Should I skip my cardio?
Let's start with the definition of the term cardio.
According to the definition in textbooks, this is low- and medium-intensity physical activity, in which energy supply occurs mainly due to aerobic metabolism, that is, with the participation of oxygen. Such loads involve large muscle groups, are performed for a long time and are aimed at improving the functional state of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
The main characteristics of cardio load:
- The duration is from a few minutes to hours.
- The intensity is 50-85% of the maximum heart rate (MHR).
- The energy source is the oxidation of carbohydrates and fats with oxygen.
- The effects are strengthening the heart, increasing stroke volume, improving endurance, and reducing body fat
where MHR = 220 - age (in years).
But let's clarify something. 85% is the upper limit of aerobic efficiency. For example, in untrained people, lactate (lactic acid) begins to accumulate already at 75-80% MHR.
How to apply it?
For health: 50-75% MHR (walking, light running, jogging).
For endurance: 70-85%MHR (tempo training).
Ok. We've dealt with that.
To be sure that the body uses fats during cardio in about the maximum amount it possible, it is better to keep about 70%MHR. For a thirty-year-old person, this would be 0.7 *(220-30) = 133 beats per minute.
By doing cardio at this pace, we kill two birds with one stone - we improve the functioning of the heart system and effectively use fats.
So should I skip my cardio?
The fact is that the cardio variation that we have offered you will be useful to everyone. This kind of training trains mitochondria very well.
If your goal is to lose fat, then having such cardio in your workout program 3 times a week will greatly help you advance. But it's better to separate cardio and strength training for at least a few hours, or do them on different days.. We won't go into details here, but there are very strong reasons for this advice.
If your goal is to gain mass, then it would be a good idea to do cardio, too, but this can greatly hinder hardgainers.
It's usually difficult for them to gain their calories, and if they add cardio, then getting the required number of calories will become much more difficult.