Question About Cardio

[KC&SunshineBand]

I was wondering if it is absolutely necessary for me to be doing cardio. When I did cardio, I was doing one session per week of interval training on a treadmill before my workout. I would do 60 second splits between 11 mph and 5.5 mph, usually 8 intervals of each altogether. However, I despise cardio and got lazier lately, so now I just do a 5 minute jog (hardly qualifies as cardio) pre-workout. Now I was wondering if cardio was necessary for me because I've gotten my body fat measured by the skin fold caliper test at least 10 times, and mine comes out to somewhere between 3-4%. I'm 5'7" and 140 lbs. So am I gonna start gaining body fat if I pass over the cardio? (By the way, my diet is generally clean; oatmeal, egg whites, grilled chicken breast, brown rice, skim milk, etc, usually ends up between 2300-2600 calories/day).

[Willie]

How old are you?

I find intervals are absolutely necessary to stave off fat gains, but I'm 40 now.
When I was 18, I was ripped and did almost no cardio at all. I'll get fat now just thinking about quitting the intervals!

I think work that gets your heart rate up is crucial, just for basic health, but you know your body best. I think you'll find yourself gaining weight with age if you quit cardio out completely. I'd say get in the habit of doing cardio and it will benefit you in the long run.

Good luck.

[Tom Mutaffis]

What are your training goals? If you are interested in sports performance you would ideally want some kind of activity to build endurance and conditioning...