cardio 5-6 times a week practical?

[Jinithith]

Since autumn of 2007, I've lost 60+ lbs of fat, and I have this last little bit that I want to get off before summer vaca ends for me the second week of september. The amount I have right now is not bad at all, (size 32 waist- I used to be tight in size 38s) but I am sick and tired of carrying around this fat and I want it OFF!!!

I've just started the 5x5 program this week and today is my first B day. My diet is following the 5x5 guidelines well, and I've limited carbs to post workout only. I have the time and energy (since the load is light right now) to do my usual 30+ mins of 60%-70% heartrate jogs on the treadmill after each 5x5 session.

My question is, is 5-6 times a week too much? Would I be acting counter-productively against my muscle gain? I know once the weight starts piling on, I won't have energy to run after lifting, but for now, I am thinking of speeding things up as much as possible.

Thanks all!

[DaveT]

If you have the energy, and your lifts aren't affected, keep doing it. As you said though, as the weights get heavier, something will have to give. Either you won't have the energy to run post workout, or the running on the off days may interfere with your rest and the weights you can lift at the next workout. Then you'll need to rethink.
My only suggestion would be to move away from the jogging towards a more HIIT style exercise (sprints, for example, if you enjoy running), as you already have a reasonable level of fitness.

[guru]

My only suggestion would be to move away from the jogging towards a more HIIT style exercise (sprints, for example, if you enjoy running), as you already have a reasonable level of fitness.

Agreed on HIIT, but HIIT won't be advisable 5-6 times a week, whatever may be the level of fitness. What you may do though is do HIIT on one day, (when you have 2 days' rest) & a moderate cardio on the other days.

[Sylvor]

I think you should be able to keep cardio up 5-6 days a week if it is steady state, not max effort. I would do it on the bike or elliptical though cause it is easier on the legs and wont interfere with squatting as much.

This method is a little more time consuming and boring, but it should work for a fairly long time. I can't see you being able to fit Hiit in more than twice a week once things get heavy. Just my two cents.

I do 45 min on off days, and 30 min on lifting days. I try and get my heart rate up to about 150 - 160 bpm.

[Jinithith]

I tried HIIT before I started 5x5 and I made it 3 times over the course of a week before I gave up XD I may have to give it a second look though. What I did was on the bike, 20 secs full pressure 10 secs rest, repeat for 10 times

I got off the bike and my quads were just like F*** YOU JIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DaveT]

You need to do the HIIT after the workout if you're going to do it at all, for exactly that reason.
Sounds like you were doing Tabatas on the bike, although they normally only go for 8 rounds.

[Jinithith]

oh and how does cardio about 4-5 hours before lifting sound?
for example, I have a mountain behind my house, and I usually go jog up that when I'm not enrolled in the gym
the jog up takes about 25-30 mins and then the jog back down takes 20 minutes ish
I'm usually totally pooped when I get back.

but If I do that in the morning at 8
and go to the gym around 1 in the afternoon...

[DaveT]

The only way you can really find out is by trying it. If you look at my log, I recently thought that I would fit in swimming on my 'off' days. After two weeks, my arm intense exercises (BP, OHP, Chins and Pull Ups) have suffered, as my arms aren't getting the rest they need.
This is why a log is so important. If you write it all down then emerging patterns become glaringly obvious. Do the exercise, write down how you feel, and if you're struggling with increasing the weights, reassess what you're doing.

BTW, your BF% seems way off. If you're 68kg at 180cm, that's thin. A normal weight for that height would be about 80kg. How are you measuring the BF? Calipers or scales?

[Jinithith]

I actually need to get a solid BF% reading and I'm in a continuous process of sniffing out fitness stores around where I live for calipers (I'm in korea for the vacation and I would like to avoid ordering from amazon). I haven't been able to get a number and I'm dying to find out

The fat that I'm talking about is just a little bit of a spare tire around my waist. I don't like to say it but i have a little case of skinny-fatness, (idk, I'm starting to see abs, am I just being paranoid??) and I have little lats, shoulders and biceps compared to my legs and pecs due to stupid unbalanced weight training before I found out about 5x5. (I can do 15 push ups easily but I cant even do 1 chin up from a dead hang...)

[GhettoMrBob]

I think that as the workload increases your need for cardio 5-6 times a week will decrease simply because you're doing something else that's burning cals. Lifting weights, esp. heavy ones, can heighten your metabolism for, correct me if I'm wrong here, up to 48 hrs afterwards. I'd still do some cardio but in the form of HIIT as stated above. I'd only do this 1-2 times a week thought as it can be pretty brutal. Good luck getting rid of that spare tire.

[dylanamus]

Weight training with standard dieting wasn't enough on its own for me to lose fat (although I did have a few habbits I have shaken off since), and I think I was pushing myself hard enough to qualify as high intensity lifting back then.

I switched my routine around to involve more difficult lifts like overhead squats, front squats, cleans etc so that I could use less weight an still feel challenged. This has enabled me to do a lot extra cardio work, including 2-3 HIIT sessions a week and 10-15 minutes light or moderate cardio every day. My lifts haven't really been affected yet - in fact I've still been achieving PRs. However, I think this level of activity would be hard to maintain while trying to set PRs on the big lifts outlined on SL5x5.

I guess it boils down to how important progressing on strength training is to you. With your height and weight, I would suggest going absolutely crazy on strength and even considering GOMAD and worry about losing fat when you've actually got some muscle to help burn calories. With this mentality, I would restrict HIIT to Saturday (assuming a Mon/Wed/Fri split) and just do some medium intensity drills post workout . I don't think 10 minutes of moderate intensity on your off days will really have too much a negative effect either. It really doesn't make any difference for me.

[PZilla]

Start doing "The BEAR" after your workouts.

You will be grateful for those rest days.

[Jinithith]

I did a bear (5 sets of 5 with 23kg) today. I was out of breath by the end and in general I was fatigued. Less pain than HIIT on the bike though...
For HIIT worthy fatloss, how painful must the BEAR be?

[dylanamus]

Do 7 reps per set separated by 60-90 second rests only. Focus on reducing the time it takes you to both complete each set and the time you require to begin the next one before adding weight. The Crossfit guys progressively load the bar DURING their workout too. This is even more suicidal.

Of course if you really want to burn fat, join me in the race to vomiting via Burpee Tabatas