How much cardio?

[Tricia Haley]

Sorry got alittle long!

I'm confused! about how much cardio to add to a weight training propram.

When i have read about cardio, some people do 4 to 6 days a week on top of their weight workouts, some people do 3 to 4, and some barely do any (2 to 1 day a week). I have even read that if some had to do it over again that they would do less cardio and focus more on their weight training to lose fat and shape there muscles. Frankly, i do like cardio but it is a double edged sword for me. I like the way it makes me feel but, (here is the sword) the more i do and the more intense i do it, it just makes me more hungry later in the day and that frustrates me because i am trying to lose the last 10 pounds off my 5'3 130pd frame and stay in an eating deficit and it makes it nearly impossible when i am soooo hungry. I am one of those people that the more cardio i do it seems, over the years, the hungrier i get!

So how much cardio is enough? Is there a rule of thumb to follow? Has anyone else experienced this? Like i said i only am trying to lose 10 pounds of fat. I am 5'3 130pds 24% body fat and would like to get down to 16 to 18%.

Like i said, i do like cardio but i am tired of struggling with my appetite when i do it. I am currently doing between 4 to 5 days a week on top of my weight training. Any suggestions?

Thanks Tricia

P.S. - another question that i have wondered about, how do you know if you are not eating enough for your activity level? could the extreme appetite mean that i maybe am not eating enough for the activity i do? could that be a clue and if it is how many calories would you recommend i add? 100 to 200 to start? here is what i do on a weekly basis:

Mon Wen & fri - 7:50 to 9:00am i do 1 hour circuit training with my client. Hitting all muscle groups. at 11:00am i pick one major muscle group (chest- back or legs) and hit them hard. and try to work in some cardio. thats about another hour. On Tues and Thurs are my rest days. And Sat. and Sund. are my long cardio days 40 min to 1 hour. I try to stay in an eating deficit so i try to take in between 1400 - 1600. to be honest i probably end up eating 1600 to 1700 cause of hunger. anyway there is some more info. i hope this helps give you more insight. thanks again for listening!!!!! Tricia

 

[dixiedog6]

My days look almost identical to yours and I am having the same issue. I feel guility if I cut back on the cardio and I too am hungry all the time. I also want to lose about 10 pounds. I also end up snacking my way up to 1700-1800 calories a day. I love to lift heavy as well. I am looking forward to the responses you get because I feel like I am just going around in cricles sometimes.

 

[kariev]

hi ladies, unfortunately everyone responds differently to cardio so you will get mixed answers on this one. what i would suggest is that if you have been doing a lot of cardio and you are always hungry i would say scale back to 3 days per week making them intense and see what happens. It takes a couple of weeks for your body to stop being so famished from all the cardio so you will still be hungry but then it should subside. I just read in health magazine an interview with Alicia Silverstone who just lost some weight. She said this great quote "diet first, exercise second". I love it and it is so true! When you workout a lot and burn a lot of cals, your body responds by making your appetite increase so it can be sure to have enough fuel and energy to get you through your workouts. Lately i have scaled back to lighter weights and less intense cardio and i'm already feeling difference in not only my energy levels but my appetite. I do still do 5 days of cardio but they are less intense and last no more than 30 minutes where as before i was doing 6 days of 45 min hardcore intervals. Since you have been training with so much cardio i would scale back to half the amount and stick with it for at least 4 weeks to know how your body will respond. If you gain weight you may want to look at your diet a little more closely to make sure you are tracking your cals properly but if your diet is ontrack and your eating at a deficit then you will lose. Its hard to eat at a deficit and exercise your butt off. Your body just gets overloaded. I hope this helps some and i know its scary to cut back but just do it a little at a time if going cold turkey to 3 days per week is too overwhelming.

 

[ldy_solana]

couldn't have said it better kariev. everybody is different and if what you are doing isn't working try something else!

kassia

 

[RapidBreath]

I have one word for you

eat. Being super hungry means you are probably hungry and need some more fat in your diet, think olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil or heck just eat an avocado. That should help. Also, I've cut back the amount of cardio I do to just 5 days a week and I'm not doing any real heavey lifting unless you count my yoga and lifting my own body weight

 

[Tricia Haley]

Thank you for responding! I am going to copy this thread. I am going to try to do only 3 cardio sessions a week. I do train a client 3 days a week and i workout with her and then i train myself so i might do my cardio on sat and sund and try a 20 to 30min cardio session sometime during the week and see how that goes. My heart rate does get up and moving when i do the circuit weight work with my client but i really don't concider that cardio. ARRRRRGGGGGGG! But i will take your advice and see how the 3 sessions a week goes for the month of sept. I have a wedding to go to the end of Oct. and i was hoping to lose the 10 pounds by then. "sigh" Thanks again for responding! You are a blessing!