Lean muscle + cardio

[Nombie]

Afternoon chaps!

I've been doing my carido routine now for a couple of weeks building up my fitness, mostly it consists of doing a mixture of interval training, 1.5mile runs (aiming to have the speed down below 10mins) 3mile runs(working on the 24min mark at the moment for that) and sometimes I go for runs of like 30-40 minutes not counting the distance, just at a comfortable speed.

I am about to start weight training as well, this is due to the fact I want to build my strength up for helping with both the press ups and general physique.

I was reading a basic guide to lean muscle fitness training which stated that the cardio I should be doing should only be 15-20minutes a day at 70-80% MHR.

Now my interval training will take me over the 80% easily, and obviously my 30+minute runs will take me beyond the 20minute mark. Will doing this kind of cardio be detrimental to the lean muscle mass building? Or will I be able to get away with it as long as I'm eating right and doing the right amount of weight training?

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[MNDMorris]

If you're serious about increasing both cardio and muscular fitness, i'd personally recommend doing one, or the other. For cardio training to have a positive effect on both your heart and lungs, you need to be doing a minimum of 20 minutes exercise @60-80%MHR. This allows for both your heart and lungs to become fatigued and be forced to increase their levels of fitness. Anything below 20 minutes won't have a positive effect or increase your cardiovascular fitness, it will simply maintain your current base level of fitness.

The cardio training you take part in has to vary also, this will prevent tedium in your training and continue to put your heart and lungs in to a zone of shock, forcing them to become 'fitter'. If you continue with the same exercises at the same intensities, then your body will plateau and make it more difficult to continue getting fitter.

You mention that you want a leaner look and you wish to increase your strength for press ups. If you want to look leaner then you must take a completely different approach to the one you're taking. If you want to look leaner then you must FIRST start with a cardio program which is aimed at burning fat, whilst keeping your base level of fitness intact. 40-60%MHR is a personally recommended level to be training at, it prevents your body from pooling in to your muscles energy supplies. At 40-60%MHR you're using your body's fat storage supplies, thus reducing muscle tissue loss from cardio-orientated exercise. You need to be doing fat burning exercise for a minimum of 40 minutes, this allows for your body to get in to a fat burning state. This might sound boring and unjust, but it's the most effective way of burning fat stores, which prevent you from looking lean.

Once you're happy with the time you've put in to losing fat stores, your physique should really start coming through those overlying fatty deposits. It's then up to you how far you want to continue to go with the cardio, before you move on to looking 'ripped' or leaner. At this stage you can now start with anaerobic exercise, especially on those areas of your body you wish to look leaner or 'ripped'. Bear in mind that you've just spent the past few weeks or months losing weight, your diet should tighten up if you wish to stay at the level you're at.

I won't advise you on anaerobic exercise because everyone is to their own, everybody reacts differently to weight training. So this is completely up to you, how you want to look is your decision and how you react to weight training, you should base on past experiences. Personally, I reap benefits mostly from pyramid training, including supersets to 'round-off' muscle groups. I also incorporate split training, as this shortens the time I have to spend in the gym through the week. Although I won't advise you, i'd recommend you keep your weight training sessions to 15-40 minutes, anything after this is deemed as negative training (15-40 minutes per muscle group).

Strength. If you're planning on weight lifting or gaining large amounts of muscle mass quickly, then strength training is the way forward. You won't get the desired outcome you're looking for through strength training, which is to improve on press-ups right? You should basically work with your own body weight, that's all you'll be required to carry when doing press-ups. Or you can use weights as an aid, keeping the resistance low with repetitions high. Personally, i'd prefer to have a slim and lean physique over a bulky one. Afterall, if you're slim and lean you can do more press-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups in most cases. Whereas someone who primarily concentrates on strength training, might physically look appealing but they probably can't do half as many press-ups as someone who's defined their physique. Plus, more muscle mass = a bigger stress on the heart, reducing your life effectively!

Hope this has aided you somewhat.