ā€˜off daysā€™

Probably not optimal for maximal muscle gains, but great for me

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After I smoke myself in the gym, I feel like I could eat a ton and itā€™ll all be muscle. I hope that wish comes true some day.

Lately, Iā€™ve settled into higher intensity conditioning on training days. Iā€™ve started supersetting everything a la Alphaā€™s training programs. I add a weight lifting MetCon or do sprints to the day, too. On my rest days, I find myself doing low intensity stuff. I feel the urge to move and burn calories but I donā€™t want to interfere with recovery.