Quote:
Originally Posted by Italianangel
Holy crappy..........12 cardio sessions per week during contest prep? wow, I never do that, too afraid of muscle loss and making me small...........I don't do that ever! I rather be moderate on the diet / moderate on rap binging during the off season instead......mind you if you like to eat higher carb or sugar then I guess that would warrant that depending on your body type......I have never had any gals on that much unless they totally blow it up to lean down then they have no choice....but that only happened with 2 gals in my whole career of coaching.
I do agree that 5-6 days per week training is great if you are at that level and keeps you peak but no more than an hour per day of cardio, if you can keep diet clean then you don't need THAT much cardio....wow.
Linda
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Most of the girls I train with do about that amount of cardio...but we are fitness/figure. Much of it is plyometric type training which also shapes the legs and I have actually built muscle by doing this---and I should mention that these are not marathon sessions (1/2 hr usually) and I lower the amount once I am where I need to be.....
But cardio for me is more than just fat loss...it aids in muscle development! And I can use all the help I can get. I am a hardgainer so intense cardio like plyos and the step mill build my legs more than anything. I eat enough to make sure I don't lose too much but if I don't train hard, I lose ground and turn back into a skinny/fat girl! And actually not many of us blow up in the off season. We stay within 7-12 pounds on average...a bunch of my friends are doing the Arnold (Amatuer and Pro) and they have been ready for weeks since they maintain such good regimens....it didn't take much to get the little extra weight off. But as I said before, most of us are natural and hard work seems to be the best way to spark growth and muscle maturity. Our trainer trains us to not just look in shape but to actually BE in shape so it is also about all around health. The upside of doing so much hard work is that the diet is easier. I always eat more than other girls...and I prefer to eat more and train harder if given the choice
But this is just how I do it...not saying it is the absolute perfect solution!!!!