cardio vs. weight

[aodwolfpack]

I am looking for some help. I used to work out and even though I have stopped lifting weights for a while I still remained quite active. I am now back in the grove. I am 165 lbs and 5'11" tall, about 16 % body fat (male) It seems that it has always been hard for me to bulk up (instant results) I really had to work hard at it.

I really am not after getting huge, While I really want to be strong and get much stronger, I would like to be I guess more lean and mean and not fat and bulky.

I do not gain weight and eat a lot. Maybe I over trained when I was younger and that is why it was so difficult to make major gains in weights, I am not sure.

A couple of questions about increasing strength and incorporating cardio.

My routine is upper body one day and lower the next.

Upper body is decline bench press 90lbs+bar = 135lbs 3 sets of ten. incline 3 sets of ten, back, tri's, lats, shoulders, stomach, and curls - which are 5 sts of 10 starting with 35 lbs bumbbells decreasing to 30lb for reps 4-6.

I do all the curls and benchs I guess because I want to concentrate in these areas and show the increase here. Also, after doing 3 sets of 10 with bench and curls I do not really feel like the muscles are fatigued the next day at all. So with my work out I hit upper one day and lower (legs) the next day and If I am sore then I take an extra day off.

I am sure I probably need some help with this routine, so any advise is appreciated, but I do not really wanna compete, but stay somewhat leana nd get stronger.

I do a lot of scuba diving and active sports and I am also doing cardio. I read that too much cardio will keep the muscles form getting stronger and actually cause them to get weaker, is this true?

I think I am going to reduce cardio to 2-3 times a week with 20 minutes sessions at (220-age40) * .85 = 153. Is that the right thing to do? I will do the cardio after the weights. Will I have a problem trying to increase strengh while doing cardio like this?

Thanks in advance for all your help and responses!

[emjlr3]

20 minutes of cardio isnt that much and i think it would be beneificial to an extent...b ut like i said only 20 minutes isnt much...not enough to diminsh your wokrout. but also not enough to get good cardio results.

but if your doing other things during the week like sports or swimming then you are set. Look at www.wannabebig.com at the workouts they have and encorporate what they say into what you want to do.

And welcome to wwb you'll like it here :)

[Leviathan]

20 minutes of cardio, 3 days a week is fine. The entire concept behind HIIT cardio (use the search engine) is short and intense cardio sessions focused on burning fat, not muscle.

Don't do cardio right before or right after lifting. If you do your cardio before you lift you will not be at 100% to lift. If you do cardio after you lift you won't be taking advantage of that critical post-workout nutritional window, and you will be increasing the muscle-destroying cortisol levels within your system. You should give yourself 6-8 hours between cardio and lifting sessions (i.e. lift in the morning, do cardio in the evening).

[SW]

While doing cardio it's always (unless on roids) hard to get good strength gains. That's why it's a good idea to alternate intense cardio with intense lifting. Most people on here do cardio, then alternate with lots of eating. Lots of eating (good, solid foods, not the kind of non-nutritional junk) combined with intense weight training and adequate rest is an excellent way to greatly increase strength. This is also called bulking and cutting. Also, you don't have to be quite fatigued and sore after lifting in order for it to do you a world of good.

[IRN-BRU]

Apparently, the best thing to do is bulk and cut. Bulking builds muscle, and cutting burns fat. After a number of cycles, eventually, you'll be lean and mean, and not a skinny rake.

So my advice is bulk and cut. To do that effectively, use fitday.com, track cals. If you're not steadily gaining weight on a bulk, increase calories, etc. Dont give in to eating what your body wants to eat.

I dont know the best % of bodyweight to increase during a bulk though, maybe 10lbs, then cut until you lose some flabbiness.

As for training, it sounds like your weights are usually the same. Mix it up - ie. Increase the weight every workout, even if you reduce reps/sets. When you're down to 2 sets of 6, lower the weight and increase the reps. Then increase the weight again each time. Dont let your muscles get used to it. Best thing is probably to try harder, grit your teeth more :-)

Good luck anyway.

[aodwolfpack]

Great, I was reading the other posts and was really not clear what bulk/cuting, hiit, etc was, now it makes a lot more sense. I really appreciate the advice, thanks a lot!!!! Looks like I have more reading to do...