should I take a day or more off from cardio????

[joditeaches]

Hello,
I am looking to become more defined. I have been doing various workouts, including 4 day split. I work each muscle group once a week, and I do my lower body twice a week.
I do some sort of cardio 7 days a week. I am not worried about over-training because I vary my workouts so much, what I am wondering is if I will get more definition if I forgo cardio a couple times a week. But I also want to know why????? Any thoughts?
Thanks so much!

 

[Fit_mommy]

Hi Jodi.

7 days a week of cardio is a bit much. Even Cathe does not suggest doing cardio that much. I think her usual cardio suggestion is 4-5 days per week for about 45 minutes per session. I know it can be hard to take a COMPLETE rest day. If you are antsy on day 7 then do what I do- a short stretch and/or yoga session. It makes me feel like I've done something yet it's not stressful to the body like the rest of my routine is so it still allows my body to recover and we all know how good stretching is for us!

I used to do cardio 5-6 days per week either straight up or in a circuit work out. In January of 2007 I discovered P90X which advocated more (heavy) lifting and less cardio. I was scared but I tried it. I brought my cardio down to 2-3 days per week 30-60 minutes per session while doing the X and BAM it worked! I lost fat thereby gaining muscle definition. After I finished the X I followed it up with a month long endurance rotation (did not raise amount of cardio I did though) and became even MORE defined!

Ofcourse also remember that diet is KEY. I was watching my food intake closely during this time. I had not been as diligent about it I certainly would not have seen the same results.

HTH a bit!

 

[fit44]

There are mixed reviews about how much cardio is effective vs how much is too much. Then you'll find debates over steady state vs interval.
I've been totally confused on the subject myself, until I began reading a forum for figure competitors.

You may find this article helpful.
http://www.musclewithattitude.com/article/training/the_cardio_secret&cr=mwaTraining


I think the key is to find what works for you. When the figure competitors begin to cut for a competition, most of them seem to increase their cardio up to an hour 2x's a day. They don't do this long term because the body will adjust to it, but for short periods(similar to calorie restriction) it can help you reach your goals faster.
During the winter, I do cardio 3-4x's a week. Now that I am cutting for the beach in a few weeks. I wake up and do fasted steady state cardio for 30-40 minutes, and later do another session before bed. My body responds to 2 a day cardio sessions.


One of my favorite trainers to follow is Christian Thibaudeau, doesn't advocate interval cardio with a low carb diet.

 

[tneah]

Fit44,

Superb article, I was on a similar program,and still follow a similar program! I have to do more cardio, just my genes I suppose. Plus that diet thing is the most important factor.