Saturday, August 1, 2009

Cardio - Keep it short and intense for maximum fat loss.


To achieve the greatest fat loss results and minimize any potential negative muscle building effects from cardio remember to keep it short and intense.

Max-OT style cardio is the way to go. I keep the duration at 16 minutes of high intensity, making sure I am huffing and puffing throughout each session. You have to remain out of your comfort zone throughout each session in order to get the full benefits. If you treat cardio like a Sunday stroll then you can forget about being shredded.

Establishing a distance goal will help make sure your intensity is where it needs to be. Let's say you travel 4.2 miles in 16 minutes on a recumbent bike then the next session you need to try and beat 4.2 miles with all settings being the same. Always striving to better your distance will help drive you during each session and make sure your intensity is where it needs to be for the ultimate metabolic elevation.

Long duration cardio is much less effective at overall metabolic elevation and will have much more of a negative impact on the muscle building process. Trust me, I know from experience.

I used to follow the same poor advice delivered by most bodybuilding gurus. I did long duration cardio and I did it on an empty stomach too! Guess what, I never came close to achieving the hardness that I wanted come the day of the show. My level of conditioning and muscularity improved dramatically when I introduced Max-OT style cardio. I achieved the condition of my life (condition that enabled me to place 4th at the USA and win the overall at the Team Universe - 100% drug free) and never went over 20 minutes on any session of cardio and never ever did any of it on an empty stomach.

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/

4 comments:

  1. Hi Jeff thanks for talking about cardio! In Max ot cardio is it better to do it in the morning or nite? Also how much should you eat before you do it and should it be food or protein powder? thanks!

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  2. Jeff should you take any VP2/Gl3/HSc befor and after cardio like what we do with Max Ot,half doses for instance? Then an hour later eat a meal? Thanks again JW

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  3. If you are in a maximum muscle building phase then you could bracket cardio like you do your workouts or at least follow cardio with a post workout drink.

    You could cut the doses or just take a post cardio drink depending upon how much room you have with your daily caloric target.

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  4. jeff,
    when i have days that only allow 1 trip to the gym, can i do cardio right after weights or skip cardio to not affect recovery from my lifting? if so, do i just drink a PW drink between weights and cardio, then another PW drink after cardio? thanks jeff!

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